Manon Lescaut

Des Grieux is the protagonist who narrates the story, which is, in a sense, a salvation or redemption narrative: Des Grieux falls into sin by way of Manon at the beginning, but he returns to the path of righteousness by the end. Des Grieux is very young when he meets Manon, only 17. He claims he is well known for his upright behavior and intellectual pursuits. This is meant to highlight out of character his behavior is with Manon. However, it is not out of character for any 17-year-old boy to be attracted to a beautiful girl, and Des Grieux’s claims about his complete innocence and “natural aversion to vice” (12) are thus suspect from the very beginning.

Indeed, Des Grieux is overwhelmingly selfish and manipulative. He uses and abuses almost everyone he comes into contact with to achieve his only goal—being with Manon. He even takes pride in his sins, such as learning how to cheat at cards or shooting the servant who tries to prevent his escape from Saint-Lazare. He uses his education and facility with language to continually justify his behavior, a characteristic that shocked Prévost’s contemporaneous readers.

Des Grieux’s pursuit of Manon is scandalous on many levels: He rejects his family and his friends, lives in sin with a commoner, and cheats, steals, and lies to get what he wants.