Les Miserables Character List

Jean Valjean(is also known as Monsieur Madeleine)

Imprisoned for stealing bread in order to feed his sister's
children, Valjean is a good man turned bad by circumstances.
When he meets a generous priest, he begins to turn his life
around, becoming a successful businessman and later taking in
the lost child Cosette. However, his past threatens to follow
him into his brighter present, and he has to go into hiding once
more. He is also referred to as Monsieur Madeleine. Valjean is
intelligent and resourceful, and notable for his incredible
physical strength.

Fantine
A young and beautiful woman from an impoverished
background, Fantine is impregnated and abandoned by the
man she loves. In order to support her daughter Cosette, she
takes up a number of low paying manual jobs, and finally
resorts to prostitution. She dies from consumption, but not
before securing a better future for her daughter.

Javert
A narrow-minded police officer, Javert is completed focused
on upholding the law and punishing every kind of criminal
activity. He does not believe that one can reform oneself from
a criminal background, and he pursues Valjean relentlessly,
waiting for him to take a misstep. Javert is completely without
mercy, but this harshness stems from his own past: he was
born in a prison.
Cosette
The daughter of Fantine, Cosette is abandoned by her father
shortly after her birth. In order to earn money, Fantine was
forced to leave her daughter with the Thénardier family, who
use her as a servant and a means to extort money from her
mother. Valjean rescues her and raises her as his daughter. A
gentle and pure young woman, she falls in love with Marius.

Marius Pontmercy
The son of a war hero and grandson of an eccentric member of
nobility, Marius is an intelligent and idealistic young man. He
falls in love with Cosette and fights on the barricades.

Éponine Thénardier
The eldest daughter of the Thénardiers, Éponine enjoys a
pampered childhood but an impoverished adolescence. Her
parents teach her to steal and cheat, but she is redeemed by her
deep love for Marius.

Monsieur Thénardier
A greedy and selfish man, he works in a variety of jobs,
including tavern owner. He claims to have fought in the 1815
campaign. He is the husband of Madame Thénardier and the
father of Azelma and Éponine. He and his wife take in Cosette,
charging her mother a great deal of money and forcing the
little girl to perform a number of chores.

Madame Thénardier
A nasty and selfish woman, she is the wife of Monsieur
Thénardier and the mother of Azelma and Éponine. She and
her husband take in Cosette, charging her mother a great deal
of money and forcing the little girl to perform a number of
chores.

Enjolras
The leader of the ABC Society, Enjolras is an intense young
student and a radical revolutionary. Despite his good looks, he
is uninterested in women, focusing all of his efforts on
revolution.

Gavroche
A little urchin boy, he roams the streets of Paris. He is the
neglected son of the Thénardiers, but he prefers the streets to
the company of his family. He dies a heroic death on the
barricades.

Bishop Myriel
Despite a tragic past (the French Revolution ruined his family,
and his wife died young), Myriel is a generous and kindhearted
man of God. He is famed for his good deeds throughout the
area of Digne. Myriel is the one who restores Valjean's faith in
humanity.

Grantaire
A member of the ABC society, he differs from the other
students in that he has little interest in revolution; he spends
most of his time drinking and chasing after women. However,
he deeply admires the radical Enjolras, and spends time with
the ABC society despite his disagreement with their ideals.

Mademoiselle Baptistine
Sister of Bishop Myriel. She is a kind and religious woman,
devoted to her brother.
Félix Tholomyés
A student in Paris. He is the lover of Fantine and the father of
her child. He abandons her in order to assume an important
political position.

Sister Simplice
A nun who looks after Fantine during her final illness. She is a
kind and dedicated woman who refuses to tell a lie, until she
breaks this rule to save Valjean.

Champmathieu
Arrested for the theft of some apples, Champmathieu
resembles Jean Valjean so closely that the authorities assume
he is Valjean under another name. Champmathieu faces a
much harsher sentence if he is truly a recidivist criminal, and
Valjean goes to Arras to try to exonerate him.

Fauchelevent
A man living in Montreuil-sur-mer; he dislikes
Valjean/Madeleine, until Valjean saves his life after
Fauchelevent's cart overturns. Valjean finds him a job as a
gardener in Paris, and Fauchelevent repays Valjean later by
helping him stay in the Petit-Picpus convent.
Azelma Thénardier
The youngest daughter of the Thénardier family. She adores
her sister, Éponine.

Georges Pontmercy
A hero in the Napoleonic army, Georges marries the younger
daughter of Monsieur Gillenormand and fathers Marius
Pontmercy. However, after the death of his wife, Monsieur
Gillenormand attempts to sever ties with Georges (whom he
hates for his political beliefs) and adopts Marius. Georges
spends the rest of his life tending his garden and snatching
brief glimpses of his son.

Monsieur Gillenormand
He is a relic of the old, pre-revolutionary order; he hates the
new political ideas, and gathers in a salon with other like-
minded people to relieve the old, bourgeois order. Though he
is gruff and curt, he loves his grandson Marius deeply.

Courfeyrac
A member of the ABC society. He is one of Marius' closest
friends, and lends him money during the desperate days after
his separation with his grandfather. He is an influential speaker
and very appealing to the ladies.

Combeferre
A member of the ABC society, second-in-command to
Enjolras. He provides a more practical focus to Enjolras'
intensity. He is said to represent the philosophy of the
revolution.

Feuilly
A member of the ABC Society; he is the only member of the
group who is not a student but rather a worker, who makes
fans for a living. He is an orphan and taught himself to read
and write.
Jean Prouvaire
A member of the ABC society. He loves languages and
history; he is the quietest member of the group.
Joly
A member of the ABC society, he is a hypochondriac who
studies medicine. Still, he has a very happy disposition.

Lesgle
Also known as also Lègle, Laigle, L'Aigle [The Eagle], or
Bossuet, he is a member of the ABC society. He is often
unlucky but still maintains a happy disposition. He became
friends with Marius when he covered for him during roll call
in the university.

M. Mabeuf
A churchwarden who tells Marius the truth about his estranged
but devoted father. He and Marius later become close friends.
He loves books, but is forced to slowly pawn his magnificent
collection during a time of poverty.