La Chienne

Meek cashier and aspiring painter who longs for artistic recognition. He invites Lulu into his world, hoping love and talent will redeem his modest life. Naive and loyal, he is ultimately crushed by manipulation, deceit, and the costs of ambition. He ends by losing his job and roaming the streets as a broken figure.

Lulu is a prostitute who uses charm and cunning to climb socially and financially. She engineers Maurice’s decline by posing as part of a powerful, glamorous circle and deceiving him about her supposed brother. Her warmth is a weapon that hides self-interest and ruthlessness. She is eventually murdered by Maurice in a moment of betrayal.

Dédé is Lulu's pimp and mastermind of the con that fuels the couple's rise. He thrives on deception and profit, exploiting Maurice’s trust to launder money through fake artworks. He faces a harsh fate when his crimes are revealed.

An art critic who helps shape the market's reception of Maurice’s work. His judgments illustrate how critics can amplify or bury a painter’s reputation. He embodies the era’s appetite for prestige and popularity in art.

Adèle’s former husband, who supposedly died in the war but is very much alive. He reappears to claim money, revealing the fragility of reputations and the precariousness of postwar identities. His reappearance destabilizes the already fragile domestic world.

A wealthy buyer in the art world who buys Maurice’s paintings after Lulu’s deception, highlighting the commerce-driven nature of the postwar market. His support can turn a painter’s career, but it rests on manufactured authenticity.

Maurice’s wife, abusive and derisive, who belittles his art and guards a hidden stash of money. Her presence grounds Maurice’s domestic life and his humiliations, showing how a marriage can briefly destabilize a dream of success.