Definition of "hapless"

Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts.

1818, [Mary Shelley], “chapter 8”, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones

Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has a magnificent scene which always brings down the house, and nightly adds to her histrionic laurels.

1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Affair at the Novelty Theatre‎

My dear friend, are you to become that hapless kind of outcast, a champion of lost causes?

1914, John Galsworthy, The Mob, act 1

The hapless squad, which was outscored 517-268 in 2008, became the first in league history to go 0-16.

2008 December 31, Harriet Barovick, “Detroit The Lost Season”, in Time

Gideon Defoe scripted from his own series-launching comedic book The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, about the adventures of a hapless group of pirates known only by names like The Pirate With The Scarf, The Pirate With Gout, and in the case of their leader, The Pirate Captain.

2012 April 26, Tasha Robinson, “Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club‎