Les Misérables Characters
Every major character in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
Jean ValjeanProtagonist · 103 chaptersAn ex‑convict turned mayor and guardian whose moral conversion and protection of Cosette drive the novel’s central conflicts.
CosetteMajor character · 91 chaptersFantine’s daughter, raised by the Thénardiers then rescued and reared by Jean Valjean; grows into the beloved of Marius.
Marius PontmercyMajor character · 72 chaptersA proud, idealistic law student who becomes a passionate republican, lover of Cosette, and participant in the 1832 barricades.
CourfeyracMajor character · 53 chaptersWarm‑hearted, gregarious student and social center of Les Amis de l’ABC; Marius’s close companion and a steady presence at the barricades.
JavertAntagonist · 47 chaptersA rigid Parisian police inspector who pursues Jean Valjean with unshakeable faith in law and order.
ThénardierAntagonist · 45 chaptersA petty, cunning innkeeper-turned-schemer who profits by cruelty, extortion, and opportunism at others' expense.
EnjolrasMajor character · 43 chaptersSevere, idealistic leader of the Friends of the A B C who embodies republican devotion and commands the barricade.- MMariusMajor character · 42 chaptersA contemplative, idealistic young man torn between filial loyalty, romantic passion for Cosette, and commitment to his friends and conscience.
GavrocheMajor character · 36 chaptersA streetwise Paris urchin: witty, generous, and fearless, who feeds, scouts for, and inspires the insurgents at the barricades.
Bishop MyrielMajor character · 34 chaptersThe humble, compassionate Bishop of D—— (Monseigneur Bienvenu) whose radical charity sets Valjean on a path to redemption.
FantineMajor character · 33 chaptersA young working‑class woman whose ruin and death expose social injustice and whose daughter Cosette drives key rescuing actions.
CombeferreMajor character · 30 chaptersThe humane, philosophic lieutenant of Enjolras; a student-activist who champions education, science, and measured progress.- BBossuetMajor character · 27 chaptersA student-revolutionary of the Friends of the ABC, nicknamed Lesgle; practical, jocular, and steady at the barricade.
Madame ThénardierAntagonist · 27 chaptersBrutal, domineering innkeeper of Montfermeil who exploits Cosette and amplifies the novel’s social cruelty.- NNapoleonMajor character · 25 chaptersEmperor of the French whose presence and defeat at Waterloo shape Hugo’s meditation on history, chance, and decline.
ÉponineMajor character · 25 chaptersEldest Thénardier daughter: streetwise, resourceful, devoted in secret to Marius, who she guides and finally saves.- MM. GillenormandMajor character · 20 chaptersAn aristocratic, reactionary grandfather whose pride and conservatism clash with his grandson but who ultimately yields to love and family.
- TToussaintMinor character · 20 chaptersThe loyal, discreet maid-servant who tends Jean Valjean and Cosette and preserves household order through their moves and life changes.
FaucheleventMajor character · 19 chaptersHumble ex-carter turned convent gardener whose gratitude and cunning shelter Jean Valjean and Cosette.
GillenormandMajor character · 19 chaptersAn imperious, sharp‑tongued elderly royalist grandfather who governs his household with eighteenth‑century manners.- MM. MadeleineProtagonist · 18 chaptersA former convict living as M. Madeleine, a revered mayor and industrialist who conceals his past while practicing mercy and justice.
- MM. LeblancMajor character · 17 chaptersAn elderly, respectable gentleman who accompanies and protects a young girl (Ursule) and becomes the target of a criminal plot.
- BBahorelMinor character · 15 chaptersA boisterous, theatrical member of the Friends of the ABC who helps build barricades and is killed early in the street fighting.
- NNicoletteMinor character · 15 chaptersA named household servant in M. Gillenormand’s house who attends the family and aids in care, weddings, and convalescence.
- FFeuillyMajor character · 14 chaptersA devoted member of the Friends of the A B C; an artisan-revolutionary who fights and dies at the barricade.
- JJean ProuvaireMinor character · 14 chaptersA delicate, romantic student-poet among the Friends of the ABC who lends lyricism to the group and fights at the barricade.
- WWellingtonAntagonist · 13 chaptersThe British commander at Waterloo, a cautious, calculating general who holds the line against Napoleon.
GrantaireMajor character · 11 chaptersCynical, hard-drinking hanger-on of the Friends of the ABC who mocks politics yet holds a strange, devoted loyalty to Enjolras.
Sister SimpliceMajor character · 11 chaptersA humble, devout Sister of Charity who nurses Fantine and quietly embodies truthful compassion and selfless service.
ChampmathieuMinor character · 9 chaptersA poor, bewildered villager accused of being Jean Valjean and put on trial until the real man confesses.
MontparnasseMinor character · 7 chaptersA handsome, vain young dandy turned member of Patron-Minette whose elegance conceals casual cruelty and petty criminality.
Félix TholomyèsMinor character · 4 chaptersA witty, worldly law student who leads a carefree student quartet and briefly courts Fantine before abandoning her.
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