# Léon Dupuis — Madame Bovary character guide > Léon Dupuis in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Monsieur Léon, Monsieur Léon Dupuis **First appearance:** 0012-part-ii-ii ## Snapshot A young law clerk in Yonville who shares Emma's taste for moonlit sentiment and romantic phrases, but not yet the courage to act on it. ## Who they are Léon meets Emma at the inn and discovers a kindred spirit who reads the same books and sighs at the same sunsets; they talk of poetry and music while Charles dozes. He leaves for Paris to study law, and three years later returns with varnished shoes and a bolder manner, still carrying the memory of her. His timidity and her hunger make their reunion a slow, charged dance that promises the affair Emma has been rehearsing in her imagination. ## Relationships ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Léon is Emma's second lover, beginning as a timid admirer and later becoming her jaded partner in a sordid affair. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is oblivious to Léon's role as his wife's lover, even seeing him as a friend after Emma's death. ### [Monsieur Homais](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_homais) _social_ They are acquaintances in Yonville; Homais enjoys having an educated young man to converse with. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Léon is Emma's second lover, beginning as a timid admirer and later becoming her jaded partner in a sordid affair. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Léon is Emma's second lover, beginning as a timid admirer and later becoming her jaded partner in a sordid affair. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is oblivious to Léon's role as his wife's lover, even seeing him as a friend after Emma's death. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is oblivious to Léon's role as his wife's lover, even seeing him as a friend after Emma's death. ### [Monsieur Homais](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_homais) _social_ They are acquaintances in Yonville; Homais enjoys having an educated young man to converse with. ## In the story ### [Arrival in Yonville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-ii) The notary's clerk, bored in Yonville; bonds with Emma over literature, music, and dreams of travel and passion; is revealed to live above Homais's pharmacy. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-iii) Observes Emma from afar, feeling a 'vague abyss' between them. He is shy, well-bred, and cultivates talents like painting and literature. He waits hoping to see her again after their dinner conversation. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-iv) Tortured by his secret love for Emma, he gives her gifts, reads to her, and seeks excuses to be near her, but lacks the courage to declare himself. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-v) The object of Emma's obsessive fantasies; his appearance is romanticized and contrasted with Charles's. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-vi) Says a final, emotionally charged goodbye to Emma and Berthe before leaving for Paris with Homais and Guillaumin. ### [The Opera](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xv) Reappears in Rouen as a law clerk. Uses the opera meeting to re-enter Emma's life, flattering her sensibilities and orchestrating a private meeting for the next day. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-i) Now a law clerk in Rouen, more confident and worldly after his time in Paris. He actively pursues Emma, confessing his long-held love and orchestrating their meeting. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-iii) Enraptured by Emma and the romantic setting, comparing her to a vision. He is compliant with her plans but left alone and confused by her specific, urgent demand for legal authority. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-iv) Obsessively longs for Emma, neglects work, and travels to Yonville to see her; they plan a regular rendezvous during a stormy night meeting. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-v) Meets Emma at their hotel in Rouen. Their relationship is intensely passionate; he is captivated by her and feels the 'lowliness of his position' compared to her romanticized past. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-vi) Growing weary and frightened of Emma's possessiveness and the social consequences of the affair. He feels trapped and begins to see her as odd, ultimately deciding to give up his romantic ideals to focus on his career. ### [The Desperate Search](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-vii) Emma waits for him at Mère Rollet's, hoping he will bring the promised money, but he never arrives. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/leon_dupuis - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters