Marie Laure’s father, Daniel LeBlanc, is selflessly devoted to his daughter—indeed, he spends long hours teaching her Braille and crafting elaborate models of Paris (and later Saint-Malo) to teach her how to walk through the city without her eyesight. In general, Daniel is clever and good with his hands—a talent that makes him an accomplished locksmith at the Museum of Natural History before he’s forced to flee the Germans along with his daughter. Because his employers at the Museum have tasked him with the protection of a priceless diamond, the Sea of Flames, Daniel leaves his daughter in Saint-Malo, is later imprisoned, and eventually dies of influenza. Daniel’s absence in Marie-Laure’s life is one of the defining and most tragic themes of the novel—a sign of their sincere love for one another.
Daniel LeBlanc Quotes in All the Light We Cannot See
The All the Light We Cannot See quotes below are all either spoken by Daniel LeBlanc or refer to Daniel LeBlanc. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Fourth Estate edition of All the Light We Cannot See published in 2015.
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0. Number 4 rue Vauborel
Quotes
Marie-Laure twists the chimney of the miniature house ninety degrees. Then she slides off three wooden panels that make up its roof, and turns it over. A stone drops into her palm. It’s cold. The size of a pigeon’s egg. The shape of a teardrop. Marie-Laure clutches the tiny house in one hand and the stone in the other. The room feels flimsy, tenuous. Giant fingertips seem about to punch through its walls. “Papa?” she whispers.
Related Characters:
Marie-Laure LeBlanc (speaker), Daniel LeBlanc
Related Symbols:
The Sea of Flames, The Models of Paris and Saint-Malo
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
1. Key Pound
Quotes
He sweeps her hair back from her ears; he swings her above his head. He says she is his émerveillement. He says he will never leave her, not in a million years.
Related Characters:
Marie-Laure LeBlanc, Daniel LeBlanc
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire All the Light LitChart as a printable PDF.

Daniel LeBlanc Character Timeline in All the Light We Cannot See
The timeline below shows where the character Daniel LeBlanc appears in All the Light We Cannot See. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
One (1934): Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
...LeBlanc is a tall, pretty 6-year-old living in Paris. She’s slowly going blind. Her father Daniel works in the Natural History Museum, and decides to send his daughter on a children’s...
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One (1934): Key Pound
...can do nothing for her. Everyone in Marie-Laure’s community pities her—indeed, they even pity her Marie-Laure’s father , who’s had a tough life. His own father died in World War I, and...
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Marie-Laure’s father tries to stay optimistic about Marie-Laure’s condition. He trains her to guide herself without the...
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Marie-Laure’s father makes sure that his daughter is given as good an education as he can get...
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On weekends, Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father walk around Paris, enjoying all the things in it that cannot be seen: delicious smells...
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One (1934): Take Us Home
Growing up, Marie-Laure loves to solve the puzzles her father (Daniel) gives her on her birthdays. Each puzzle is a beautifully carved wooden object—often a box,...
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One day, Marie-Laure’s father presents her with a beautiful model of Paris. He instructs her to study the model...
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One (1934): Light
Over the following weeks, Marie-Laure’s father forces her to practice moving about the city with her cane. She studies the model...
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One (1934): Around the World in Eighty Days
...She also starts to imagine everyone and everything in her life in a different color. Marie-Laure’s father is olive-green, her mother is white, the kitchen in her house is red, etc.
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...novel, savoring its fanciful plot and charismatic characters, like Phileas Fogg and Jean Passepartout. Because Marie-Laure’s father is too poor to buy her many other books, she reads Around the World in...
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One (1934): Sea of Flames
...anything. She reads whatever she can find, and especially enjoys the last book her father Daniel bought her: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
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Marie-Laure, remembering the stories of the cursed Sea of Flames, asks her father Daniel if he believes the curse is real. Marie-Laure’s father replies that he doesn’t believe it...
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One (1934): Fade
...diamond will curse her beloved father. She tries to convince herself that Dr. Geffard and Marie-Laure’s father are right—the diamond is just another rock, albeit a very pretty one.
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...up find two new boxes. The first is a wooden puzzle-box, which she solves easily— Marie-Laure’s father is highly impressed. The second box contains her newest book, a copy of Part 1...
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One (1934): Rumors
...father if he’s concerned about the German invasion. Although the Germans have already invaded Austria, Marie-Laure’s father insists that there’s nothing to be concerned about. Marie-Laure tries to calm herself by reading...
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One (1934): Mark of the Beast
...blind girls before they take the gimps.” This episode disturbs Marie-Laure greatly, and she asks Marie-Laure’s father what will happen if there’s a war in France. Her father tries to reassure her...
