# Les Misérables — Character guide

> Key figures in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

- [Jean Valjean](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/jean_valjean.md): Once branded by the galleys, he rises in Montreuil-sur-Mer as Monsieur Madeleine, a factory owner whose charity no one can quite explain. His strange hesitation before any violence, even against himself, marks a man divi
- [Marius Pontmercy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/marius_pontmercy.md): Raised in his grandfather Gillenormand's drawing room, Marius discovers too late that his father was a Bonapartist colonel, and the revelation splits his inheritance from his heart. Absent-minded enough to be erased from
- [Cosette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/cosette.md): The child who once swept inn floors and feared the dark becomes Mademoiselle Euphrasie Fauchelevent, raised in a convent and adored by the old man she calls Father. When she learns he is only a kinsman, the news barely d
- [Javert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/javert.md): Born in a jail and risen through the ranks, Javert treats vagrants as vermin and his own instincts as scripture. He watches Madeleine with an eye full of suspicion, investigating old traces and muttering that he has foun
- [Fantine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/fantin.md): Abandoned with a child she leaves in the Thénardiers' care, Fantine sews through bitter winters while their letters demand more and more money. When they threaten to turn little Cosette into the cold, she sells what rema
- [Gavroche](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/gavroche.md): Gavroche lives by his wits in the gutters of Paris, mocking drunks, stoning lanterns, and belting bawdy songs to empty streets. He is the Thénardiers' cast-off son, though he knows nothing of it, and his fearlessness mak
- [Thénardier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/thenardier.md): At his Montfermeil inn he takes in Fantine's child as a boarder and promptly converts her into an unpaid servant, billing her mother for imaginary illnesses. He is a man of appetites — for money, for leverage, for the sm
- [Madame Thénardier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madame_thenardier.md): Where her husband calculates, Madame Thénardier simply resents: Cosette is the drudge of the house, fed scraps and sent barefoot into the dark while Éponine and Azelma are dressed up like little ladies. She is a woman of
- [Éponine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/eponine.md): She grows up ragged in Paris while her parents run their cons and her younger siblings run wild, and she knows the city's underside the way other girls know a piano. Her love for Marius is hopeless and unsentimental — sh
- [Enjolras](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/enjolras.md): He is the soul of the barricade before there is a barricade: a leader who commands by purity rather than volume, and who treats the coming revolution as a matter of logic and duty. His severity is almost priestly — he ha
- [M. Mabeuf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mabeuf.md): Once a churchwarden with a respectable income, M. Mabeuf now tends a patch of indigo and lives on almost nothing, too proud to accept the charity his neighbors offer. He is gentle, bookish, and utterly unworldly, and his
- [Father Fauchelevent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/fauchelevent.md): He is a plain man of the old school — suspicious of the new mayor at first, then fiercely loyal once he understands who lifted the cart off him. When Valjean needs a hiding place for himself and Cosette, Fauchelevent is 
- [M. Gillenormand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/gillenormand.md): Gillenormand presides over a household of wigs, wit, and Bourbon nostalgia, where Marius is fed, dressed, and largely ignored between meals. When the boy begins vanishing, the old man shrugs it off as gallantry, mistakin
- [Monseigneur Bienvenu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/myriel.md): In a diocese of mountain hamlets and muddy roads, Bienvenu walks, carts, or rides an ass to reach every cure and chapel, scandalizing mayors who expect episcopal pomp. He argues not with doctrine but with neighboring vil
- [Grantaire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/grantaire.md): A cynical, drunken student revolutionary and friend of Enjolras.
- [Courfeyrac](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/courfeyrac.md): A cheerful student revolutionary and close friend of Marius.
- [Combeferre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/combeferre.md): A thoughtful, philosophical student revolutionary and second-in-command to Enjolras.
- [Feuilly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/feuilly.md): A working-class student revolutionary and passionate republican.
- [Bossuet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/bossuet.md): A cheerful, unlucky student revolutionary and friend of the group.
- [Joly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/joly.md): A hypochondriac medical student and revolutionary.
- [Bahorel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/bahorel.md): A dandyish student revolutionary with a taste for adventure.
- [Jean Prouvaire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/jean_prouvaire.md): A poetic student revolutionary who dies at the barricade.
- [Montparnasse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/montparnasse.md): A young, elegant member of the Patron-Minette criminal gang.
- [Babet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/babet.md): A member of the Patron-Minette criminal gang.
- [Gueulemer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/gueulemer.md): A strong, brutish member of the Patron-Minette gang.
- [Claquesous](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/claquesous.md): A masked member of the Patron-Minette gang who also works as a spy.
- [Brujon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/brujon.md): A young, cunning member of the Patron-Minette gang.
