# Prince Ranuccio — The Charterhouse of Parma character guide > Prince Ranuccio in The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** The Prince, Prince **First appearance:** 0004-iii ## Snapshot Parma's uneasy sovereign, a ruler so suspicious of his own court that every favor granted and every passport denied becomes a move in a game he is losing. ## Who they are Ranuccio sits at the head of a small Italian court where his authority is real but his judgment is not, surrounded by ministers and favorites who manage him more deftly than they obey him. His weakness is not cruelty but fear: he suspects plots in every reunion of clever people, and his suspicion makes him a tool for whoever reaches him last. Because Fabrizio's whole career in Parma depends on the Prince's whim, Ranuccio's instability is the weather that the Duchessa and Conte Mosca must constantly read and outmaneuver. ## Relationships ### [Duchessa Sanseverina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/duchessa_sanseverina) _psychological_ The Duchessa skillfully manipulates the infatuated Prince, using her charm to gain political influence and protect her family. ### [Conte Mosca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/conte_mosca) _professional_ Mosca serves as the Prince's shrewd and indispensable Prime Minister, navigating court intrigue with calculated loyalty. ### [Fabrizio del Dongo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/fabrizio_del_dongo) _rivalry_ A tense, antagonistic relationship fueled by the Prince's jealousy over Fabrizio's popularity and his pursuit of Clelia. ### [Rassi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/rassi) _professional_ The Prince employs Rassi as a corrupt and servile legal tool to carry out his petty vendettas and political repression. ### [Duchessa Sanseverina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/duchessa_sanseverina) _psychological_ The Duchessa skillfully manipulates the infatuated Prince, using her charm to gain political influence and protect her family. ### [Conte Mosca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/conte_mosca) _professional_ Mosca serves as the Prince's shrewd and indispensable Prime Minister, navigating court intrigue with calculated loyalty. ### [Duchessa Sanseverina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/duchessa_sanseverina) _psychological_ The Duchessa skillfully manipulates the infatuated Prince, using her charm to gain political influence and protect her family. ### [Rassi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/rassi) _professional_ The Prince employs Rassi as a corrupt and servile legal tool to carry out his petty vendettas and political repression. ### [Fabrizio del Dongo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/fabrizio_del_dongo) _rivalry_ A tense, antagonistic relationship fueled by the Prince's jealousy over Fabrizio's popularity and his pursuit of Clelia. ### [Conte Mosca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/conte_mosca) _professional_ Mosca serves as the Prince's shrewd and indispensable Prime Minister, navigating court intrigue with calculated loyalty. ### [Fabrizio del Dongo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/fabrizio_del_dongo) _rivalry_ A tense, antagonistic relationship fueled by the Prince's jealousy over Fabrizio's popularity and his pursuit of Clelia. ### [Rassi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/rassi) _professional_ The Prince employs Rassi as a corrupt and servile legal tool to carry out his petty vendettas and political repression. ## In the story ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/vii) Receives Fabrizio in audience, tests him with political questions, and is impressed by his cautious answers. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xi) Receives the Archbishop's proposal and discusses it with the Conte, showing suspicion but also favor. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xiv) Initially angry but ultimately yields to the Duchessa's demands to avoid her departure; secretly orders Fabrizio's arrest and approves a harsh sentence. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xvi) The Prince of Parma; the Duchessa sees him as a tyrant whose vanity endangers Fabrizio. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xxv) The young Prince negotiates with the Duchessa, demanding a promise in exchange for saving Fabrizio, and later orders General Fontana to fetch Fabrizio. ### [Chapter XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/chapters/xxvii) The young Prince, infatuated with the Duchessa, offers her a morganatic marriage and grants favors to Fabrizio. He is bored and easily swayed by courtiers like Rassi. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters/prince_ranuccio - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charterhouse_of_parma_se/characters