Editing Manon Lescaut (section)

==Plot summary==
The seventeen-year-old Chevalier des Grieux, a [[seminary]] student and the younger son of a noble family, falls in [[love at first sight]] with Manon, a common woman on her way to a [[convent]]. He persuades her to run away with him, disappointing his father and forfeiting his hereditary wealth. In [[Paris]], the young lovers enjoy a blissful cohabitation, while des Grieux struggles to satisfy Manon's taste for luxury. He acquires money by increasingly desperate means: borrowing from his unwaveringly loyal friend Tiberge, cheating gamblers, stealing, and murder. On three occasions, des Grieux's wealth evaporates (by theft, in a house fire, etc.), prompting Manon to pursue a richer man for money because she cannot stand living in penury.[[File:AlbertLynch The JollyBoat Large.jpg|thumb|''Manon Lescaut and Her Lover, Des Grieux, Are Set Ashore in Louisiana'' (1896), by [[Albert Lynch]]|left|alt=Painting of a Des Grieux and Manon on a rowboat, gazing nobly into the distance while they are rowed ashore with low-class fellow travelers]]
Manon is deported to [[New Orleans]] as a prostitute and des Grieux travels with her. They pretend to be married and live in idyllic peace for a while. Des Grieux reveals their unmarried state to the Governor, [[Étienne Perier (governor)|Étienne Perier]], and asks to be wed to Manon. Perier's nephew, Synnelet, sets his sights on winning Manon's hand. In despair, des Grieux challenges Synnelet to a duel and knocks him unconscious. Thinking he has killed the man and fearing retribution, the couple flee New Orleans. They venture into the wilderness of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], hoping to reach an English settlement. Manon dies of exposure and exhaustion and des Grieux buries her, in the tragic climax of the tale. Heartbroken, he is taken back to France by Tiberge.