Marius Pontmercy

Marius Pontmercy
Les Misérables character
Marius sees Cosette for the first time, illustration by Gustave Brion
Created by	Victor Hugo
Information
Full name	Marius Pontmercy
Aliases	Baron Pontmercy
Gender	Male
Occupation	Student Revolutionary
Affiliation	Les Amis de l'ABC (Friends of the ABC)
Family	Georges Pontmercy (father) Monsieur Gillenormand (maternal grandfather)
Significant other(s)	Cosette
Relatives	Jean Valjean (adoptive father-in-law)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Nationality	French

Student

Georges Pontmercy (father)

Marius Pontmercy (French pronunciation: ​[maʁjys pɔ̃mɛʁsi]) is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revolutionary association Friends of the ABC, which he associates with, but is not a part of, as they take part in the 1832 June Rebellion. Facing death in the fight, his life is saved by Jean Valjean, and he subsequently weds Cosette, a young woman whom Valjean had raised as his own.

When Marius first appears, he is living with his rich and monarchist grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand. All his life, he has been told that his father (Georges Pontmercy, a colonel under Bonaparte) abandoned him to Gillenormand. Shortly after Marius turns eighteen, he is sent to see his father, who is ill. He arrives just after his father dies. His father has left Marius a note, instructing him to help Thénardier in any way possible, since the Colonel believes that Thénardier saved his life at the Battle of Waterloo.

While Marius is visiting church, Mabeuf, the church warden, tells him that his father has been coming to mass regularly, hiding behind a pillar so as to not violate an agreement with Gillenormand that would cause his son to be disinherited. Marius begins looking up his father in the official military histories and after learning that his father was a highly decorated veteran of Napoleon's army, who had been made a baron and a colonel by Napoleon Bonaparte (though neither the barony nor the rank of colonel is recognized by the current regime). As a consequence, Marius develops a kind of idol-worship of his father. After an argument with his grandfather, Marius moves out and refuses financial assistance from his family. His grandfather instructs Marius' aunt to send Marius money every month, but Marius always returns it.