Félicité Rougon (née Puech)

Daughter of an oil dealer from Plassans. Married to Pierre Rougon in 1811. Zola pulls no punches in describing her as “thin, flat-breasted, with pointed shoulders and a face like that of a polecat.” She had three sons between 1811 and 1815 (Eugene, Pascal and Aristide) and two daughters, Marthe (b.1816), and Sidonie(b.1819).
She ensures all three of her sons have a good education.
She is very ambitious and keeps Pierre to the task of taking a leading role in the local government, to the point of secretly intercepting letters to her husband from their son.