Fantine Descoteaux

***Full Name:*** Fantine Dior Descoteaux

***Birthdate:*** October 5th, 1973

***Died:*** December 13th, 2002

***Age:*** 22 (at death)

***Gender:*** Female

***Height:*** 5’7

***Weight:*** 118 pounds

***Hair Color:*** Black

***Eye Color:*** Light green

***Species:*** Human (formerly)

Ghost

***Alias:*** Fantine

***Family Members:*** Raoul Descoteaux (father)

Gisèle Descoteaux (mother)

Achille Descoteaux (son)

Unnamed ex-boyfriend

***Occupation:*** Unknown

***Residence:*** Paris, France

Ghoulsby, Massachusetts (formerly)

***Abilities:*** Manifestation

Invisibility

Corporealization

Intangibility

Flight

Teleportation

Amortality

Telekinesis

***Status:*** Deceased

**Fantine Descoteaux** is a mentioned character in the novel *DOBREV*. She is the late mother of Achille Descoteaux, and the daughter of Gisèle and Raoul. Fantine never makes an actual appearance in the story, but her character is crucial in the development of Achille, and her form is manipulated by the ghost Bunnie.

### Early Life

Fantine Dior Descoteaux was born in Ghoulsby, Massachusetts to Gisèle and Raoul on October 5th, 1973. She attended plays with her family and spent summers in Paris, France, where her parents are from, and most likely attended school in Ghoulsby. Even from a young age, Fantine struggled with depression, appearing very melancholy in photographs from this time and for much of her young adult life, despite having a stable, happy environment to grow up in.

After graduating high school, Fantine decided to move to Paris for a fresh start, and although her parents were worried about their daughter, they supported her decision and kept in touch as the years passed. Fantine's "fresh start" did not go very well, as she could not hold down a job (mostly likely due to drug addiction) and owed debt to collectors; she eventually moved to a lower neighborhood of Paris. Things only became worse for Fantine when she became pregnant by an on-again, off-again boyfriend who was often in trouble with the law. She gave birth to a son, Rochildis (later known by his middle name, Achille), whom she mostly raised on her own due to her boyfriend hopping in and out of their lives.

Despite being unable to provide a stable, healthy living environment for her son, Achille was a relatively happy child, as seen in photographs Fantine sent her parents of their grandchild. Fantine's mental health only grew worse as the years went by; she was unable to come up with enough money to send Achille to school when he became of age, reluctantly accepting financial help from Raoul and Gisèle, though Fantine refused to accept any more help from them for undisclosed reasons.

On December 13th, 2002, when her seven year old son was at school one day, Fantine, saddled with debts and unable to get back together with her son's father, succumbed to her depression and sorrow, hanging herself in the kitchen of their small apartment. Achille discovered her body when he returned from class, and was subsequently raised by his grandparents in Ghoulsby, Massachusetts after finishing the school year in France. Fantine's ghost later presented itself to Achille at her funeral, triggering the boy's clairvoyant and psychic abilities; despite Fantine's spirit remaining on earth in a ghostly form, her son has only seen her in Paris on a few occasions.

### Appearance

> "The first was taken at an airport. Fantine didn’t look a day over eighteen, identical to her now-teenage son, save their vastly different expressions; while Achille had a stillness, an easygoing angle of fiery green eyes and relaxed lips, Fantine had what Mina could only describe as a *lost* expression." *-Mina Anderson looking at photos of Fantine in Chapter 8*
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While alive, Fantine is said to have looked extremely similar to her son, Achille: she had thin, dull black hair, straight eyebrows with a serious expression, and her eyes were more blue than green, lacking the thrilling energy of her son's. Her smile was faked and unhappy, even when seen holding her infant son in a photograph. It is likely that she was seen as attractive, sharing many qualities with Achille that make him popular with the girls at school.

In her ghost form, Fantine is seen wearing a loose half-sleeve shirt, a long skirt, has dirty feet and rope bruises on her thin throat (via her method of suicide); her sleek hair is the same, as are her sorrowful expressions, sad eyes and sickly body.

### Personality

Fantine's personality is never directly described in the novel, but various photographs and stories of her life hint that she was a very melancholic, depressed person who did not get much joy out of life, as noted by Mina and Dobrev after seeing pictures of Fantine in her youth. It is unknown why Fantine struggled with mental health from such a young age, given she shared the same happy childhood with her parents as Achille Descoteaux did, her son having a much happier outlook on life. Fantine struggled to find stability, even after moving to Paris, France for a new start.