- [Azelma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/azelma.md): The younger daughter of the Thénardiers.
- [Tholomyès](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/tholomyes.md): Fantine's wealthy, callous lover who abandons her.
- [Favorite](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/favorite.md): One of Fantine's friends in Paris, a grisette.
- [Dahlia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/dahlia.md): One of Fantine's friends in Paris, a grisette.
- [Zéphine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/zephine.md): One of Fantine's friends in Paris, a grisette.
- [Blachevelle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/blachevelle.md): One of Tholomyès's friends, a student.
- [Listolier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/listolier.md): One of Tholomyès's friends, a student.
- [Fameuil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/fameuil.md): One of Tholomyès's friends, a student.
- [Madame Magloire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madame_magloire.md): The Bishop of Digne's devoted housekeeper.
- [Mademoiselle Baptistine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mademoiselle_baptistine.md): The Bishop of Digne's gentle, pious sister.
- [Little Gervais](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/little_gervais.md): A young Savoyard boy from whom Jean Valjean steals a coin.
- [Champmathieu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/champmathieu.md): A poor man mistakenly arrested as Jean Valjean.
- [Madame Victurnien](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madame_victurnien.md): A gossipy woman who exposes Fantine's past, leading to her dismissal.
- [Sister Simplice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/sister_simplice.md): A nun who nurses Fantine and later helps Jean Valjean.
- [Mademoiselle Gillenormand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mademoiselle_gillenormand.md): Marius's spinster aunt who lives with his grandfather.
- [Théodule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/theodule.md): Marius's cousin, a vain and shallow officer.
- [Basque](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/basque.md): The Gillenormand family's loyal valet.
- [Nicolette](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/nicolette.md): The Gillenormand family's maid.
- [Toussaint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/toussaint.md): Jean Valjean and Cosette's loyal servant in Paris.
- [Boulatruelle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/boulatruelle.md): A former road-mender turned suspicious peasant in Montfermeil.
- [Father Mestienne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mestienne.md): The gravedigger at Père-Lachaise who helps Fauchelevent.
- [Gribier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/gribier.md): The gravedigger who replaces Mestienne at the convent.
- [Mother Crucifixion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mother_crucifixion.md): The prioress of the Petit-Picpus convent.
- [Mother Ascension](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mother_ascension.md): A nun at the Petit-Picpus convent.
- [Sister Euphrasie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/sister_euphrasie.md): A nun at the Petit-Picpus convent.
- [Marguerite](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/marguerite.md): A kind neighbor who helps Fantine in Montreuil-sur-Mer.
- [Master Scaufflaire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/scaufflaire.md): A coachman who rents Jean Valjean a carriage.
- [Brevet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/brevet.md): A former convict who testifies at Champmathieu's trial.
- [Chenildieu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/chenildieu.md): A former convict who testifies at Champmathieu's trial.
- [Cochepaille](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/cochepaille.md): A former convict who testifies at Champmathieu's trial.
- [Ma'am Bougon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madame_bougon.md): The miserly landlady of the Gorbeau tenement where Marius lives.
- [Mother Plutarque](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mother_plutarque.md): M. Mabeuf's elderly housekeeper.
- [Father Hucheloup](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/hucheloup.md): The owner of the Corinthe café, a meeting place for revolutionaries.
- [Gibelotte](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/gibelotte.md): A waitress at the Corinthe café.
- [Matelote](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/matelote.md): A waitress at the Corinthe café.
- [Le Cabuc](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/le_cabuc.md): A violent man at the barricade who is executed by Enjolras.
- [The Magnon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/magnon.md): A woman who falsely claims to be the mother of the Thénardiers' sons.
- [Georges Pontmercy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/pontmercy_georges.md): Marius's father, a heroic colonel under Napoleon.
- [M. Bamatabois](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/bamatabois.md): A dandy who harasses Fantine on the street.
- [Laffitte](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/laffitte.md): The banker who holds Jean Valjean's fortune.
- [M. Madeleine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madeleine.md): The alias Jean Valjean uses as mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer.
- [M. Leblanc](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/leblanc.md): The alias Jean Valjean uses in Paris while living with Cosette.
- [Madame Albertine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/madame_albertine.md): A neighbor of the Jondrette family.
- [Ursule](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/ursule.md): The name Marius gives to Cosette before he knows her real name.
- [Panchaud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/panchaud.md): A member of the Patron-Minette gang.
- [Mademoiselle Vaubois](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mademoiselle_vaubois.md): A friend of Mademoiselle Gillenormand.
- [Mademoiselle Bouchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters/mademoiselle_bouchard.md): A woman who lives in the Gorbeau tenement.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/les_miserables_se/characters