Germinie Lacerteux (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt
- First Published: 1865
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: Nineteenth century
- Setting: Paris
- Genres: Long fiction, Naturalistic literature
- Subjects: Love or romance, Nineteenth century, Betrayal, Paris, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Pregnancy, Substance abuse, Lower classes, Servants, Waiters or waitresses, Swindling or swindlers
- Locales: Paris, France
Characters Discussed
Germinie Lacerteux (zhehr-mee- NEE lah-sehr-TEW), an orphan reared by her sisters. Set to work as a waitress at the age of fourteen, she is soon seduced and bears a stillborn child. After a series of jobs she becomes the maid of Mlle de Varandeuil. Because she is naïve, people take advantage of her, even members of her family. She has a desperate need for love, physically and psychologically, which proves her undoing many times. She becomes an alcoholic. She dies of pleurisy after standing hours in the rain in hopes of seeing Jupillon, her former...
[The entire page is 516 words long]
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