The Celibates · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Celibates by Honoré de Balzac.
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Philippe Bridau
major
Also known as Louis Philippe, Captain Philippe, Colonel Philippe, the Colonel, Philippe Bridau, The widow Bridau
Philippe is the elder Bridau son, a dashing cavalry officer whose battlefield heroics mask a cold, calculating appetite for money and pleasure. His mother Agathe adores him blindly, while his honest brother Joseph sees the rot beneath the uniform. As debts and ambition mount, Philippe's schemes begin to pull the entire Bridau household toward ruin, making him the engine of the novel's central conflict between loyalty and self-interest.
Pierrette Lorrain
major
Also known as Pierrette, Lorrain, old Lorrain, pretty little Pierrette, little Pierrette Lorrain
Pierrette arrives in Provins as a trusting girl of nearly fourteen, still dreaming of the hamlet of Pen-Hoël and the boy Jacques Brigaut who once rowed her across a pond. Her aunt Sylvie and uncle Rogron resent every franc spent on her, and their petty tyranny slowly grinds her down. Her helplessness exposes the moral rot hidden beneath provincial respectability, and her fate becomes the moral center of the novel's darkest thread.
Sylvie Rogron
major
Also known as Mademoiselle Rogron, old Rogron, Mademoiselle Sylvie Rogron, Sylvie Rogron, Rogron, Rogron junior, Mademoiselle Sylvie
Sylvie Rogron has spent her life hoarding coins and nursing grievances, and her sudden inheritance has only sharpened her suspicion of everyone around her. When her niece Pierrette arrives, Sylvie's resentment curdles into active cruelty, disguised as thrift and piety. Her vigilant ear catches every whispered song and secret visit, and her willingness to punish the child for the smallest joy drives the novel's most harrowing passages.
Joseph Bridau
major
Also known as Joseph, Bridau, Dear Joseph, Poor Joseph, little Adolphine, old Hochon
Joseph Bridau is the younger son, a shabby, hardworking artist whose talent is dismissed by his mother and exploited by his brother Philippe. He pours himself into painting while the family fortune is squandered around him, and his quiet decency makes him the moral counterweight to Philippe's scheming. His struggle to be recognized — as an artist and as a son — anchors the novel's meditation on merit versus favoritism.
Agathe Rouget
major
Also known as Agathe, charming Agathe Rouget, Bridau, Agathe Rouget, Rouget, old Rouget, little Bridau, the pious Agathe
Agathe Rouget, daughter of the scheming Doctor Rouget, has carried the wounds of her father's rejection into a lifelong hunger for love and piety. She adores Philippe with a fervor that borders on idolatry, while overlooking the steady, unglamorous worth of her younger son Joseph. Her inability to see her favorite child clearly makes her both a victim and an unwitting accomplice in the family's slow destruction.
Max Gilet
major
Also known as Maximilian the First, Max, Max Gilet, Gilet
Max Gilet is a charismatic, violent veteran who has made himself the unofficial king of Issoudun's taverns and back alleys. As the lover of the beautiful servant Flore Brazier, he holds quiet sway over the feeble-minded Jean-Jacques Rouget and his estate. His cold calculation and readiness for violence make him a formidable adversary to anyone — like Philippe Bridau — who dares challenge his grip on the Rouget inheritance.
Abbé Birotteau
major
Also known as the Abbé Birotteau, The Abbé Birotteau, Birotteau, the Abbé, Abbé Birotteau, poor Birotteau
Birotteau is a short, apoplectic abbé of sixty who has spent years coveting his friend Chapeloud's rooms and library, a longing he never dares translate into action. His good heart and narrow intellect leave him defenseless when the household around him begins to close in, and his simple wish for comfort becomes the wedge that others use against him. His patient suffering gives the Tours story its quiet, devastating center.
Flore Brazier
major
Also known as Mademoiselle Flore Brazier, Flore Brazier, Flore, Mademoiselle Brazier, the fair Flore, Brazier, uncle Brazier, Dear little Flore
Flore Brazier shares a house in Issoudun with her brother and rules over the timid Jean-Jacques Rouget, whose fortune she intends to secure. Her hard features and business smile conceal a vulgar cunning that the townspeople mistake for good nature, while her grip on her master tightens with every year. She embodies the novel's warning about self-interest dressed as domestic loyalty.
