# Blanche — Gil Blas character guide

> Blanche in Gil Blas by Alain-René Lesage.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the unfortunate Blanche, the wretched Blanche, Lovely Blanche

**First appearance:** 0009-vi

## Snapshot

A young woman whose beauty and misfortune make her a pawn in the schemes of others, and a test of Gil Blas's better instincts.

## Who they are

Blanche is repeatedly described as unfortunate and wretched, a girl whose innocence is shadowed by the machinations of family honor and predatory men. Her vulnerability exposes the cruelty lurking beneath the polished surfaces of Spanish society, and her fate weighs on Gil Blas's conscience as he climbs. She matters because she shows what the novel's world does to those who cannot scheme back.

## Relationships

### [Prince Enriquez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/prince_enriquez)

_romantic_

Blanche and Prince Enriquez are secret lovers, their romance threatened by court politics and family opposition.

### [Leontio Siffredi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/leontio_siffredi)

_rivalry_

Blanche and Leontio Siffredi are adversaries, as Leontio's schemes threaten her relationship with Prince Enriquez.

### [Leontio Siffredi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/leontio_siffredi)

_rivalry_

Blanche and Leontio Siffredi are adversaries, as Leontio's schemes threaten her relationship with Prince Enriquez.

### [Prince Enriquez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/prince_enriquez)

_romantic_

Blanche and Prince Enriquez are secret lovers, their romance threatened by court politics and family opposition.

### [Prince Enriquez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/prince_enriquez)

_romantic_

Blanche and Prince Enriquez are secret lovers, their romance threatened by court politics and family opposition.

### [Leontio Siffredi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/leontio_siffredi)

_rivalry_

Blanche and Leontio Siffredi are adversaries, as Leontio's schemes threaten her relationship with Prince Enriquez.

## In the story

### [The Fatal Marriage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/iv)

The protagonist of the embedded tale, forced into marriage with the constable while pining for Prince Enriquez.

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

Mentioned as the mother of Gil Blas; she cares for her dying husband and paralyzed brother-in-law, and later negotiates her independence.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/blanche
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters