Characters Discussed
Rodolph
Rodolph (roh-DOHLF), the grand duke of Gerolstein, a small German state. The hero of this intricately plotted romance, Rodolph as a youth was forced into a secret morganatic marriage with a beautiful and sinister woman. His father had the marriage annulled; in the resultant quarrel the, son threatened the father’s life and was exiled. His infant daughter was afterward reported dead. Now duke, he roams the streets of Paris in disguise. He befriends an unfortunate girl who, he discovers much later, is his daughter. Father and daughter are reunited after much misfortune occasioned primarily by the scheming mother, who comes to a well-deserved end. Rodolph then marries a woman he has long loved and returns to Germany with his wife and daughter.
Fleur-de-Marie
Fleur-de-Marie (flewr deh mah-REE), Rodolph’s daughter. Brought up by criminals who forced her into crime, she is recognized as good and really innocent by Rodolph. Kidnapped and nearly murdered as a result of her mother’s intrigues, she is at last reunited with her father, happily for a time. Her early evil life preys on her mind, however, and she enters a convent. So perfect is her conduct that she is immediately made abbess. This honor is too much for her gentle soul and weak body, and she dies that very night.
Lady Sarah Macgregor
Lady Sarah Macgregor, Rodolph’s morganatic wife. Ambitious and sinister, she turns her infant over to her lawyer, who reports the child dead....
(The entire section is 647 words.)
