Feuilly in Les Misérables
Major character
A devoted member of the Friends of the A B C; an artisan-revolutionary who fights and dies at the barricade.
Who is Feuilly?
Feuilly is one of the committed members of the student-workers’ society known as the Friends of the A B C. Presented among a diverse band of young republicans, he represents the working-class radical within the group and is assigned by Enjolras to organize agitation in the Glacière quarter. Feuilly is visibly active in the preparations for insurrection: he helps carry materials, works on the barricade, and contributes objects of morale and message—most notably engraving “LONG LIVE THE PEOPLES!” into a wall. At the Rue de la Chanvrerie redoubt he shares the close intimacy and quiet ritual of comradeship during the night before battle, participating in conversations, casting bullets, and standing at arms. In the final daytime assault he fights alongside his friends; the narrative records him among the named defenders who fall in the course of the attack, his death part of the barricade’s costly heroism.
Personality
- Committed
- Enjolras sends Feuilly to the Glacière as part of a deliberate plan to place revolutionaries across Paris.
- Practical
- He takes part in the physical labor of building and strengthening the Rue de la Chanvrerie barricade, hauling stones and preparing defenses.
- Patriotic
- Feuilly carves the slogan “LONG LIVE THE PEOPLES!” into a wall at the barricade, turning private sentiment into public inscription.
- Comradely
- He shares the quiet intimacy and songful reminiscence with the other defenders while they wait and prepare in the wine-shop corner.
Character arc
Feuilly appears as an earnest, industrious member of the Friends of the A B C and remains consistently active and loyal from his first introduction through the barricade episodes. Early on he is assigned specific duties by Enjolras, marking him as trusted and useful within the group's tactical plan. At the barricade his practical side shows: he helps fortify positions, cast bullets, and keep watch during the tense waiting; he also contributes to the moral and symbolic life of the redoubt by engraving a revolutionary slogan into the wall. In the shift from preparation to combat he moves from labor and talk to direct fighting; the narrative treats him as one of the defenders who stands his ground in the desperate, escalating assault. His story ends with his death in the daylight attack—he does not survive to test or revise his convictions. Thus Feuilly’s arc is one of steadfast dedication that culminates in martyrdom, his constancy reinforcing the group's unity and tragic fate rather than producing any personal transformation.
Relationships
- Enjolras Comrade and superior who assigns Feuilly to the Glacière and commands him at the barricade.
- Combeferre Fellow member and intellectual companion among the Friends of the A B C; they share the redoubt and its conversations.
- Courfeyrac Comrade who fights alongside him during the barricade’s defense and participates in the same preparations and retreats.
- Bossuet Member of the group who works with Feuilly in barricade construction and is listed among the comrades present in the redoubt.
- Gavroche Streetwise ally who appears with the student band as they take to the streets and electrifies the defenders when he returns.
Why Feuilly matters
Feuilly embodies the working-class element of the revolutionary circle, showing how artisans and students unite around education, progress, and popular emancipation. His practical labor, the carved slogan, and his death dramatize Hugo’s theme of collective sacrifice: individual lives become inscription, labor, and ultimately martyrdom for an abstract ideal. Feuilly’s steadiness and unadorned patriotism help dramatize the barricade as both a political act and a moral community where ordinary tasks and symbols gain transcendent meaning.
Chapters with Feuilly
More Les Misérables characters
Jean ValjeanProtagonist
CosetteMajor character
Marius PontmercyMajor character
CourfeyracMajor character
JavertAntagonist
ThénardierAntagonist
EnjolrasMajor character- MMariusMajor character
All chapter summaries ›Characters ›
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