# Bonnemort — Germinal character guide

> Bonnemort in Germinal by Émile Zola.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Bonnemort, Father Bonnemort, Father, Old Bonnemort

**First appearance:** 0001-germinal

## Snapshot

The Maheus' ancient father, a retired miner with swollen legs and black phlegm, who has spent fifty years underground and cannot stop returning to the pit.

## Who they are

He sits on benches at the pit-mouth and in the settlement, a silent earthy figure whose body is a catalogue of the mine's slow injuries. When the women hurl stones at the Grégoires' villa, he watches the boys with their slings and says nothing, his old Flemish blood heavy and patient like the crowd's. His ruined lungs and unreadable face give the novel its deepest memory of what the colliers have already paid.

## Relationships

### [Toussaint Maheu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/toussaint_maheu)

_family_

Bonnemort is Maheu's elderly father, a retired miner who lives with the family and represents the legacy of mining suffering.

### [Étienne Lantier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/etienne_lantier)

_social_

Bonnemort is an elderly miner who first encounters Étienne and shares grim tales of mining life, setting the novel's tone.

### [Toussaint Maheu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/toussaint_maheu)

_family_

Bonnemort is Maheu's elderly father, a retired miner who lives with the family and represents the legacy of mining suffering.

### [Étienne Lantier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/etienne_lantier)

_social_

Bonnemort is an elderly miner who first encounters Étienne and shares grim tales of mining life, setting the novel's tone.

### [Étienne Lantier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/etienne_lantier)

_social_

Bonnemort is an elderly miner who first encounters Étienne and shares grim tales of mining life, setting the novel's tone.

### [Toussaint Maheu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/toussaint_maheu)

_family_

Bonnemort is Maheu's elderly father, a retired miner who lives with the family and represents the legacy of mining suffering.

## In the story

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

An old carman at the Voreux, nicknamed for surviving multiple mining accidents; describes the region's poverty and the mine's operations.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-i-ii)

Mentioned as the grandfather, whom Maheu resembles; he also works and contributes to the family income.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

Rises late and grumbles about the lack of soup; eats his potatoes in silence.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-ii-v)

Bonnemort sits with old Mouque at Réquillart, reminiscing about the past, and later leaves.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-iii-iii)

Represents the older generation's resignation, believing masters will always exist and that thinking about change is futile.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-iii-iv)

Claims he can still work despite his legs, hoping to keep his pension.

### [The Delegation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-iv-ii)

Offers cynical wisdom from past strikes, predicting that the Company will not yield.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-iv-v)

Old Bonnemort greedily eats the potatoes and supports the call to go to Vandame, recalling the old rallying cry.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-iv-vii)

Recalls past strikes and suffering, adding a historical perspective to the current struggle.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-v-ii)

Mentioned in Catherine's recollection of his stories about past mining dangers.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-v-vi)

Bonnemort sits on a bench with Mouque, watching the violence with an earthy, silent expression.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-vi-ii)

Sits immobile like an old twisted tree, spitting into the cold grate; a silent witness to the family's decline.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-vi-v)

Appears motionless at the top of the slope near the settlement, leaning on his stick against the rust-coloured sky.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/chapters/part-vii-ii)

Asleep and snoring in the room.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters/bonnemort
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/germinal_se/characters