Félix Tholomyès is a law student in Paris who enjoys clever talk and easy pleasure. He moves in a bright circle of young men who like to laugh, drink, and spin fine words about love. With Fantine, he plays the courtly lover, full of jokes, surprises, and promises that sound grand in the moment. He is charming, but his charm rests on not taking anything too seriously, least of all duty.
When the thrill fades, he shows the limits of his heart. He slips away from Fantine with a smiling speech and a neat excuse, treating her trust as a passing amusement. Tholomyès is not a villain in his own mind; he is a man who believes that wit and comfort can wash away the weight of his choices. In the story, he stands for a kind of careless privilege, the kind that leaves others to carry the cost once the laughter ends.