# The Lily of the Valley — Character guide

> Key figures in The Lily of the Valley by Honoré de Balzac.

- [Félix de Vandenesse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/felix_de_vandenesse.md): The narrator and protagonist, a young nobleman who falls deeply in love with Henriette de Mortsauf.
- [Henriette de Mortsauf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/henriette_de_mortsauf.md): The virtuous and suffering wife of the Comte de Mortsauf, and the object of Félix's devotion.
- [Comte de Mortsauf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/comte_de_mortsauf.md): Henriette's harsh and mentally unstable husband, a royalist émigré with a violent temper.
- [Lady Dudley](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/lady_dudley.md): A passionate and manipulative English noblewoman who becomes Félix's mistress.
- [Madeleine de Mortsauf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/madeleine_de_mortsauf.md): The daughter of the Mortsaufs, who grows up under her mother's strict guidance.
- [Jacques de Mortsauf](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/jacques_de_mortsauf.md): The sickly son of the Mortsaufs, whose health causes great anxiety to his mother.
- [Natalie de Manerville](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/natalie_de_manerville.md): The recipient of Félix's confessional letter, a countess to whom he tells his story.
- [Monsieur de Chessel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/monsieur_de_chessel.md): A local nobleman and neighbor of the Mortsaufs who hosts Félix.
- [Madame de Chessel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/madame_de_chessel.md): Wife of Monsieur de Chessel, a kind hostess to Félix.
- [Charles de Vandenesse](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/charles_de_vandenesse.md): Félix's older brother, a diplomat and man of the world.
- [Abbé de Dominis](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/abb%C3%A9_de_dominis.md): A priest and tutor to Jacques, a stern but learned man.
- [Abbé Birotteau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/abb%C3%A9_birotteau.md): A local priest who visits the Mortsauf household.
- [Monsieur Origet](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/monsieur_origet.md): A doctor who attends to the Mortsauf family.
- [Duc de Lenoncourt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/duc_de_lenoncourt.md): Henriette's father, a nobleman of the old court.
- [Madame de Lenoncourt](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/madame_de_lenoncourt.md): Henriette's mother, a duchess of high society.
- [Manette](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/manette.md): A servant in the Mortsauf household, devoted to Henriette.
- [Charbonneau](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/charbonneau.md): A gardener at Clochegourde who assists Félix.
- [Monsieur Deslandes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/monsieur_deslandes.md): A notary involved in the Mortsauf family affairs.
- [Monsieur Lepître](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/monsieur_lepitre.md): A doctor who treats Henriette in her final illness.
- [Abbé de la Berge](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_lily_of_the_valley_se/characters/abb%C3%A9_de_la_berge.md): A priest who gives spiritual counsel to Henriette.

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