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One (1934): Bye-bye, Blind Girl
...trying to keep their exhibits safe from damage. On the morning that Marie-Laure turns twelve, Marie-Laure’s father gives her the second volume of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but no puzzle-box. Marie...
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One (1934): Flight
...late. Marie-Laure sits at home, trying to concentrate on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Suddenly, Marie-Laure’s father comes home from the museum and tells her that they need to leave, quickly. He...
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Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father quickly walk through the streets of Paris. Marie-Laure counts her steps, carefully keeping track of...
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One (1934): Exodus
Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father walk through Paris, trying to find a way out of the city before the Germans...
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That night, Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father sleep outside in the woods. When Marie-Laure falls asleep, her father takes out a small...
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Two (8 August 1944): Number 4 rue Vauborel
...alone in her room, clutching the stone in her fist. She calls her father’s name, Daniel, and wonders if her great-uncle Etienne has managed to survive the bombing as well. She...
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Three (June 1940): Château
Two days have gone by since Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father fled Paris. They enter the town of Evreux, which is in a state of chaos....
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Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father continue walking through the city. They decide to go to a hotel on the outskirts...
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Marie-Laure’s father explains to Marie-Laure that they’re trying to find his uncle, Etienne, Marie-Laure’s great-uncle. Etienne is...
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Three (June 1940): Brittany
Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure’s father make their way to the town of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s Great-Uncle Etienne lives. As the...
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Three (June 1940): Madame Manec
As the chapter begins, Marie-Laure’s father is introducing her to an old woman named Madame Manec. Manec seems overjoyed to meet...
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...is so famished that she eats everything she’s given in only a few minutes. Meanwhile, Marie-Laure’s father discusses Etienne with Manec. Marie-Laure comes to understand that Manec is her great-uncle’s maid and...
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Three (June 1940): Occupier
In the following days, Marie-Laure asks Marie-Laure’s father about the German invasion of Paris. He explains that the soldiers have occupied the city,...
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Three (June 1940): Etienne
...Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle. As Etienne and Marie-Laure get to know each other, Marie-Laure’s father is walking down the streets, watching Nazi soldiers keep patrol.
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Three (June 1940): The Boches
...French foods, stimulating the local economy. Nevertheless, Marie-Laure is becoming homesick for Paris. She asks Marie-Laure’s father when they’ll return—he replies that he doesn’t know. Marie-Laure’s father also warns her not to...
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Three (June 1940): Time of the Ostriches
Time goes by, and still Marie-Laure and her father Daniel don’t return to Paris. Marie-Laure is eager to return, and calculates that she’s spent about...
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...is the “time of the ostriches”—everyone’s head is buried in the sand. All this time, Marie-Laure’s father continues whittling models of the buildings.
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Three (June 1940): Mandatory Surrender
Marie-Laure’s father has just learned that the people of Saint-Malo must surrender their radios immediately—anyone who refuses...
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Three (June 1940): Letter #5: to Daniel LeBlanc
On December 10, 1940, a man named Daniel LeBlanc, living in Saint-Malo, receives a telegraph telling him to return to Paris at the...
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Three (June 1940): Bath
...the city—eventually she’ll be able to move about freely through the streets. Meanwhile Marie-Laure’s father (Daniel) has been going through a crisis lately. He obsesses over the diamond he’s been carrying...
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...a pang of guilt: he’ll be leaving without her. Marie-Laure asks, “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Daniel reluctantly replies that he is, and insists that he’ll only be gone for about ten...
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Three (June 1940): The Arrest of the Locksmith
Daniel LeBlanc is arrested just outside of Paris. Police officers look through his possessions, and find...
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Four (8 August 1944): Two Cans
...to find a set of cans. She remembers going to the Panthéon with her father Daniel, years ago. There, they watched Foucault’s pendulum spinning across the floor, “grooving and regrooving its...
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Five (January 1941): He Is Not Coming Back
Marie-Laure wakes up one day, thinking that her father Daniel has returned from Paris. But this is only the wind—her father has been gone from...
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Five (January 1941): Plage du Môle
Marie-Laure’s father has been gone from her life for 29 days. One day, Marie-Laure hears Madame Manec...
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Five (January 1941): Letter #6: To Marie-Laure, from Daniel
Daniel LeBlanc sends his daughter a letter. He explains that he is in Germany. He claims...
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Five (January 1941): The Rounds
Marie-Laure wonders what has become of Daniel. She feels the model city he built for her, and wonders about the letter he...
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Five (January 1941): Letter #7: Daniel LeBlanc to His Daughter
In this letter, Daniel tells his daughter that the people in his cell are very kind, and entertain him...
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Five (January 1941): Visitors
...in Paris. Marie-Laure notices that the officers smell like they’ve “been feasting.” They explain that Marie-Laure’s father has been convicted of conspiracy and theft, and sent to prison. They add that they...