Madame Descoings
supporting
Also known as Descoings, the luckless Descoings, the Descoings, the departed Descoings, Madame, old Madame Descoings
Madame Descoings is the devoted second wife of the grocer Descoings, whose devotion to her and to her Bridau relatives survives his execution during the Terror. Her passion for the lottery and her open-handed kindness make her both a comic and a tender figure, but her improvidence leaves the family vulnerable. She matters because her warmth and her weakness together shape the Bridau children's precarious fortunes.
Jean-Jacques Rouget
supporting
Also known as Jean - Jacques Rouget, Rouget, Jean - Jacques, Jacques, poor Rouget, Jean, old Rouget
Jean-Jacques Rouget is the son of the notorious Doctor Rouget, a man so stupid and so coddled that he never learned to respect his mother or manage his own affairs. His father kept him unmarried for reasons the story will unfold, and his passivity leaves him entirely in the hands of his servant Flore. He is the still, dull center around which the ambitions of Issoudun turn.
Jacques Brigaut
supporting
Also known as Brigaut, Jacques Brigaut, Jacques, Poor Brigaut, the terrible Brigaut
Jacques Brigaut is a poor Breton youth, Pierrette Lorrain's childhood companion from the hamlet of Pen-Hoël, whose blue jacket and furze branch she recognizes from her window. His love is patient and heroic in its simplicity, and his arrival in Provins becomes the one bright event in her imprisoned days. He represents the loyalty and warmth that the Bachelors' household has stripped from her life.
Abbé Troubert
supporting
Also known as Abbé, The Abbé Troubert, The Abbé, the Abbé Troubert, Troubert, Abbé Troubert, pole Troubert
Troubert is the austere, calculating ecclesiastic who shares the household at Tours and watches Birotteau's small comforts with silent envy. Where Birotteau is naive and warm, Troubert is disciplined and implacable, and his ambition moves through the drawing rooms of Tours without ever showing its hand. He is the quiet engine of the domestic tragedy that gives the story its sting.
Mademoiselle Sophie Gamard
supporting
Also known as Mademoiselle Gamard, Sophie Gamard, the aforenamed Sophie Gamard, the said Sophie Gamard, Sophie, the late Sophie Gamard
Mademoiselle Sophie Gamard presides over a respectable household in Tours where the clergy board and every courtesy is tallied like a debt. Her favor curdles into resentment when the lodger she hoped to keep, the Abbé Birotteau, fails to honor her expectations, and her wounded vanity hardens into a campaign of petty persecution. She matters because her domestic war exposes how much cruelty can hide behind rosaries, rent receipts, and the social power of a wronged old maid.
Monsieur Hochon
supporting
Also known as Hochon, old Hochon, worthy Monsieur Hochon
Monsieur Hochon belongs to the small circle of Issoudun notables whose silence is strategic and whose advice is rarely free. He balances a reputation for probity against a deep instinct for self-preservation, especially where the Rouget fortune and the town's schemers are concerned. His wary observations help frame the novel's early portrait of a provincial society where money, marriage, and inheritance are the real religion.
Madame Hochon
supporting
Also known as Madame Hochon, Hochon, good Madame Hochon, old Madame Hochon, Madame, old Hochon
Madame Hochon is the godmother and fragile protector of Pierrette, offering the girl what warmth she can within the limits of her age, her husband's caution, and provincial decorum. Her compassion puts her at odds with the Rogrons' calculated harshness, yet her power to intervene is painfully small. She matters because her helpless tenderness sharpens the novel's indictment of those who abuse the weak while claiming respectability.
