# Lirat — Calvary character guide

> Lirat in Calvary by Octave Mirbeau.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Monsieur Lirat, Joseph Lirat, Friend Lirat

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A painter who has abandoned painting, a friend whose blunt judgments about Juliette haunt the narrator long after the wine is gone.

## Who they are

Lirat receives the narrator with open arms and cabbage soup, then launches into tirades against Rembrandt, Velázquez, and the whole fraudulent business of art. He is the one who first plants the suspicion that Juliette's past is dishonorable, making her a martyr in the narrator's fevered imagination. His restless, mocking intelligence gives the novel its counterweight to romantic delusion, and his friendship will prove as unstable as everything else.

## Relationships

### [Juliette Roux](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/juliette_roux)

_rivalry_

Juliette Roux and Lirat are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, possibly over the Unknown.

### [My Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/my_mother)

_rivalry_

Lirat and My Mother are adversaries, possibly competing for influence over the Unknown or the family.

### [My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/my_father)

_rivalry_

Lirat and My Father are in conflict, likely over family loyalty or control of resources.

### [Juliette Roux](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/juliette_roux)

_rivalry_

Juliette Roux and Lirat are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, possibly over the Unknown.

### [My Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/my_mother)

_rivalry_

Lirat and My Mother are adversaries, possibly competing for influence over the Unknown or the family.

### [My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/my_father)

_rivalry_

Lirat and My Father are in conflict, likely over family loyalty or control of resources.

### [My Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/my_mother)

_rivalry_

Lirat and My Mother are adversaries, possibly competing for influence over the Unknown or the family.

### [Juliette Roux](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/juliette_roux)

_rivalry_

Juliette Roux and Lirat are locked in a tense, antagonistic struggle, possibly over the Unknown.

## In the story

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

Lirat reveals Juliette's identity and her scandalous behavior, delivers a passionate and misogynistic tirade about the destructive power of women over artists, and becomes agitated and angry during the conversation.

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

Receives the narrator warmly for dinner; expresses disdain for painting and plans to give it up.

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

Lirat is mentioned as the artist of two sketches the narrator wanted to hang, but Juliette dislikes them. The narrator hides them away, and Juliette later suggests he visit Lirat.

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

Lirat listens to the narrator's confession and urges him to cure himself, reminding him of his artistic potential.

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

Mentioned as a past guest of Mother Le Gannec, known for his liveliness and appetite.

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

Arrives at Juliette's house with her; the narrator confronts him in shock and anger.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters/lirat
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/calvary_se/characters