Who Éponine is
Éponine belongs to the Thénardier family, whose story brings together poverty, exploitation and concealed identities. She is thin and tough, and she has a deep loyalty of her own.
Marius encounters her family while he lives in a poor room in the Gorbeau house. There, the family uses the name Jondrette, and her father writes letters begging for money.
Éponine and the others in the story
Éponine's parents are the innkeepers who take charge of Cosette while Fantine goes to find work. They demand increasing payments from Fantine and make Cosette work as a servant.
Her father, Thénardier, is a schemer who returns under other names and keeps looking for profit. Her family's poverty forms part of the novel's wider picture of people living on society's margins.
Questions
Who is Éponine in Les Misérables?
Éponine is the eldest daughter of the Thénardiers, a family Marius meets in Paris.
Where does Marius encounter Éponine's family?
He encounters them as his neighbors in the Gorbeau house, where they use the name Jondrette.