Who is Monsieur Marneffe from Cousin Bette: Part One of Poor Relations and what is their importance? La_Cousine_Bette English & Literature Monsieur Marneffe | Cousin Bette: Part One of Poor Relations

Monsieur Jean-Paul Stanislas Marneffe is married to the cunning and beautiful Valérie. The narrator describes Monsieur Marneffe as "a small, lean creature, with thin hair and a starved beard" (58). Marneffe wears glasses and a worn, pasty complexion. His eyelids are red and his walk is more of a shuffle. Marneffe is roughly 38 years old and nothing is known of his background. He is a clerk in the War Office, one of Baron Hector Hulot's subordinates. Marneffe is not a well man in the physical sense. He suffers from a pulmonary condition of which he eventually dies. Marneffe and his wife are business partners of a sort. Both are willing to trade Valérie's time and reputation in order to gain money and prestige. Marneffe is not an attractive man and like several other characters in the novel, he is driven by lust and greed. Marneffe behaves as his wife's pimp, essentially, as he is fully aware of Valérie's love affairs. As her husband and guardian, he profits from her dalliances as well. Marneffe is a cruel man with rough sensibilities and rude manners.