# Citizen Barras — The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel character guide

> Citizen Barras in The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Barras

**First appearance:** 0000-i-the-everlasting-stars-look-down-like-glistening-eyes-bright-with-immortal-pity-over-the-lot-of-man

## Snapshot

A coldly calculating revolutionary politician who reads the shifting currents of power and positions himself to survive every purge.

## Who they are

Barras navigates the treacherous politics of the Committee and the Convention with the instincts of a man who intends to outlast everyone. Where zealots burn hot and the timid temporise, he watches, waits, and calculates which way the knife will fall next. His opportunism makes him a useful and dangerous presence, a reminder that in revolutionary Paris loyalty is a currency that depreciates fast.

## Relationships

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_rivalry_

Barras and Chauvelin are political rivals within the revolutionary government, vying for power.

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_rivalry_

Barras and Chauvelin are political rivals within the revolutionary government, vying for power.

### [Citizen Chauvelin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_chauvelin)

_rivalry_

Barras and Chauvelin are political rivals within the revolutionary government, vying for power.

## In the story

### [The Whirlwind](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/xxxiv-the-whirlwind)

Promoted to command the National Guard, he recruits troops and meets Chauvelin at the Porte St. Antoine.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/iii)

Promoted to Commandant of the National Guard, tasked with recruiting loyal troops to oppose Henriot's rebels.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/iv)

Recruiting soldiers for the Convention, he encounters Chauvelin and later learns from Rateau about Chauvelin's hidden troops.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/chapters/vi)

Arrives to recall the soldiers; defies Chauvelin; leaves two men until sundown.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters/citizen_barras
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_triumph_of_the_scarlet_pimpernel_se/characters