Éponine

Éponine is one of the children of M. Thénardier and Mme Thénardier, whose household in Montfermeil takes in Cosette for a fee. The available account places her within a family marked by poverty and exploitation, while identifying no individual actions or decisions of her own.

Identity and Family

Éponine is named as a daughter of M. Thénardier and Mme Thénardier, alongside her siblings Azelma and Gavroche. Her father had served as a sergeant at the Battle of Waterloo and tried to rob Marius Pontmercy while he lay unconscious; when Marius awoke, he mistook M. Thénardier for the man who had saved him. M. Thénardier later became an innkeeper in Montfermeil and, after falling into poverty, a thief known as Jondrette.

The Household in Montfermeil

M. Thénardier and Mme Thénardier run the inn together. They take in Cosette in exchange for payment, but Mme Thénardier makes the child work as a servant and beats her. These details establish the unequal conditions inside the household: Cosette is received as a paying guest in name, yet treated as a subordinate in practice.

Narrative Context

Éponine’s place in the account is defined through her family and the inn’s treatment of Cosette. The contrast between the arrangement to board Cosette for money and the mistreatment she suffers reveals the household’s exploitative character. The evidence identifies Éponine as one of the Thénardiers’ children but does not attribute her mother’s treatment of Cosette to her personally.