# Madame Bovary — Character guide

> Key figures in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.

- [Emma Bovary](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/emma_bovary.md): The protagonist, a romantic and dissatisfied woman whose desires lead her into debt and affairs.
- [Charles Bovary](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/charles_bovary.md): Emma's well-meaning but dull husband, a country doctor.
- [Rodolphe Boulanger](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/rodolphe_boulanger.md): A wealthy landowner who becomes Emma's first lover.
- [Léon Dupuis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/leon_dupuis.md): A law clerk in Yonville who shares Emma's romantic tastes and later becomes her lover.
- [Monsieur Homais](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_homais.md): The pompous, progressive pharmacist of Yonville and the Bovarys' neighbor.
- [Monsieur Lheureux](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_lheureux.md): A cunning merchant and moneylender who ensnares Emma in debt.
- [Justin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/justin.md): The Homais' young, infatuated assistant who works in the pharmacy.
- [Monsieur Binet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_binet.md): The tax collector in Yonville, known for his lathe work.
- [Madame Homais](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/madame_homais.md): The pharmacist's wife and mother of their children.
- [Hippolyte Tautain](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/hippolyte_tautain.md): The clubfooted stable boy at the inn on whom Charles operates.
- [Hivert](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/hivert.md): The coachman who drives the Hirondelle between Rouen and Yonville.
- [Lagardy](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/lagardy.md): A famous opera singer Emma admires during a performance in Rouen.
- [Madame Lefrançois](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/madame_lefrancois.md): The innkeeper of the Lion d'Or in Yonville.
- [Monsieur Bournisien](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_bournisien.md): The parish priest of Yonville, often at odds with Homais.
- [Doctor Larivière](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/doctor_lariviere.md): A renowned, skilled doctor from Rouen consulted in critical cases.
- [Monsieur Canivet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_canivet.md): A surgeon from Neufchâtel called in for consultations.
- [Lestiboudois](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/lestiboudois.md): The sexton and grave-digger in Yonville who also tends the garden.
- [Catherine Leroux](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/catherine_leroux.md): An elderly servant honored for fifty years of service at an agricultural show.
- [Monsieur Derozerays de la Panville](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_derozerays.md): A prominent farmer who speaks at the agricultural show.
- [Mère Rollet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/mere_rollet.md): A wet-nurse who cares for Berthe Bovary.
- [Monsieur Guillaumin](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/monsieur_guillaumin.md): A notary in Yonville whom Emma approaches for financial help.
- [Mademoiselle Lempereur](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/mademoiselle_lemp.md): A music teacher in Rouen whom Emma falsely claims as her piano instructor.
- [Vinçart](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/vin%C3%A7art.md): A banker in Rouen associated with Lheureux's financial schemes.
- [Madame Dubuc](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/madame_bovary_se/characters/madame_dubuc.md): Charles Bovary's first wife, who dies early in the story.

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