The titular unicorn is the protagonist of The Last Unicorn. She fulfills the hero role in the hero’s journey archetype. Her quest is to find what happened to the rest of the unicorns and free them from their watery prison. Along the way, she makes allies, faces tests, and goes through both a physical and psychological transformation.

In the beginning, the unicorn is “very old, though she did not know it” (1). She is immortal, has no concept of time, and lives alone in her forest where it is always spring. “She never grew tired of watching” the animals of her forest, generation after generation (2). Like all unicorns, she is vain, wise, and cannot feel regret. She possesses a magic that all unicorns possess, having healed poisoned mortals and killed dragons with her horn. Though she is like the other unicorns, she has not seen one in a very long time. Upon learning that she is the last of her kind, she valiantly journeys out of her forest to find the others.

The unicorn’s view of humans is somewhat contemptuous. She expects reverence and becomes indignant when she realizes that most mortals cannot see her for what she truly is.