Dubois’s Criminal Career

This flow traces Dubois’s shift from prison rescuer to Justine’s coercive adversary and eventual architect of the events that lead to her arrest.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Prisoner’s Escape

The Prisoner’s Escape A calculated rescue Dubois arranges a fire at the Conciergerie and uses the confusion to escape with Justine. She saves Justine from execution while accepting the deaths caused by the fire as an expendable cost. A recruitment attempt Once out of prison, Dubois urges Justine to abandon virtue and join the gang. The rescue establishes their relationship as both a debt of gratitude and an effort at coercive conversion.

A Rejected Recruit

A Rejected Recruit Ideological conflict Dubois claims that the rich and powerful have made honest survival impossible, so the poor are entitled to use crime. Justine refuses to treat social injustice as permission to harm others. Control through force When the gang threatens her, Dubois cannot simply send Justine away. She uses the others’ violence to enforce submission, revealing the coercion beneath her appeal to solidarity.

A Criminal Fortune

A Criminal Fortune Success and influence Dubois eventually appears as an affluent woman with jewels, connections, and social standing. Her wealth makes her seem protected from the consequences of the crimes that produced it. An old bond exploited She approaches Justine as a benefactor, offering money and employment. Justine’s gratitude and need give Dubois another chance to draw her into criminal activity.

The Dubreuil Scheme

The Dubreuil Scheme Theft proposed Dubois asks Justine to distract Dubreuil while she steals his money. Justine pretends to agree so she can warn him and prevent the crime without immediately denouncing her former rescuer. A fatal counterstroke Dubois discovers the obstruction and poisons Dubreuil, who dies after returning to Grenoble. She steals Justine’s belongings and escapes, leaving Justine exposed to suspicion and grief.

Fire and Recapture

Fire and Recapture Pursuit renewed Dubois arranges the fire at the inn where Justine is staying, hoping either to kill her or seize her in the confusion. Justine risks herself to reach Madame Bertrand’s baby. The final reversal Dubois captures Justine and frames her for the fire and the child’s death. Her escape from the nobleman’s house has only made her more valuable to a criminal determined to retaliate.

Two days before the scheduled execution

Immediately after the escape into the Forest of Bondy

Years after the prison escape

During Justine’s stay in Grenoble

At Villefranche, after Justine leaves Lyon