Camille

Camille (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

At a glance:

Characters Discussed

Camille Gautier (kah-MEEL goh- TYAY), a poor needleworker who becomes a notorious courtesan. She passes up a chance to become mistress to Count de Varville because she loves a younger man, Armand Duval, for whom she leaves the gaiety of Paris to live in the country. For her lover’s sake, she finally leaves him because her liaison is hurting his family. He believes until she is dying that she has left him because she is fickle. Her symbol is a camellia.

Count de Varville (vahr-VEEL), a French nobleman in love with Camille. He offers to pay all her debts if she becomes his mistress. He becomes her lover after she leaves Armand Duval. He and Armand fight a duel, in which the count is wounded.

Armand Duval (ahr-MAHN dew- VAHL), a young man who has nothing but love to offer Camille. They become lovers. He thinks she has deserted him, until on her deathbed she tells him she left him for his own good and that of his family.

M. Duval, Armand’s father. He pleads with Camille to leave his son so that Armand and his family will not suffer in their reputations.

Mme Prudence, a milliner, Camille’s friend. She introduces Armand to Camille.

Nanine (nah-NEEN), Camille’s faithful maid.

Bibliography:

Chandler, Frank Wadleigh. The Contemporary Drama of France. Boston: Little, Brown, 1920. Sees Dumas as an important precursor of early twentieth century French drama and insists that Dumas saw himself primarily as a realist.

Matthews, J. Brander. French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century. London: Remington, 1882. Presents Dumas in the context of his contemporaries; describes Dumas as not part of any tradition but his own. Sees Camille’s treatment of a scandalous subject as neither poetic nor unpleasantly realistic. Instead, considers Camille to be merely vulgar melodrama, fit only for the opera house.

Maurois, André. The Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas. Translated by Gerard Hopkins. New York: Harper, 1957. Lively literary biography of Camille’s playwright, his father, and his grandfather. Gives the flavor of their lives and times. Abundant use of personal letters, illustrations, and notes. Bibliography.

Schwarz, H. Stanley. Alexandre Dumas, fils, Dramatist. New York: New York University Press, 1927. Focuses on Dumas’ place in nineteenth century French literature, comparing his work with that of Eugène Scribe and Honoré de Balzac. Provides descriptions of the plays’ productions and detailed analysis of Dumas’ ideas on social problems.

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