Although Fantine did care for her son, the stress of raising a child on her own in addition to her debts and general unhappiness eventually became too much to bear. During a fit of sorrow, Fantine hung herself in the kitchen, not knowing that Achille, then seven years old, would be the one to discover her.

### Relationships

**Achille Descoteaux**

Not much is known about Fantine's relationship with Achille, though it is implied through photographs and stories told by her son that Fantine was probably not emotionally healthy or stable enough to take care of a child in addition to taking care of herself. Although Fantine did her best to care for Achille, his childhood was unstable, the duo often moving and living in low rent apartments to avoid creditors; in spite of this chaos, Achille was a happy child, even mischievous at times, such as when he brought a stray cat home and tried to cure it's drooling illness with "magic," only for the cat to destroy the couch.

When Fantine committed suicide, her seven year old son was the one who discovered her body: this event had a terrible, long lasting impression on Achille, causing him great guilt and anxiety even years following his mother's death. At Fantine's funeral, her ghost suddenly appeared to Achille, triggering his clairvoyant abilities; despite Fantine being a ghost, however, her son has only caught sight of her a few times while in Paris, something he tries to do every time he and his grandparents visit. Achille understands that his mother struggled with her mental health, but cannot help but feel responsible for some of this sorrow, falling into depressive episodes of his own whenever his mother's death date comes around.

> “I wish I could see her again,” Her son whispered. “It’s been years since she’s appeared to me…I try every time we go to Paris for the summer, but I just can’t connect to anything. And Lila being a jerk isn’t helping. It sucks when I know I can see every other ghost aside from the only person I *want* to see.” *-Achille to Dobrev in Chapter 10*
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When Bunnie (manipulated by Lila) disguises her ghost form as Fantine Descoteaux and stands in the road while Achille is driving his grandparents home from a play, he is so shocked by the image that he slams on the breaks to avoid "hitting" his mother, causing the car to crash and roll down a hill. Even though this is later revealed to have been a false precognition, Achille is visibly shaken by the attempt to confuse him using the image of his deceased mother, showing that he still suffers from the horrifying affects of her suicide.

**Gisèle Descoteaux**

Not much is known about the relationship Fantine shared with her mother, though it is likely Fantine had a similar childhood to Achille, making French dinners as a family and attending plays together. While Gisèle does occasionally speak of her deceased daughter, she is careful about what she says, and seems to feel great pain whenever telling a story about Fantine. Gisèle and her husband supported Fantine's decision to move to Paris after graduating high school, and did their best to keep in touch with her, especially after their grandson, Achille, was born. When Fantine was unable to make enough income to send Achille to school, her parents gave her money, which was reluctantly accepted by their daughter.

Gisèle was likely heartbroken over her daughter's suicide, worsened by the fact that her young grandson was the one who discovered Fantine's body. She and Raoul lived in Paris with Achille until his school year was finished, at which point they moved him back to Ghoulsby, Massachusetts with them, becoming his legal guardians since Achille's father was not involved.

**Raoul Descoteaux**

Not much is known about the relationship Fantine had with her father, but it is likely that they had a somewhat positive relationship, given Raoul's laidback, casual personality. Raoul and his wife would often take Fantine to plays, but she did not seem to enjoy them as much as her parents. Along with his wife, Raoul supported his daughter's decision to move to Paris, France after graduating high school, even though he was worried about her. They kept in touch over the years, though not as much as Raoul would have liked.

Following his daughter's suicide, Raoul and his wife were devastated, immediately flying to Paris to console their grandchild, who had discovered the body. Raoul and Gisèle later got custody of their grandson, allowing him to go by his middle name, Achille, after they moved back to Ghoulsby, where they would raise him in a different home than the one Fantine had been raised in, as their current home was haunted, which caused Achille great anxiety.

### Trivia

-Fantine was named after the character from Victor Hugo's novel *Les Misérables;* it is from Latin origin and means "infant." Her middle name, *Dior*, is originally a French surname.

-Fantine's son Achille looks nearly identical to her, only Achille's expressions aren't as sad and hopeless, and her eyes are more blue than green

-It is likely that Fantine graduated from Ghoulsby High School, as it is the only high school in Ghoulsby; this is the same school Everly Reign attends

-Her ghost is said to roam Paris, but her son Achille has only seen her a few times, and has never been able to speak to her. Whether this is because Fantine lacks the energy to speak/present to her son anymore or out of guilt for the hurt she caused him is unknown.