# Mademoiselle De Lafontaine — Short Fiction character guide

> Mademoiselle De Lafontaine in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mademoiselle De Lafontaine, Mademoiselle De, Mademoiselle, the vivacious Mademoiselle Lafontaine

**First appearance:** 0078-carmilla

## Snapshot

The vivacious governess whose bright, watchful presence in the schloss makes her both a comfort and a puzzle to those around her.

## Who they are

In the cloistered world of the Karnstein household, Mademoiselle De Lafontaine is the lively, sociable counterweight to her more reserved companions, moving easily between the drawing-room and the schoolroom. Her cheerfulness masks an attentiveness that catches details others miss, and her position as an outsider within the family gives her a peculiar vantage on its strange rhythms. As the early days at the schloss unfold, her observations and easy manner help establish the ordinary texture of life against which the uncanny begins to press.

## In the story

### [I: An Early Fright](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-an-early-fright)

The finishing governess who is part of the small household at the castle.

### [II: A Guest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ii-a-guest)

One of the governesses, who speaks of the moon's mystical and magnetic influences.

### [III: We Compare Notes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iii-we-compare-notes)

One of the ladies present; she describes a hideous black woman in the carriage and advises against approaching Carmilla too soon.

### [VI: A Very Strange Agony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vi-a-very-strange-agony)

Mademoiselle De Lafontaine joins the family for a card party after the morning's events.

### [VII: Descending](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vii-descending)

Vivacious companion who laughs at the narrator's story but mentions the haunted lime-tree walk.

### [Search](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/viii-search)

Participates in the search and later leaves to fetch valerian and sal-volatile.

### [A Petition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/xii-a-petition)

The narrator, who recounts the events and agrees to care for Millarca.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/mademoiselle_de_lafontaine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters