# Charles Forestier — Bel Ami character guide

> Charles Forestier in Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Forestier, Monsieur Forestier, Charles, poor Charles, Poor Charles

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A once-thin soldier turned stout political editor, he coughs through Paris winters and opens the door that changes his old comrade's life.

## Who they are

Forestier has traded his cavalry recklessness for a journalist's waistline and a chronic chest complaint caught at Bougival. He recognizes Duroy on the street, buys him a drink, and casually hands him a career by recommending him to the Vie Francaise. His marriage to Madeleine is a practical arrangement he seems barely to notice, and his failing health hangs over the early chapters like a slow, inevitable shadow.

## Relationships

### [George Duroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/george_duroy)

_friendship_

Charles is George's old army friend who helps him enter journalism, but George later betrays him by seducing his wife after his death.

### [Madeleine Forestier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/madeleine_forestier)

_family_

Charles and Madeleine are a married couple, but their relationship is strained by his illness and her intellectual superiority.

### [George Duroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/george_duroy)

_friendship_

Charles is George's old army friend who helps him enter journalism, but George later betrays him by seducing his wife after his death.

### [Madeleine Forestier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/madeleine_forestier)

_family_

Charles and Madeleine are a married couple, but their relationship is strained by his illness and her intellectual superiority.

### [George Duroy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/george_duroy)

_friendship_

Charles is George's old army friend who helps him enter journalism, but George later betrays him by seducing his wife after his death.

### [Madeleine Forestier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/madeleine_forestier)

_family_

Charles and Madeleine are a married couple, but their relationship is strained by his illness and her intellectual superiority.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/i)

An old friend of Duroy's, now a journalist. He is generous and offers Duroy a chance to enter journalism, giving him money for clothes and an invitation to dinner.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/ii)

Hosts the dinner, recommends Duroy to Walter, and observes the evening with his wife.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/iii)

Duroy's friend who suggests he ask Madeleine for help with the article.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/iv)

Criticizes Duroy's second article, asserting his authority as a senior journalist, and assigns Duroy to shadow Saint-Potin on interviews.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/v)

Though Duroy renders him services, Forestier now treats him as an inferior and no longer invites him to dinner.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/vi)

His health has severely declined; he is leaving for Cannes, and his death seems imminent.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/viii)

He is dying at his villa in Cannes. His body is present during Duroy's conversation with Madeleine, and his death creates the opportunity for Duroy's proposal.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as Madeleine's first husband, whose position Duroy will inherit.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/chapters/xii)

Deceased, but referenced by Duroy in a crude joke that offends Madeleine.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters/charles_forestier
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/bel_ami_se/characters