Jules/Chauncey de Langeais

Character Analysis

We meet Chauncey, an entitled, playboy type, on the banks of the Loire River in 1565. We meet Jules a six-foot-ten, "hard-core bad boy […] Dracula's spawn" (4.33) type at Enzo's Bistro circa modern day. Thing is, though we meet them centuries apart, Jules and Chauncey are actually the same person. Should we start calling him Julesey or perhaps Chaunceles to avoid confusion?

Bratty Chauncey

In the prologue, Chauncey doesn't start off on a good foot. We see him pressing the silver buckle from his shoe into a farmer's daughter's hand as she scampers away from him. Whether it's a keepsake from their time spent together or a form of payment for making out with him, we're not sure, but he comes off as a major sleaze.

And then comes his "do you know who my father is" speech. It's clear Chauncey is used to bossing people around because, as he says, "My father was the Duc de Langeais. I'm the Duc de Langeais now" (P.8). He maintains this self-important, spoiled-brat attitude throughout the novel.

When Nora and Vee meet him hundreds of years later, he's still filthy rich. As Vee puts it, "You should see his house. Bruce Wayne can't compete" (13.32). Whoa. But Bruce Wayne Jules most definitely is not. He isn't a caped crime fighter by night—instead, he uses his money to influence and control others, which is definitely not a sign of a good guy.

Cryptic Jules

After Nora and Vee start hanging out with Jules and Elliot, Jules has a strange way of disappearing. He goes to the bathroom for a really long time on their double date to Delphic; he doesn't show up for a dinner date at the Borderline; and though Vee continues to hang out with him, Nora doesn't see him again until the final showdown at the high school.

His absence can mean one of two things: Either he's not important to the story, or he's hiding something. Because he still receives fairly regular mention, we're inclined to think he's hiding something, and based on the negative changes we see in Vee after she starts seeing him (such as defending Elliot's attack on Nora), we're also inclined to think that he isn't just hiding something, he's hiding something bad.

Victim or Villain?

So what is his secret? Oh, just that he's Patch's Nephil vassal. Being a vassal means that Jules is forced to give up his body and free will to Patch two weeks out of the year during Cheshvan. That has to be annoying, and Jules is seriously peeved about the whole setup.

In defense of his actions, Jules tells Nora, "Imagine yourself in my place […] Your body violated year after year" (28.82). We see his point, but we never really feel bad for him because he's a major whiner, plus he totally uses others in a way similar to how Patch has used him. Jules isn't capable of occupying people's bodies for weeks at a time like fallen angels can, but he can go into people's minds to make them feel and perceive things the way he wants them to. So much for treating others the way he'd like to be treated.

Plus, Jules preys on the weaker Elliot, manipulating him with money, and he's willing to kill Nora just to torture Patch. So sorry, Chaunceles, you're not getting much sympathy from us.

Family Ties

In addition to finding out Jules's true identity in the climax, we also learn that Jules and Nora are related:

I remembered my birthmark, and what Dabria had told me. Jules and I shared the same blood. In my veins was the blood of a monster. I shut my eyes, and a tear slid out. (28.75)

That's a bummer of a family tree Nora has, right? Thing is, besides a bloodline, Nora doesn't seem to have much in common with Jules. Still, we have a hunch we aren't done with this piece of info yet and that it will become more relevant in future books. Jules might be dead (thanks to Nora's sacrifice), but being his descendant seems like a pretty big deal.