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...officers ask Marie-Laure, Manec, and Etienne more questions. They ask to see the letters that Daniel sent to Marie-Laure. Etienne produces these, and they read them carefully. The officers also ask...
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Five (January 1941): Letter #10: Daniel LeBlanc to His Daughter
Daniel LeBlanc sends Marie-Laure a letter in which he tells her that her parcels have arrived,...
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Five (January 1941): Heaven
...to rest for a while. Manec tells Marie-Laure that she must continue to believe that Marie-Laure’s father will return to her. Manec insists that people should never stop believing in what’s important...
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Six (8 August 1944): Sixth-floor Bedroom
...daughters, and wishes he could have built beautiful models for them, of the kind that Daniel built for his daughter. As he looks for the stone, the city is very quiet.
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Seven (August 1942): The Wardrobe
...the sixth floor of the house. Then he tells Marie-Laure what he’s been contemplating. Although Daniel has begged him to keep Marie-Laure safe, Etienne wants Marie-Laure to help him fight alongside...
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Seven (August 1942): Grotto
...Although she’s exhilarated by her participation in the resistance, she can’t help but think of Daniel as well. She imagines reuniting with him one day. She remembers him saying, “I will...
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Seven (August 1942): The Messages
Marie-Laure receives another letter from Daniel. The letter contains the line, “If you ever wish to understand, look inside Etienne’s house,...
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Seven (August 1942): Rue des Patriarches
Von Rumpel inspects the large model of Paris he sees in the middle of Daniel’s apartment. As he stares more closely at the model, he remembers the intricate designs of...
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Eight (9 August 1944): In the Attic
...house, but she knows that this is foolish—she’ll be safest here. She imagines talking to Daniel. In her imagination, her father encourages her to stay where she is, even though she’s...
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...fehlt, wo bist du Häuschen?” but Marie-Laure doesn’t know what this means. In her imagination, Marie-Laure’s father tells her not to open the cans for fear that the intruder will hear her....
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Nine (May 1944): Numbers
...from a man named Jean Brignon. Brignon had previously agreed to tell von Rumpel about Daniel Leblanc, on the condition that von Rumpel help Jean Brignon’s cousin. Brignon now tells von...
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Nine (May 1944): Big Claude
...and is rewarded with food and money. When von Rumpel arrives in Saint-Malo, looking for Daniel LeBlanc, he talks to Claude. Claude points von Rumpel to Etienne’s house.
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Nine (May 1944): Grotto
...collected any snails—she’s lying. The man asks Marie-Laure to answer some questions about her father Daniel, and he tells her that Daniel is in prison 500 kilometers away. Marie-Laure’s heart sinks....
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Nine (May 1944): Nothing
...is standing in the grotto, answering the man’s questions. He has asked her about what Daniel was doing during his six months in Saint-Malo. As the man talks to her, Marie-Laure...
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...Marie-Laure that he’s been searching for “treasures” for many years. He wants to know what Daniel left behind for Marie-Laure. Marie-Laure immediately answers, “Nothing.” Surprised by Marie-Laure’s boldness, the man falls...
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Nine (May 1944): Little House
...also remembers what her interrogator in the grotto asked her: he wanted to know if Marie-Laure’s father was carrying anything for the museum. Finally, Marie-Laure remembers the letters her father sent her....
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Nine (May 1944): Sea of Flames
Marie-Laure studies the Sea of Flames, which she has just discovered inside Daniel’s model of Saint-Malo. She can tell that the stone is beautiful, but it intimidates her...
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Ten (12 August 1944): Fort National
...eyes and tries to remember his past. He thinks about his house, about his nephew Daniel, and about Madame Manec. He thinks of Marie-Laure and her love for 20,000 Leagues Under...
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Ten (12 August 1944): Are You There?
...ask, in French, “Are you there?” The mysterious person might as well be Madame Manec, Marie-Laure’s father , or Etienne—he symbolizes everyone who’s ever abandoned her. The man whispers, in clumsy French,...
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Eleven (1945): 177. Paris
...the same apartment where Marie-Laure used to live. Every day he looks for news of Daniel, but never finds any. Marie-Laure reunites with Dr. Geffard. She thinks about what’s become of...
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Twelve (1974): Laboratory
...passed away, but before his death he and Marie-Laure tried to determine what happened to Daniel. They hired a private investigator, who learned that Daniel was sent to a labor camp...
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Thirteen (2014)
...walk the streets as well: the souls of Etienne, Madame Manec, Werner Pfennig, and even Marie-Laure’s father . Perhaps their souls are walking the streets, but the living just don’t know it.
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