The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas [PDF]

Information: The Lady of the Camellias

• Author: Alexandre Dumas
• Publication Date: 1848
• Main Characters:
  • Marguerite Gautier: A beautiful and famous Parisian courtesan who keeps camellias as her signature flower. She falls in love with Armand but is forced to choose between her happiness and his family's honor.
  • Armand Duval: A young man from a respectable family who becomes consumed by his love for Marguerite. His jealousy and pride lead to painful consequences.
  • Monsieur Duval: Armand's father, who pressures Marguerite to leave his son to protect the family's social standing and his daughter's marriage prospects.
  • Prudence Duvernoy: Marguerite's neighbor and friend who acts as a go-between, often motivated by her own financial interests.
• Brief Summary: Armand Duval, a young bourgeois man, falls in love with Marguerite Gautier, a famous courtesan in Paris. Despite their different social positions, they begin a passionate relationship and retreat to the countryside. But Armand's father intervenes, asking Marguerite to leave his son for the sake of the family's reputation. What follows is a story of sacrifice, misunderstanding, and regret told through letters and memories after Marguerite's death.
• Thematic Analysis: The novel explores the collision between genuine love and social class. Marguerite's willingness to sacrifice her own happiness reveals how society punishes women for their past while rewarding men for the same behavior. The book also examines how pride and misunderstanding can destroy what two people actually want.
• Historical Context: Published in 1848, the novel was based on Alexandre Dumas fils' real relationship with Marie Duplessis, a well-known Parisian courtesan who died of tuberculosis at 23. The book caused a scandal for its sympathetic portrayal of a "fallen woman" and became one of the bestselling novels in France before being adapted into the opera La Traviata by Verdi in 1853.