# Zacharie — Germinal character guide

> Zacharie in Germinal by Émile Zola.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Zacharie three

**First appearance:** 0001-germinal

## Snapshot

The Maheus' eldest son, lean and anaemic, already a father twice over by Philomène and already as resigned to the pit as his father.

## Who they are

Zacharie wakes in the crowded Maheu house, teases his sister Catherine, and trudges down the Voreux with the same dull acceptance that has bent his father's back. He has made Philomène Levaque his mistress and given her two children without marrying her, and his placid indifference to the Company's abuses marks him as the next generation of the same exhausted breed. He matters because his casual drift toward the same fate shows how the pit reproduces its own, generation after generation, without a crack of revolt.

## Relationships

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

_family_

Zacharie is Maheu's eldest son, a miner who is often lazy and irresponsible, causing friction with his father.

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

_family_

Zacharie is Maheu's eldest son, a miner who is often lazy and irresponsible, causing friction with his father.

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

_family_

Zacharie is Maheu's eldest son, a miner who is often lazy and irresponsible, causing friction with his father.

## In the story

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

The eldest son, twenty-one, who sleeps with Jeanlin and is reluctantly woken by Catherine.

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

Part of the work crew, descends with Étienne and Maheu.

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

A pikeman who is weakened by a previous night's spree and pretends to need timbering to rest. He directs Étienne to hand up wood for support.

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

Zacharie is seen joking with Mouquet about visiting the Volcan, highlighting the miners' escapism.

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

Eats soup and butter, bathes after Jeanlin, and is part of the family routine.

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

Zacharie persuades Philoméne to give him money, claiming a debt, and plans to go to the Volcan with Mouquet.

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

Attends the meeting for fun, joking with Mouquet.

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

Zacharie hustles Étienne and mocks him, reflecting the general hostility.

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

Sobs alongside Maheude at the disaster.

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

Volunteers for rescue work; dies in a second firedamp explosion, his body burned beyond recognition.

## Links

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