# Father Goriot — Character guide

> Key figures in Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac.

- [Eugène de Rastignac](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/eugene_de_rastignac.md): Ambitious law student from the provinces who lodges at the Maison Vauquer and seeks entry into Parisian high society.
- [Father Goriot](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/father_goriot.md): Retired vermicelli maker who sacrifices everything for his two ungrateful daughters, living in poverty at the Maison Vauquer.
- [Vautrin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/vautrin.md): Mysterious and manipulative boarder at the Maison Vauquer with a hidden criminal past as an escaped convict.
- [Delphine de Nucingen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/delphine_de_nucingen.md): Goriot's younger daughter, married to a wealthy but miserly baron, who becomes Rastignac's lover.
- [Anastasie de Restaud](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/anastasie_de_restaud.md): Goriot's elder daughter, a countess trapped in a loveless marriage and burdened by debt.
- [Madame Vauquer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/madame_vauquer.md): Greedy and gossipy proprietress of the Maison Vauquer boarding house.
- [Vicomtesse de Beauséant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/vicomtesse_de_beauseant.md): Elegant aristocrat who mentors Rastignac in Parisian society and suffers a broken heart.
- [Victorine Taillefer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/victorine_taillefer.md): Shy, impoverished young woman living at the Maison Vauquer, secretly loved by Rastignac.
- [Poiret](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/poiret.md): Elderly, timid boarder at the Maison Vauquer who becomes an accomplice to Michonneau.
- [Mademoiselle Michonneau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/mademoiselle_michonneau.md): Suspicious, spinsterish boarder who spies on Vautrin for the police.
- [Horace Bianchon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/horace_bianchon.md): Kind-hearted medical student and Rastignac's friend who helps care for Goriot.
- [Maxime de Trailles](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/maxime_de_trailles.md): Dashing but dissolute aristocrat and Anastasie's lover who drains her finances.
- [Sylvie](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/sylvie.md): Sturdy, hardworking cook and maid at the Maison Vauquer.
- [Christophe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/christophe.md): Loyal manservant at the Maison Vauquer who runs errands for the boarders.
- [Madame Couture](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/madame_couture.md): Widowed lady who boards at the Maison Vauquer and acts as Victorine's guardian.
- [Baron de Nucingen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/baron_de_nucingen.md): Wealthy but miserly Alsatian banker married to Delphine.
- [Comte de Restaud](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/comte_de_restaud.md): Proud, aristocratic husband of Anastasie who discovers her affair.
- [Derville](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/derville.md): Honest lawyer who handles legal affairs for several characters including Goriot.
- [Gondureau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/gondureau.md): Police detective who recruits Michonneau to expose Vautrin's true identity.
- [Marquis d'Ajuda-Pinto](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/marquis_dajuda_pinto.md): Portuguese nobleman who abandons the Vicomtesse de Beauséant for a wealthy marriage.
- [Duchesse de Langeais](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/duchesse_de_langeais.md): Haughty aristocrat and friend of the Vicomtesse who gossips about society.
- [Comtesse de l'Ambermesnil](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/comtesse_de_lambermesnil.md): Former name used by Madame Vauquer to claim a noble past.
- [Thérèse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/thereze.md): Personal maid to the Vicomtesse de Beauséant.
- [Laure de Rastignac](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/laure_de_rastignac.md): Eugène's younger sister who writes to him about family finances.
- [Gobseck](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/gobseck.md): Moneylender who deals with Anastasie's desperate financial affairs.
- [Maréchale Carigliano](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/marechale_carigliano.md): Fashionable society hostess who invites Rastignac to her parties.
- [Colonel Franchessini](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/franchessini.md): Italian colonel who fights a duel with Rastignac over a perceived insult.
- [Claire de Bourgogne](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/claire_de_bourgogne.md): Historical figure briefly mentioned in the context of the Beauséant family.
- [Buneaud](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/buneaud.md): Rival boarding house keeper mentioned by Madame Vauquer.
- [Dame Morin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/dame_morin.md): Woman who helped raise Goriot's daughters after their mother died.
- [Fifine](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/fifine.md): Servant girl at the Maison Vauquer mentioned in passing.
- [Agathe](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/agathe.md): Briefly mentioned character in the boarding house.
- [General de Montriveau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/general_de_montriveau.md): Aristocrat mentioned in society gossip at the Beauséant salon.
- [De Marsay](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/de_marsay.md): Fashionable young man about town in Parisian society.
- [Mademoiselle de Rochefide](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/mademoiselle_de_rochefide.md): Young woman mentioned in the context of aristocratic marriages.
- [Monsieur de Beauséant](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/monsieur_de_beauseant.md): Husband of the Vicomtesse, largely absent from the narrative.
- [Papa Doliban](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/papa_doliban.md): Nickname for an old man in Goriot's past, briefly referenced.
- [Frédéric](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters/frederic.md): Minor character mentioned in the boarding house context.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/father_goriot_se/characters