Maxence Gilet
supporting
Also known as Maxence Gilet, Gilet, Maxence, Monsieur Gilet, Monsieur Maxence, Monsieur Maxence Gilet
Maxence Gilet dominates the idle young men of Issoudun through bravado, generosity, and a talent for making vice look like glamour. He lives by his wits off the town's wealthiest households, especially the Rouget family, while cultivating a popularity that masks his predatory self-interest. His rise matters because he embodies the novel's fear that military daring, once loosed from the battlefield, becomes a private war against inheritance, family, and law.
Old Fario
supporting
Also known as Old Fario, Fario, good old Fario, And Fario
Old Fario is a hardworking outsider in Issoudun, respected for his industry but vulnerable because he lacks the town's protective networks of kinship and influence. When Gilet's predatory tricks destroy his livelihood, Fario's grief and rage turn him into a determined enemy rather than a passive victim. He matters because his suffering gives a human face to the collateral damage of provincial intrigue and sets a quiet counterweight to the novel's glamorous rogues.
Bixiou
supporting
Also known as Bixiou, little Bixiou, Comte Bixiou, Thus Bixiou
Bixiou moves through Parisian studios and salons as a satirical observer, loyal enough to his circle but never sentimental about its illusions. His sharp tongue and social intelligence make him both entertaining and dangerous, especially to those who mistake his mockery for mere frivolity. He matters because his voice supplies the novel's worldly counterpoint, measuring the gap between ambition and achievement in a society that rewards appearance over substance.
Madame Tiphaine
supporting
Also known as Madame Tiphaine, Tiphaine, Pretty Madame Tiphaine, Mademoiselle de Chargeboeuf, the Tiphaine, the beautiful Mademoiselle de Chargeboeuf, de Chargeboeuf
Married to the town's presiding judge and descended from the old nobility, Madame Tiphaine commands the salon that defines respectable opinion in Provins, setting her polished circle squarely against the Rogron faction. Her beauty and social authority make her both an ornament and a weapon, and the quiet war between her set and the upstarts sharpens every gathering. She matters because the battle for Provins is fought as much through invitations and alliances as through lawsuits, and her favor decides which side the town calls respectable.
Colonel Gouraud
supporting
Also known as Colonel Gouraud, Gouraud, The Colonel, the Colonel, Colonel
Gouraud is a retired military man whose rough manners and appetite for pleasure make him a fixture in the Rogron household, where his attentions to Sylvie carry an unmistakable financial scent. His blunt, campaigning practicality clashes with the pious pretensions around him, and his interest in the aging spinster is never quite separable from her money. He matters because his courtship becomes one of the levers by which the Rogrons' circle tightens its grip on the family fortune, turning affection into a transaction.
Vinet
supporting
Also known as Vinet, Madame Vinet, the wily Vinet, the abominable Vinet, Madame
Vinet is an ambitious attorney who wields religion and royalist politics as instruments of influence, attaching himself to the Rogron party while quietly calculating every advantage. His cold intelligence and unscrupulous tongue make him far more formidable than the clients he serves, and his wife's salon extends his reach into the town's social fabric. He matters because he embodies the novel's vision of provincial scheming, where law, faith, and faction are all weapons in the pursuit of money and power.
Abbé Chapeloud
minor
Also known as the Abbé Chapeloud, The late Abbé Chapeloud, The Abbé Chapeloud, Chapeloud, the venerated Abbé Chapeloud
Deceased priest whose comfortable apartment becomes a source of conflict.
Desroches
supporting
Also known as Desroches senior, Desroches, the harsh Desroches, The younger Desroches, young Desroches, Monsieur Desroches, old Desroches
Desroches is the attorney the Bridau family turns to when money and inheritance turn into battlegrounds, a man whose harsh realism cuts through both sentiment and self-deception. He respects no one's illusions, least of all his clients', and his advice is as bracing as it is unwelcome. He matters because the novel's conflicts repeatedly come down to law and money, and Desroches is the instrument by which Balzac shows how justice is bought, delayed, and survived in post-Napoleonic France.
Madame Rogron
minor
Also known as Madame Rogron, Rogron, old Madame Rogron
Deceased mother of Sylvie and Denis Rogron.
Mariette
minor
Also known as Mariette
Dancer and mistress of Philippe Bridau in Paris.
