Charles Bovary A country doctor. He lacks intelligence and imagination; he is naive and unaggressive and has the most conventional and mundane interests.
Emma Bovary She is portrayed as an irresponsible, immature, and neurotic woman who is unable to adjust to the realities of her life.
Rodolphe Emma's first lover, a shrewd bachelor who lives on his estate near Yonville.
Leon Emma's early friend and later her second lover.
Marquis d'Andervilliers A nobleman who invites the Bovarys to a ball at La Vaubyessard, his chateau.
The Blind Beggar A hideously deformed creature whom Emma encounters several times on the road between Rouen and Yonville, and who passes beneath her window when she is dying. His ugly appearance and ghastly song horrify her whenever they meet. He has been interpreted as a symbol of either Death or the Devil.
Berthe The daughter of Charles and Emma Bovary.
Binet The tax collector at Yonville.
Maitre Bocage Leon's employer at Rouen.
Bournisien The priest at Yonville. He is a good-natured and simple man but utterly lacking in intelligence, perception, or sophistication. He accepts and defends all the dogmatic and outmoded aspects of official church thought and never dares to question anything. He has no understanding of the real needs of his parishioners. He represents the ignorance and inadequacies of the rural clergy in Flaubert's time and serves as an effective counterpoint to Homais.
Mme. Bovary the Elder Charles' mother. In order to compensate for the unhappiness of her marriage, she has been an overly protective and indulgent mother. When her son becomes an adult, she is grasping and domineering and tries to run his life for him. She is jealous of Charles' affection for his wife, and as a result, she and Emma do not get along well.
M. Bovary Charles' father. He is a former army officer who was forced to resign from the service. He is tyrannical, cruel, and boastful; he spends and drinks too much and is an unfaithful husband.
