# Paul de Manerville — A Marriage Settlement character guide

> Paul de Manerville in A Marriage Settlement by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Paul, Comte de Manerville, Count Paul, Monsieur Paul, Le Comte Paul de Manerville

**First appearance:** 0001-a-marriage-settlement

## Snapshot

A handsome, well-drilled Count who spent six years and seven hundred thousand francs learning Paris, then came home to Bordeaux to marry well and be elected Deputy.

## Who they are

Paul is the eligible heir of Lanstrac, a man whose elegance is real but second-rate: his servants are well drilled, his suppers succeed, and he has never once been the fashion. Having burned through his father's savings on embassies, racecourses, and a bachelor's den among the seven or eight finest in Paris, he returns to Guienne resolved on marriage as a form of wisdom. His friend de Marsay calls this the one step that will make him ridiculous; the novel's early arc is the slow, costly test of which man is right.

## Relationships

### [Madame Evangelista](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/madame_evangelista)

_psychological_

Madame Evangelista manipulates Paul through financial and emotional control, treating him as a pawn in her schemes.

### [Mathias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/mathias)

_professional_

Mathias is Paul's loyal and devoted notary, managing his affairs with paternal concern.

### [Mademoiselle Natalie Evangelista](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/mademoiselle_natalie_evangelista)

_romantic_

Natalie is Paul's young, beautiful fiancée, but her affection is shallow and driven by her mother's ambition.

### [Henri de Marsay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/henri_de_marsay)

_friendship_

Henri is Paul's worldly, cynical friend who offers dubious advice and represents the fashionable Parisian set.

### [Madame de Manerville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/madame_de_manerville)

_family_

Madame de Manerville is Paul's mother, who worries about his future but is largely absent from the main action.

### [Josette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/josette)

_professional_

Josette is Paul's maid or servant, attending to his household needs with quiet loyalty.

### [Madame Evangelista](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/madame_evangelista)

_psychological_

Madame Evangelista manipulates Paul through financial and emotional control, treating him as a pawn in her schemes.

### [Madame Evangelista](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/madame_evangelista)

_psychological_

Madame Evangelista manipulates Paul through financial and emotional control, treating him as a pawn in her schemes.

### [Mathias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/mathias)

_professional_

Mathias is Paul's loyal and devoted notary, managing his affairs with paternal concern.

### [Mathias](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/mathias)

_professional_

Mathias is Paul's loyal and devoted notary, managing his affairs with paternal concern.

### [Henri de Marsay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/henri_de_marsay)

_friendship_

Henri is Paul's worldly, cynical friend who offers dubious advice and represents the fashionable Parisian set.

### [Mademoiselle Natalie Evangelista](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/mademoiselle_natalie_evangelista)

_romantic_

Natalie is Paul's young, beautiful fiancée, but her affection is shallow and driven by her mother's ambition.

## In the story

### [A Marriage Settlement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/chapters/a-marriage-settlement)

Paul is the prospective groom, caught between the legal wrangling over his marriage settlement and his desire for domestic happiness. He rejects de Marsay's cynical advice, asserting his wish to live by society's rules and find emotional fulfillment.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters/paul_de_manerville
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_marriage_settlement_se/characters