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The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel · Character

Citizen Chauvelin

A cold-eyed agent of the Committee of Public Safety who has made the Scarlet Pimpernel his personal obsession, and will trade any scruple for the chance to see him dead.

major

Also known as Chauvelin, V Chauvelin, V

First appearance: I

As a major figure in The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Citizen Chauvelin is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Chauvelin, a powerful and pitiless member of the Committee of Public Safety, confronts Molé and orders his arrest after a disturbing moment of recognition.
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Chauvelin moves through Revolutionary Paris with the authority of Robespierre's committee behind him and a private hatred burning beneath his calm. He has tasted humiliation at the Pimpernel's hands more than once, and the memory of Calais sharpens every order he gives. His quarrel with colleagues like Tinville over how to stage the kill — quiet batch or public spectacle — shows a man whose vanity and vengeance are inseparable from his politics. He is the engine of the hunt, and the novel's early tension comes from watching him close in.

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Character Web

61 connections

A slice of how Citizen Chauvelin sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

CRCitizen RateauPMPaul MoléCTCitizen Tourne…SESimonne EvrardCLCitizen LebelCCCitizen Chauvelin

Relationship types

  • Professional
  • Psychological
  • Other

Character groups

  • Protagonist
  • Minor characters and aristocrats
  • Revolutionaries and mistaken identity
  • Aristocrats and revolutionary allies

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

SetupAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

In this excerpt, the narrative reaches its dramatic climax because the Scarlet Pimpernel, disguised as a patie…

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Relationships

Relationship notes

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See Citizen Chauvelin in I

In the story

Citizen Chauvelin appears across 25 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

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See Citizen Chauvelin in I