# Eugénie Grandet — Eugénie Grandet character guide

> Eugénie Grandet in Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mlle. Grandet, Mademoiselle Eugénie, Eugénie, Cousin Eugénie, Mademoiselle Grandet

**First appearance:** 0001-eug-nie-grandet

## Snapshot

Sheltered beneath her father's locked coffers, she has a heart no miser could audit—loyal, devout, and dangerously capable of loving without reserve.

## Who they are

Raised in a silent, candle-counted house in Saumur, Eugénie knows little of the world beyond her mother's prayers and Nanon's kitchen. When her Parisian cousin Charles arrives, her untested generosity and her father's frozen parsimony collide, and she begins to discover what her own heart is worth. Her quiet awakening gives the novel its moral center, measuring the cost of devotion against the arithmetic of greed.

## Relationships

### [Charles Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/charles_grandet)

_romantic_

Cousins who share a passionate but ultimately doomed romance, with Charles abandoning Eugénie for social advancement.

### [Félix Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/felix_grandet)

_family_

Daughter and miserly father, a relationship defined by Félix's emotional and financial control over Eugénie.

### [Cruchot de Bonfons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/cruchot_de_bonfons)

_romantic_

A calculating suitor who pursues Eugénie for her inheritance, eventually marrying her in a cold, transactional union.

### [Alphonse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/alphonse)

_romantic_

A minor suitor who shows genuine interest in Eugénie but is ultimately rejected in favor of her cousin.

### [Charles Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/charles_grandet)

_romantic_

Cousins who share a passionate but ultimately doomed romance, with Charles abandoning Eugénie for social advancement.

### [Cruchot de Bonfons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/cruchot_de_bonfons)

_romantic_

A calculating suitor who pursues Eugénie for her inheritance, eventually marrying her in a cold, transactional union.

### [Félix Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/felix_grandet)

_family_

Daughter and miserly father, a relationship defined by Félix's emotional and financial control over Eugénie.

### [Charles Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/charles_grandet)

_romantic_

Cousins who share a passionate but ultimately doomed romance, with Charles abandoning Eugénie for social advancement.

### [Cruchot de Bonfons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/cruchot_de_bonfons)

_romantic_

A calculating suitor who pursues Eugénie for her inheritance, eventually marrying her in a cold, transactional union.

### [Alphonse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/alphonse)

_romantic_

A minor suitor who shows genuine interest in Eugénie but is ultimately rejected in favor of her cousin.

### [Félix Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/felix_grandet)

_family_

Daughter and miserly father, a relationship defined by Félix's emotional and financial control over Eugénie.

## In the story

### [Eugénie Grandet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/chapters/eug-nie-grandet)

Inherits her father's fortune after his death; has been managing the estates for years; remains devoted to her father and the memory of Charles.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters/eugenie_grandet
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/eugenie_grandet_se/characters