# Don Raphael — Gil Blas character guide

> Don Raphael in Gil Blas by Alain-René Lesage.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Señor Don Raphael, Raphael

**First appearance:** 0008-v

## Snapshot

A polished, calculating nobleman whose charm and self-possession make him a dangerous foil to Gil Blas's more artless ambitions.

## Who they are

Don Raphael moves through the novel's social world with the ease of a man who has learned to wear rank as a mask. Where Gil Blas stumbles into schemes and repents at leisure, Raphael seems always a step ahead, his courtesy a tool rather than a virtue. His presence sharpens the book's running question of whether wit without conscience can ever be trusted, and gives Gil Blas a rival worth measuring himself against.

## Relationships

### [Ambrose de Lamela](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/ambrose_de_lamela)

_friendship_

Ambrose de Lamela and Don Raphael are fellow rogues and partners in crime, sharing a bond of mutual cunning and adventure.

### [Ambrose de Lamela](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/ambrose_de_lamela)

_friendship_

Ambrose de Lamela and Don Raphael are fellow rogues and partners in crime, sharing a bond of mutual cunning and adventure.

### [Ambrose de Lamela](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/characters/ambrose_de_lamela)

_friendship_

Ambrose de Lamela and Don Raphael are fellow rogues and partners in crime, sharing a bond of mutual cunning and adventure.

## In the story

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/xvi)

Camilla's brother, feigns joy at meeting Gil Blas and invites him to a country house as part of the deception.

### [History of Don Pompeyo de Castro](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/vii)

Present as a listener to Don Pompeyo's story; the chapter is framed as Don Pompeyo's tale to Don Raphael and others.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gil_blas_se/chapters/xi)

Revealed as the elder hermit; transforms from disguise and proposes a partnership, offering to lead the group and later begins narrating his adventures.

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

Narrates his own history, detailing his birth, upbringing, and early adventures.

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

Participates in the rescue and agrees to engage on either side; later consults with the group about their next destination.

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

Plays the role of the notary in the scheme.

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

Don Raphael returns from Segorba with Lamela, boasting of a new rascality, but is informed of the decision to part ways; he and Lamela later go to Segorba to attempt further schemes.

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

Now a Carthusian friar named Father Hilary, serving as bursar of the monastery after a religious conversion.

## Links

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