Skip to content
← All Characters
Portrait of Toussaint, a character in Les Misérables

Character · Les Misérables

Toussaint

Toussaint is a devoted household servant whose quiet loyalty and discretion prove invaluable to Jean Valjean's preservation of his secret life. Though her own background and history are not extensively explored, she enters Jean Valjean's service and proves herself utterly reliable and trustworthy. She manages the household with competence and accepts without question or criticism the peculiar arrangements of Jean Valjean's life—his mysterious absences, his multiple residences, and his anxious protectiveness toward Cosette.

Toussaint's greatest virtue lies in her complete devotion to those she serves. She regards Jean Valjean with veneration, convinced of his virtue and seeing in him a saint rather than a man with a hidden past. She serves Cosette with loyalty and affection, and she respects the boundaries of Jean Valjean's privacy without curiosity or judgment. In her humble way, Toussaint embodies the fidelity and discretion that allow Jean Valjean's carefully constructed life to remain intact and functional.