# Paul Violaine — The Slaves of Paris character guide > Paul Violaine in The Slaves of Paris by Émile Gaboriau. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Paul, Marie Paul Violaine, Violaine, Madame Paul **First appearance:** 0000-part-i-caught-in-the-net ## Snapshot A handsome, threadbare young man in borrowed finery, who walks into a registry office hoping for a clerkship and is offered a rich wife instead. ## Who they are Paul Violaine arrives at Mascarin's office with Tantaine's five hundred francs spent on clothes and his head full of doubt, only to find himself in a room where dowries, commissions, and marriages are quietly bargained over like servants' places. He listens as the Marquis de Croisenois is promised a wealthy bride and realizes he is being offered the same arrangement, with Flavia's dowry to be shared out among these respectable gentlemen. His anxiety and his hunger for a future make him the perfect instrument, and his presence at that table is the moment the plot closes around him. ## Relationships ### [Baptiste Mascarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/baptiste_mascarin) _psychological_ Mascarin is a master criminal who psychologically dominates and exploits Paul Violaine as a pawn in his schemes. ### [Dr. Hortebise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/dr_hortebise) _psychological_ Dr. Hortebise manipulates Paul Violaine as a tool in his schemes, feigning friendship while exploiting him. ### [Louis Norbert de Champdoce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/louis_norbert_de_champdoce) _rivalry_ Louis Norbert and Paul Violaine are bitter rivals, competing for love, status, and survival in a web of deceit. ### [Daddy Tantaine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/daddy_tantaine) _psychological_ Daddy Tantaine is a cunning old criminal who psychologically entraps Paul Violaine, using him as a pawn. ### [Baptiste Mascarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/baptiste_mascarin) _psychological_ Mascarin is a master criminal who psychologically dominates and exploits Paul Violaine as a pawn in his schemes. ### [Dr. Hortebise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/dr_hortebise) _psychological_ Dr. Hortebise manipulates Paul Violaine as a tool in his schemes, feigning friendship while exploiting him. ### [Daddy Tantaine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/daddy_tantaine) _psychological_ Daddy Tantaine is a cunning old criminal who psychologically entraps Paul Violaine, using him as a pawn. ### [Louis Norbert de Champdoce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/louis_norbert_de_champdoce) _rivalry_ Louis Norbert and Paul Violaine are bitter rivals, competing for love, status, and survival in a web of deceit. ### [Louis Norbert de Champdoce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/louis_norbert_de_champdoce) _rivalry_ Louis Norbert and Paul Violaine are bitter rivals, competing for love, status, and survival in a web of deceit. ### [Baptiste Mascarin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/baptiste_mascarin) _psychological_ Mascarin is a master criminal who psychologically dominates and exploits Paul Violaine as a pawn in his schemes. ### [Dr. Hortebise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/dr_hortebise) _psychological_ Dr. Hortebise manipulates Paul Violaine as a tool in his schemes, feigning friendship while exploiting him. ### [Daddy Tantaine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/daddy_tantaine) _psychological_ Daddy Tantaine is a cunning old criminal who psychologically entraps Paul Violaine, using him as a pawn. ## In the story ### [Part I: Caught in the Net](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/part-i-caught-in-the-net) A young man caught in the net of Mascarin's schemes. ### [Putting on the Screw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/i-putting-on-the-screw) Returns to his attic after a failed day of job-seeking; is desperate, proud, and physically exhausted; accepts help from Daddy Tantaine. ### [A Registry Office](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/ii-a-registry-office) Visits Mascarin's registry office, anxious about the interview but impressed by Mascarin's knowledge of his past. ### [The Opinion of Dr. Hortebise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/iii-the-opinion-of-dr-hortebise) Discussed as a potential tool; described as vain, weak, and easily molded, but with risks due to his past and connections. ### [In the Studio](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/vii-in-the-studio) Visits André to repay a debt and boast about his new salary, but is humbled by André's story of self-made success. ### [VIII: Mademoiselle de Mussidan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/viii-mademoiselle-de-mussidan) Mentioned as having been a watcher at the beginning of the chapter, but does not appear directly in the excerpt. ### [X: “You Are a Thief”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/x-you-are-a-thief) Paul arrives in a state of utter despair, pale and disheveled, declaring that his life is ended because Rose has deserted him. ### [The Man-Milliner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xi-the-man-milliner) Accompanies Mascarin, is nervous in the fashionable setting, and becomes fascinated by Zora Chantemille. ### [Father and Daughter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xiv-father-and-daughter) A composer invited to dinner at the Rigal home by Dr. Hortebise. He is the object of Flavia's love and plays piano for her after dinner, though he remains uncertain of her feelings. ### [A Turn of the Screw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xvi-a-turn-of-the-screw) Expected to arrive for the meeting; Mascarin plans to force him into cooperation. ### [Some Scraps of Paper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xvii-some-scraps-of-paper) Observes the proceedings, realizing he too may have to share his future wife's dowry with the association. ### [XVIII: An Infamous Trade](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xviii-an-infamous-trade) Overcomes his initial disgust, agrees to adopt a new identity and assist Mascarin in exchange for wealth and Flavia Rigal's hand. ### [An Academy of Music](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxi-an-academy-of-music) Forced to stay with Hortebise; initially furious at Tantaine but calms down; looks forward to having his own lodgings. ### [XXV: A New Skin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxv-a-new-skin) Moves into a pre-furnished apartment in the Rue Montmartre, where his false identity as a long-term resident is established. ### [The Last Link](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxvii-the-last-link) Arrives timidly; congratulated on winning Flavia Rigal's affections; reads the Champdoce manuscript aloud. ### [XIX: Mascarin Speaks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xix-mascarin-speaks) Paul reads the manuscript and listens as Mascarin explains the details of the Duke's past. ### [A Sudden Check](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xx-a-sudden-check) Present during the planning; removes his coat and shirt sleeve for inspection, revealing he lacks the natural scar. ### [The Tempter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxviii-the-tempter) Recovering from surgery; boasts about his affair with Flavia Rigal, angering Tantaine. ### [The Tafila Copper Mines, Limited](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxix-the-tafila-copper-mines-limited) Lying ill in bed, confused by Tantaine's anger, and listening intently to the conversation in the next room. ### [Gaston's Dilemma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxxi-gaston-s-dilemma) Mentioned by Zora as having received money from Tantaine and being connected to Mascarin; André now considers him an adversary. ### [Through the Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxxiii-through-the-air) Seen by André entering the house of M. Rigal; rumored to be marrying Flavia. ### [The Day of Reckoning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-day-of-reckoning) Paul marries Flavia and moves into the banker's house, playing the role of the Duke de Champdoce's son with skill, but is terrified when Lecoq breaks through the wall. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters/paul_violaine - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_slaves_of_paris_se/characters