# Comtesse de Tournay — The Scarlet Pimpernel character guide > Comtesse de Tournay in The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Madame la Comtesse, the Comtesse, Madame **First appearance:** 0004-iii-the-refugees ## Snapshot A proud French aristocrat exiled in England, clinging to the League's promise to save her husband while nursing a bitter grudge against Lady Blakeney's French past. ## Who they are The Comtesse holds court in London drawing-rooms and theatre boxes, her thin-lipped dignity a shield against grief and displacement. Her open hostility toward Marguerite—rooted in old scandals and revolutionary politics—sharpens the social tension just as Marguerite's private guilt deepens. She matters because her husband's rescue is the errand on which the Pimpernel stakes his life, and her distrust of Marguerite makes the heroine's isolation almost total. ## Relationships ### [Marguerite Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/marguerite_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially distrusts Marguerite due to her past association with revolutionaries, but later comes to appreciate her help. ### [Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/chauvelin) _rivalry_ Chauvelin pursues the Comtesse as a fugitive aristocrat, representing the revolutionary threat to her life. ### [Sir Percy Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/sir_percy_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially dismisses Percy as a foolish fop, but later owes her life to his secret heroism. ### [Lord Tony Dewhurst](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/lord_tony_dewhurst) _social_ The Comtesse interacts with Lord Tony as part of the English social circle that shelters her family. ### [Armand St. Just](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/armand_st_just) _social_ Armand and the Comtesse are fellow French aristocrats in exile, connected through Marguerite and the League's rescue efforts. ### [Lord Tony Dewhurst](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/lord_tony_dewhurst) _social_ The Comtesse interacts with Lord Tony as part of the English social circle that shelters her family. ### [Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/chauvelin) _rivalry_ Chauvelin pursues the Comtesse as a fugitive aristocrat, representing the revolutionary threat to her life. ### [Marguerite Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/marguerite_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially distrusts Marguerite due to her past association with revolutionaries, but later comes to appreciate her help. ### [Marguerite Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/marguerite_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially distrusts Marguerite due to her past association with revolutionaries, but later comes to appreciate her help. ### [Sir Percy Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/sir_percy_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially dismisses Percy as a foolish fop, but later owes her life to his secret heroism. ### [Sir Percy Blakeney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/sir_percy_blakeney) _social_ The Comtesse initially dismisses Percy as a foolish fop, but later owes her life to his secret heroism. ### [Armand St. Just](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/armand_st_just) _social_ Armand and the Comtesse are fellow French aristocrats in exile, connected through Marguerite and the League's rescue efforts. ## In the story ### [The Refugees](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/iii-the-refugees) Arrives as a refugee with her children, stern and commanding, anxious about their new life in England. ### [The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/iv-the-league-of-the-scarlet-pimpernel) Recently escaped from France, she is anxious about her husband and bitter toward Marguerite St. Just. ### [V: Marguerite](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/v-marguerite) Refuses to let her daughter speak to Marguerite, citing Marguerite's republican connections. ### [An Exquisite of ’92](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/vi-an-exquisite-of-92) Mentioned as the mother of the Vicomte; her insult to Marguerite sparks the confrontation. ### [X: In the Opera Box](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/x-in-the-opera-box) Expresses distrust of Marguerite, believing she is an ally of Chauvelin and hostile to the royalist cause. ### [Lord Grenville's Ball](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/xi-lord-grenville-s-ball) Presented to the Prince and Marguerite, maintains frigid dignity despite the public lesson. ### [XVIII: The Mysterious Device](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/xviii-the-mysterious-device) Reluctantly agreed to let Suzanne visit Marguerite after the Prince of Wales's intervention. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/comtesse_de_tournay - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters