Diane de Maufrigneuse, also known as the Princesse de Cadignan is an aristocrat whose husband went into exile after the July Revolution in 1830 due to his loyalty to Charles X. She has had a number of love affairs which her husband has ignored. She was also loved by Michel Chrestien, who admired her from afar, usually attending the opera in order to see her. Chrestien, an ardent republican is killed in a republican uprising in 1832.