La Védie
minor
Also known as La Védie, la Védie, Védie
Servant of Sylvie Rogron who helps mistreat Pierrette.
Céleste Habert
minor
Also known as Mademoiselle Habert, Céleste Habert, Céleste, Mademoiselle Céleste Habert, Habert
Spinster who hopes to marry Joseph Bridau.
Mademoiselle Salomon de Villenoix
minor
Also known as Mademoiselle Salomon de Villenoix, Mademoiselle Salomon, Mademoiselle de Villenoix
Wealthy heiress who marries Philippe Bridau.
Monsieur de Bourbonne
minor
Also known as Monsieur de Bourbonne, Bourbonne
Old nobleman who observes society in Provins.
Madame Rouget
minor
Also known as Madame Rouget, the wily Rouget, Rouget, old Rouget
Deceased mother of Jean-Jacques and Agathe, who controlled the family fortune.
Fanchette
minor
Also known as Fanchette, old Fanchette
Old servant in the Rogron household.
Monsieur Auffray
minor
Also known as Monsieur Auffray, old Auffray, Auffray
Doctor who attends to Pierrette during her illness.
Denis Rogron
minor
Also known as Denis Rogron, Rogron, Denis
Brother of Sylvie, weak and dominated by his sister.
Major Potel
minor
Also known as Major Potel, Potel
Old soldier and friend of Max Gilet in Issoudun.
Florentine
minor
Also known as Florentine, Mademoiselle Florentine
Actress and mistress of Philippe Bridau.
Bathilde de Chargeboeuf
minor
Also known as Mademoiselle Bathilde de Chargeboeuf, Bathilde, Mademoiselle Bathilde, Mademoiselle de Chargeboeuf
Beautiful but poor noblewoman who becomes involved with Vinet.
Monsieur Mouilleron
minor
Also known as Monsieur Mouilleron, Mouilleron, old Mouilleron
Local magistrate in Provins.
Kouski
minor
Also known as Kouski
Polish servant of Philippe Bridau.
Goddet
minor
Also known as Goddet, young Goddet, Goddet junior, Monsieur Goddet the elder, Monsieur Goddet, This Goddet
Doctor who treats Pierrette in her final illness.
Monsieur Tiphaine
minor
Also known as Monsieur Tiphaine, née Tiphaine, Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Président Tiphaine
President of the court in Provins and husband of the beautiful Madame Tiphaine.
Père Rogron
minor
Also known as Père Rogron, Rogron
Deceased father of Sylvie and Denis, a former merchant.
Monsieur Lousteau
minor
Also known as Monsieur Lousteau, Lousteau, née Lousteau, old Lousteau, the gallant Lousteau, Monsieur Lousteau the elder, Lousteau - Prangin, Monsieur Lousteau - Prangin
Local notable and political figure in Provins.
Adèle
minor
Also known as Adèle, sturdy Adèle, good Adèle
Servant in the Hochon household.
Doctor Rouget
minor
Also known as Doctor Rouget, Rouget
Father of Jean-Jacques and Agathe, a wealthy doctor in Issoudun.
Finot
minor
Also known as Finot
Journalist and friend of Joseph Bridau in Paris.
Chaudet
minor
Also known as Chaudet
Sculptor and friend of Joseph Bridau.
Gritte
minor
Also known as Gritte
Servant in the Rogron household.
François Hochon
minor
Also known as François Hochon, François, little François Hochon
Grandson of Monsieur Hochon, a young man in Provins.
Captain Renard
minor
Also known as Captain Renard, Renard
Old soldier and friend of Max Gilet.
Comte de Brambourg
minor
Also known as Comte de Brambourg, the Comte de Brambourg, Monsieur le Comte de Brambourg, Monsieur le Comte, The Comte de Brambourg
Title assumed by Philippe Bridau after his marriage.
Baruch Borniche
minor
Also known as Messieurs, Baruch Borniche, Baruch, little Baruch Borniche, Messieurs Baruch Borniche, Borniche, young Baruch Borniche, little Borniche
Young man and member of the Knights of Idlesse in Issoudun.
