What characters can be identified as being "wanton" in David Copperfield?

The answer to this question depends on what you mean by
wanton. A dictionary will give you something like the following definition: a wanton
character is one who is merciless, lewd, malicious, undisciplined and spoiled. Given
these adjectives, and thinking about this excellent bildungsroman from Dickens, the
major character that could be described as wanton would be James Steerforth. In the
novel, he is an attractive, charming individual who nevertheless shows himself to be
completely unprincipled and incredibly selfish in the way that he uses others,
especially David Copperfield in his innocence and naivety. Throughout the novel,
Steerforth only uses David for his own ends: to gain prestige and status through the
connections that David has and then to cruelly betray him. The way that he preys on the
innocence of the title character is obvious to us as onlookers, but is used to emphasise
the innocence of the narrator.