# Coralie — Lost Illusions character guide

> Coralie in Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mlle Camusot, Camusot

**First appearance:** 0003-part-ii-a-distinguished-provincial-at-paris

## Snapshot

A young actress whose beauty and generosity make her Lucien's refuge in Paris, even as her love becomes the most expensive thing he owns.

## Who they are

Coralie belongs to the demimonde of the theatre, where a woman's talent is secondary to her protector's wealth, and she gives Lucien everything she has: her income, her apartment, her unquestioning adoration. She is the anti-Madame de Bargeton: no pedigree, no pretension, no calculation, only a heart that does not know how to hold back. Her devotion exposes the hollowness of Lucien's aristocratic ambitions, and her fate is the novel's sharpest rebuke to the world that consumes her.

## Relationships

### [Lucien Chardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/characters/lucien_chardon)

_romantic_

Coralie is Lucien's devoted lover and actress mistress, sacrificing her career and health for his ambitions.

### [Lucien Chardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/characters/lucien_chardon)

_romantic_

Coralie is Lucien's devoted lover and actress mistress, sacrificing her career and health for his ambitions.

### [Lucien Chardon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/characters/lucien_chardon)

_romantic_

Coralie is Lucien's devoted lover and actress mistress, sacrificing her career and health for his ambitions.

## In the story

### [Part II: A Distinguished Provincial at Paris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/chapters/part-ii-a-distinguished-provincial-at-paris)

Actress who becomes Lucien's mistress, supports his social rise, but her career and relationship are threatened by enemies.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/characters/coralie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lost_illusions_se/characters