Eugenie Grandet characters

Appears from the start

The sheltered only daughter of a wealthy cooper in Saumur. Gentle, sincere, and inexperienced beyond her narrow household, she has been raised with little knowledge of her father's fortune or the calculations it inspires in the town's two rival families.

Also known as Père Grandet

Appears from the start

Eugénie's father, a former cooper who has accumulated land, gold, and business influence while keeping his household in severe economy. He is patient and formidable in financial dealings, secretive about his true wealth, and accustomed to treating every domestic choice as another matter under his control.

Appears from the start

Eugénie's devout and physically fragile mother. She lives quietly under her husband's authority, loves her daughter deeply, and offers sympathy where she has little practical power to oppose Grandet's decisions.

Also known as La Grande Nanon

Appears from the start

The Grandets' strong, loyal servant, long accustomed to the cold house, scant provisions, and exact rules imposed by her master. Her devotion to the family and practical competence make her central to its daily life.

Appears from the start

A local churchman and member of the Cruchot family, one of two Saumur clans competing for Eugénie's inheritance. Smooth, observant, and useful in private negotiations, he supports his nephew's campaign to marry her.

Also known as President Cruchot de Bonfons

Appears from the start

A magistrate and Eugénie's persistent local suitor, backed by the Cruchot family. He is less graceful than his rival Adolphe des Grassins but offers office, property, and a patient willingness to wait for the Grandet fortune.

Appears from the start

A Saumur banker who manages some of Grandet's business and heads the rival family seeking Eugénie's hand for his son. His financial usefulness makes him welcome even while Grandet refuses to favor either set of suitors openly.

Appears from the start

The polished son of the des Grassins family and one of Eugénie's intended suitors. His family presents his manners and prospects as an advantage over the Cruchots, though Eugénie herself has not yet viewed marriage as the contest the adults around her are conducting.

Appears from the start

Adolphe's socially confident mother and an energetic advocate for his marriage to Eugénie. She watches the Cruchots closely and treats visits to the Grandet house as moves in a long competition for wealth and family advantage.

First appears in chapter 2

Eugénie's fashionable Parisian cousin, the son of Félix Grandet's estranged brother. He arrives in Saumur with elegant clothes, refined habits, and no understanding of either the provincial household or the disaster that has prompted his journey.

First appears in chapter 2

Félix Grandet's brother and Charles's father, a Paris merchant whose desperate letter accompanies Charles to Saumur. Financial ruin has left him dependent on his brother to break the news and determine what can be done for his son.