# Rantaine — Toilers of the Sea character guide

> Rantaine in Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** that scoundrel Rantaine

**First appearance:** 0022-iii-rantaine

## Snapshot

A hulking, disgraced former partner of Lethierry's who fled with the firm's money and now returns in disguise, only to find Clubin waiting with a revolver.

## Who they are

Rantaine once shared Lethierry's ventures before vanishing with a stolen sum that ruined his partner's trust in men. Now he skulks along the Breton coast in false whiskers and gaiters, paying a smuggler captain for passage to escape the law. His midnight encounter with Clubin on the rocks near St. Enogat exposes the captain's true nature and plants the seed of the disaster to come.

## In the story

### [Part I: Sieur Clubin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/part-i-sieur-clubin)

Mentioned as a former associate of Clubin, a scoundrel whose past dealings with Clubin suggest a hidden history.

### [Book II: Mess Lethierry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/book-ii-mess-lethierry)

Mentioned as a former associate of Lethierry who betrayed him and fled with money.

### [III: Rantaine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/iii-rantaine)

Introduced as a mysterious adventurer with a criminal past, rescued by Lethierry, later betrays him by stealing fifty thousand francs.

### [The Man Who Discovered Rantaine’s Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/ix-the-man-who-discovered-rantaine-s-character)

Mentioned as the dishonest man whose character Clubin correctly judged, predicting he would rob Lethierry.

### [A Deserved Success Has Always Its Detractors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/v-a-deserved-success-has-always-its-detractors)

Mentioned as having robbed Lethierry ten years prior, contributing to the background of Lethierry's struggles.

### [A "Cannon" Off the Red Ball and the Black](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/viii-a-cannon-off-the-red-ball-and-the-black)

Kills a coastguardman by pushing him off a cliff, then is confronted by Clubin.

### [Conversations Interrupted](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/iii-conversations-interrupted)

Mentioned indirectly in the context of the Durande's history and Clubin's plans.

### [VI: The Interior of an Abyss Suddenly Revealed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/vi-the-interior-of-an-abyss-suddenly-revealed)

Mentioned as the source of the money Clubin took; Clubin reflects on having 'kicked Rantaine into space.'

### [The Harbour Bell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/chapters/i-the-harbour-bell)

Writes a letter from the Tamaulipas confessing to repaying a debt to Lethierry via Clubin, implicating Clubin in fraud and providing a motive for the wreck.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/characters/rantaine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/toilers_of_the_sea_se/characters