Character guide

Thibault

major

Also known as old Thibault, Monsieur Thibault, the handsome Thibault, Master Thibault, Satan Thibault, the Werewolf Thibault

Thibault is a village craftsman nursing a lifetime of small humiliations—stolen game, a public beating, a woman who laughs at him—and each one sharpens his appetite for revenge. When a black wolf offers him power over the misfortunes of others in exchange for his soul, he accepts with barely a pause, convinced he can outwit the bargain. His slow transformation from resentful peasant to something far worse is the engine of the whole story.

Agnelette

major

Also known as III Agnelette The Baron, The Baron, Mademoiselle Agnelette, pretty Agnelette, Georgine Agnelette, Georgine

Agnelette moves through the village with a candor that unsettles everyone around her—she tells Thibault plainly that she saw him poach, and she refuses the Baron's invitation to the castle because she'd rather face a wolf than his court. Her steadiness is the moral counterweight to Thibault's spiraling corruption, and his obsession with possessing her drives much of the early and middle action. She is the one person whose good opinion he cannot quite stop wanting.

Satan

major

Also known as the Devil, Devil

He arrives at Thibault's hut in the form of an immense black wolf, sits, and speaks with the easy irony of a seasoned negotiator. His terms are precise and his honesty unnerving: he can grant only the power to harm, never to prosper, and he trades his own yearly day of mortal danger for Thibault's soul. As the story's tempter, he sets the moral terms of the whole book—every wish granted becomes a crime, and every crime a step toward the wolf's true prize.

Mocquet

supporting

Also known as III Mocquet, father Mocquet, old Mocquet

Mocquet arrives at the powder shop with a wink and a wolf to track, and talks a nervous mother into letting her son come along by swearing on his own life that no harm will touch the boy. He is comic, boastful, and utterly sincere—the kind of man who measures powder to the grain and promises to keep his charge between his legs. His presence grounds the tale in a warm, ordinary world that Thibault's bargain will steadily poison.

Madame Magloire

supporting

Also known as Suzanne, Madame Suzanne, Madame Suzanne Magloire, Magloire, Dear little Suzanne

Madame Magloire is the pretty wife of Maître Magloire, and Thibault's pursuit of her—hunting game for her table, hiding behind her curtains, being discovered and turned out—is one of his early abuses of the wolf's power. She is not a villain but a weakness, a domestic transgression that costs him the goodwill of the village and feeds his growing isolation. In the fevered confession near the end, her name surfaces among the wreckage of his life, a small human sin in a ledger of larger ones.

Landry

supporting

Also known as Cousin Landry, dear Landry

Landry is the kind of relative everyone is glad to see—bright as his mill wheel, singing at his work—until love for the widow Polet grinds him down to melancholy. He confides in Thibault as a cousin and a friend, never suspecting that the man listening is already calculating how to take his place. His unhappiness is the first human cost of Thibault's pact, and his fate lingers in the story's conscience long after he leaves the page.

Baron de Vauparfond

supporting

Also known as Raoul, Raoul de Vauparfond, Monsieur Raoul, Monsieur de Vauparfond, the Baron Raoul, my fine Sir Raoul

A young nobleman whose pursuit of Agnelette sets him on a collision course with the wolf-leader Thibault, turning courtship into a war waged across the forest.

Maître Magloire

supporting

Also known as Monsieur Magloire, friend Magloire, dear Magloire, X Maître Magloire

A cuckolded notable whose discovery of his wife's affair with Thibault turns a private humiliation into one of the many grudges that feed the wolf-leader's vengeance.

François

minor

Also known as Friend François, Auguste François Levasseur

A friend or acquaintance of Thibault.

Madame Polet

minor

Also known as widow Polet

A widow in the village.

Lisette

minor

Also known as poor Lisette, Mademoiselle Lisette

A young woman, possibly a servant or villager.

The Priest

minor

The local priest who interacts with Thibault and the villagers.

General

minor

A military figure mentioned in the narrative.

Countess Jane

minor

Also known as The Countess

A noblewoman, possibly connected to the Baron de Vauparfond.

Lord of Vez

minor

Also known as Vez, the mighty Nimrod

A legendary figure known for swearing, mentioned in the narrative.

Mother Durand

minor

Also known as Mother

An older woman in the village.

Lestocq

minor

Also known as J. B. Lestocq

A historical figure mentioned in the narrative.

Comte de Mont-Gobert

minor

Also known as Monsieur le Comte de Mont-Gobert, Monsieur Comte de Mont-Gobert

A nobleman, possibly the Baron's superior.

Bailiff Népomucène Magloire

minor

Also known as Népomucène Magloire, the Bailiff, Bailiff Magloire

The local bailiff, a figure of authority.

Master Wolf

minor

Also known as Wolf

A wolf, possibly the titular wolf leader.

The Doctor

minor

A physician called in during the story.

Perrine

minor

Also known as Mademoiselle Perrine

A woman in the village, possibly a servant.

Champagne

minor

A character, possibly a servant or local.

Etienne

minor

Also known as poor Etienne

A character, possibly a servant or villager.

Cramoisi

minor

Also known as Monsieur Cramoisi

A character, possibly a merchant or official.

Madame de Montesson

minor

A noblewoman mentioned in the narrative.

M. Collard

minor

Also known as Collard

A character, possibly a local official.

Monsieur Alexandre

minor

A character, possibly a visitor or official.

Mildet

minor

Also known as The keepers Mildet

A gamekeeper or guard.

Madame de Bonneuil

minor

A noblewoman mentioned in the narrative.

Marcassino

minor

Also known as Monsieur Marcassino

A character, possibly an Italian or foreigner.

Madame Bailiff

minor

Also known as The Bailiff

The wife of the bailiff.

Monsieur Lécosse

minor

A character, possibly a lawyer or official.

Préciamont

minor

A character, possibly a nobleman.

Grandmother

minor

An elderly relative of a character.

Moynat

minor

A character, possibly a local.

Sultan

minor

A character, possibly a pet or animal.

Father Vatrin

minor

Also known as Vatrin

A priest or religious figure.

Pierre

minor

A character, possibly a servant or villager.

L’Eveillé

minor

A character, possibly a nickname.