Carpentier
minor
Also known as Carpentier, Monsieur Carpentier
Captain and friend of Max Gilet in Issoudun.
Desfondrilles
minor
Also known as Desfondrilles, Monsieur Desfondrilles, old Desfondrilles
Local antiquarian and judge in Provins.
Claparon
minor
Also known as Claparon, old Claparon, Old Claparon
Banker involved in financial schemes in Paris.
Du Bruel
minor
Also known as old du Bruel, du Bruel, Du Bruel
Playwright and friend of the Bridau circle.
Madame de Chargeboeuf
minor
Also known as a widowed Madame Chargeboeuf, Madame de Chargeboeuf, Madame
Impoverished noblewoman and mother of Bathilde.
Monsieur Héron
minor
Also known as Monsieur Héron, young Héron, old Monsieur Héron, Héron, old Héron
Lawyer involved in the Rogron family affairs.
Benjamin Bourdet
minor
Also known as Benjamin Bourdet, Benjamin
Servant of the Rouget household in Issoudun.
Doctor Bianchon
minor
Also known as Doctor Bianchon, Bianchon
Famous Parisian doctor consulted for Pierrette.
Major Mignonnet
minor
Also known as Major Mignonnet, Mignonnet
Honorable old soldier in Issoudun who opposes Max Gilet.
Joseph Collinet
minor
Also known as Joseph Collinet, Collinet, Joseph
Friend of Joseph Bridau in Paris.
Julliard
minor
Also known as Julliard, Madame Julliard the younger, Madame Julliard, Madame Julliard the elder, the elder Madame Julliard, old Madame Julliard, young Madame Julliard, Madame
Local family in Provins, part of the social circle.
Madame Guenée
minor
Also known as Madame Guenée, Guenée
Woman who spreads gossip about Pierrette in Provins.
Monsieur Caron
minor
Also known as Monsieur Caron, Caron
Local resident of Provins.
Baron de Listomère
minor
Also known as the Baron de Listomère, The Baron de Listomère, Baron
Nobleman and relative of the Abbé Birotteau.
Madame Desroches
minor
Also known as Madame Desroches, Desroches
Wife of the lawyer Desroches.
Maître Desroches
minor
Also known as Maître Desroches, Desroches
Alternate name for the lawyer Desroches.
Monsieur Frappier
minor
Also known as Monsieur Frappier, Frappier, old Frappier
Notary in Provins.
La Cognette
minor
Also known as La Cognette, la Cognette
Innkeeper in Issoudun where the Knights of Idlesse meet.
Madame Auffray
minor
Also known as Madame Auffray, old Auffray, Auffray, Dear Madame Auffray
Wife of the doctor who treats Pierrette.
Monsieur Habert
minor
Also known as Monsieur Habert
Brother of Céleste Habert.
Madame Roguin
minor
Also known as Madame Roguin, Roguin
Wife of a notary involved in financial affairs.
Pierre Grassou
minor
Also known as Pierre Grassou, Pierre Grassou de Fougères, Grassou, Pierre
Painter and friend of Joseph Bridau.
General Brigaut
minor
Also known as General Brigaut, Brigaut
Father of Jacques Brigaut, a former soldier.
Monsieur Néraud
minor
Also known as Monsieur Néraud, Néraud
Doctor in Issoudun.
Abbé Loraux
minor
Also known as the Abbé Loraux, Loraux, old Abbé Loraux, The Abbé Loraux
Priest who counsels Agathe Bridau.
Old Cognet
minor
Also known as Old Cognet, This old Cognet, Cognet
Old soldier and friend of Max Gilet.
Comte de Soulanges
minor
Also known as the Comte de Soulanges, Soulanges
Nobleman mentioned in the social world of Provins.
Monsieur Garceland
minor
Also known as Monsieur Garceland, Monsieur Garceland the Maire, the Maire
Mayor of Provins.
Horace Bianchon
minor
Also known as Horace Bianchon, Horace, Bianchon
Famous Parisian doctor, nephew of Doctor Bianchon.
