Valmont
One-time lover of Marquise de Merteuil, an unscrupulous libertine who with the trained eye of a predator has singled out the emotional weakness of the beautiful—and, more importantly, virtuous--Madame de Tourvel. Valmont’s goal in seducing de Tourvel is part of an alliance made to extract revenge on behalf of the Marquise against Count de Gercourt.
Marquise de Merteuil
Every bit as intelligent, cynical and sophisticated as her former lover and perhaps more than his equal on the level of potential danger. She is single-minded in her devotion to seeking revenge against de Gercourt. So callous in her disregard for the feelings of anyone else, in fact, that Valmont’s darker characteristics are put to the test.
Comte de Gercourt
Former lover of the Marquise whom he jilted in favor of de Tourvel. Thus does the Marquise enlist the assistance of Valmont to seduce the woman whom she feels little actual emotion toward at all. Madame de Tourvel is essentially just collateral damage of little consequence in the strategic aim of plot to bring down Gercourt. And destroy him she must; after all, he damaged her vanity.
Cecilia de Volanges
While de Gercourt is about to become the victim of an insidious plot to ruin him on account of rejecting the Marquise for the Madame, it is important to realize that the whole time he is actually engaged to Cecilia. Her mother has arranged the betrothal of the young woman to the Comte, unaware that this decision is really only going to result in her daughter become more collateral damage. That damage comes primarily in the form a pregnancy at the hands of one man while engaging in an affair with another; neither of whom are named de Gercourt.
Chevalier Danceny
If the novel were a film noir, the Chevalier would its poor sap. His financial insecurities is more than matched boy emotional insecurities, making him the perfect tool for both the Marquise and Valmont to manipulate as part of their plan to bring down a hellstorm of humiliation upon de Gercourt.
Madame de Tourvel
What seems like a fairly predictable order of events playing out exactly like a game of chess matching two grand masters of manipulation suddenly takes an unpredictable turn, however, and the woman deemed to be collateral damage of little consequence turns out to be of quite great significance. Valmont’s predatory eye succeeds in knowing exactly how to win de Tourvel’s heart, what he did not see was in winning her heart, the cost would be losing his. When de Tourvel becomes expendable as part of the plan for vengeance by the Marquise, she insists that Valmont drop her and set his attention upon Cecilia. The realization that de Tourvel truly loved him comes only her death and the subsequent realization that he loved her back changes everything, turning the endgame into one in which the Marquise becomes little more than collateral damage of her own machinations.
