47 pages • 1 hour read
Abbe PrevostManon Lescaut
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1731A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Literary characters are often described as either round or flat. Round characters are fully developed, have personalities and traits much like real people, and show some change or growth over the course of the story. The main characters of a story are usually round. Flat characters, on the other hand, are less well developed and remain unchanged throughout the story. Of the main characters—Des Grieux, Manon, Tiberge, and Lescaut—which are round and which are flat?
Manon Lescaut has been adapted to the theater, ballet, and opera. If you were responsible for a film adaptation of the story, what actors would you choose to portray the main characters? Why would these actors be best suited for these roles?
Though Manon is the title character, Des Grieux is the protagonist, and the vast majority of the story is told from his perspective, in his voice. What might be different about this story if it was told by Manon?
Tiberge’s dilemma about helping Des Grieux is one that many people face when a friend or loved one does something we consider harmful. Should we help that friend and thus enable that behavior, or should we refuse to help, possibly leaving our friend in even worse circumstances? What would you have done in Tiberge’s place?
Manon’s brother is at first enraged by her behavior but quickly apologizes. What changes his mind? What are his motives for being on good terms with Des Grieux and Manon?
Des Grieux and most of the other characters blame his misfortunes solely on Manon. Do you agree with this assessment? Why? If not, who do you believe is to blame for the story’s many tragic events?
Des Grieux is frequently rewarded for his potential. For example, his title, Chevalier Des Grieux, is not earned but instead given to him in anticipation of his earning it one day. Furthermore, many of the people who help or protect him do so because of his potential to be a good person or do great things. Manon, on the other hand, is punished for her potential. For instance, she is sent to the convent “to check that predisposition to pleasure which had already declared itself” (14). Similarly, she is sent to America because she poses a danger to young men like Des Grieux. This represents a gendered double standard common the era Prévost wrote in. How do such double standards manifest in society today?
Des Grieux continuously insists that he is a good and virtuous person, and that it is only love that has led him from the path of righteousness. Is Des Grieux a good person who is corrupted by Manon? Or was Des Grieux’s potential for corruption inherent in his personality?
Why does Manon go to see Des Grieux after his disputation?
The theater is mentioned frequently in the story, especially Manon’s fondness for it. How does Prévost use language associated with the theater and dramatic spectacle to tell this story?
