# Don Matthias de Silva — Gil Blas character guide

> Don Matthias de Silva in Gil Blas by Alain-René Lesage.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Don Matthias, Señor Don Matthias, Silva

**First appearance:** 0014-xi

## Snapshot

A young nobleman whose duels and romantic escapades make him both a dazzling companion and a cautionary tale for Gil Blas.

## Who they are

Don Matthias moves through Salamanca's night streets with the careless confidence of a man who has never had to earn his place. His friendships are warm, his sword is quick, and his judgment is unreliable — a combination that repeatedly drags Gil Blas into scrapes not of his own making. He matters because he shows how noble birth without discipline produces charm that costs everyone around it.

## In the story

### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/book-i)

Wealthy young master in Madrid who hires Gil Blas and leads a life of dissipation.

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

A fashionable young nobleman who hires Gil Blas; engages in reckless borrowing.

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

Gil Blas's master; participates in the dinner party mocking the citizen Gregorio de Noriega.

### [Gil Blas becomes the darling of the fair sex, and makes an interesting acquaintance.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/v)

Gil Blas's master; a gambler who wins at tennis and gives Gil Blas a ducat for entertainment, later goes to sup at Arsenia's.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/vi)

Gil Blas's master; joins the party and participates in the theatrical critique.

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

Gil Blas's master; fabricates love letters and is killed in a duel with Don Lope de Velasco.

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

Mentioned as having died, leading to Gil Blas's departure from his previous service.

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/i)

Gil Blas's former master; his steward helps Gil Blas find a new position.

## Links

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