# Rodolphe Boulanger — Madame Bovary character guide > Rodolphe Boulanger in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Monsieur Rodolphe Boulanger of La Huchette, Monsieur Boulanger **First appearance:** 0014-part-ii-iv ## Snapshot A wealthy landowner with polished manners and a jaded appetite, who sees in Emma's discontent an opportunity and in her feelings a game worth playing. ## Who they are Rodolphe arrives at the agricultural fair already bored with easy conquests, and Emma's restless beauty strikes him as a more interesting diversion than the local women. He speaks to her in the language of novels she has read, plucks daisies for love-oracles, and steers her away from the druggist with practiced ease. His calculated seduction gives Emma her first taste of the passion she has craved, and sets the pattern of illusion and disappointment that will define her. ## Relationships ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Rodolphe is Emma's first and most cynical lover, who seduces her out of boredom and later abandons her. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is the unwitting cuckold to Rodolphe, who secretly cuckolds him and later feigns friendship. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Rodolphe is Emma's first and most cynical lover, who seduces her out of boredom and later abandons her. ### [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary) _romantic_ Rodolphe is Emma's first and most cynical lover, who seduces her out of boredom and later abandons her. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is the unwitting cuckold to Rodolphe, who secretly cuckolds him and later feigns friendship. ### [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary) _rivalry_ Charles is the unwitting cuckold to Rodolphe, who secretly cuckolds him and later feigns friendship. ## In the story ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-vii) Makes his first appearance, arriving with a servant to be bled. He is a wealthy bachelor from La Huchette. He calmly assists when Justin faints, observing Emma closely during the commotion. ### [The Agricultural Show](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-viii) Actively seducing Emma with practiced charm, feigning world-weariness and philosophical talk of fate and irresistible attraction. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-ix) Calculatingly pursues Emma, using flattery and manufactured passion to seduce her, while already showing signs of viewing her visits as an imprudent burden. ### [The Fears and Follies of Adultery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-x) His indifference grows; he finds Emma's sentimental vows and dramatic fears (like asking about pistols) ridiculous. He views their affair as a comfortable domestic routine and is amused by cuckolding Charles in his own home. ### [The Deepening Affair and Plans for Escape](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xii) Grows impatient with Emma's intensity and sees her love as commonplace. He cynically enjoys the corruption of her innocence and agrees to plans for their flight. ### [The Letter and the Abyss](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii) His meticulously crafted, self-serving breakup letter is delivered, and his final act is to pass through Yonville in his tilbury, triggering Emma's collapse. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-iii) Not physically present, but his ghost is invoked by the boatman's description of a previous, lively passenger with small moustaches, which visibly affects Emma. ### [The Desperate Search](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-vii) The chapter ends with Emma's sudden resolve to go to La Huchette and seek his help, planning to reawaken their old affair. ### [The Final Desperation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-viii) Coldly rejects Emma's plea for money, revealing the complete hollowness of his past romantic declarations. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/chapters/part-iii-xi) Present only through the discovered letter, which reveals his past affair with Emma and his cowardly abandonment. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/rodolphe_boulanger - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters