Wikipedia
The Thénardiers, commonly known as Monsieur Thénardier (; ) and Madame Thénardier, are fictional characters, the secondary antagonists in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables and in many adaptations of the novel into other media.
They are ordinary working-class people who blame society for their sufferings. Early in the novel, they own an inn and cheat their customers. After they lose the inn in bankruptcy, they change their name to "Jondrette" and live by begging and petty thievery. They serve, alongside Javert as one of the two arch-nemeses of the story's protagonist, Jean Valjean. While Javert represents the justice system that would punish Valjean, the Thenardiers represent the lawless subculture of society that would blackmail him. The novel portrays them as brutal and abusive figures; some adaptations transform them into clownish characters, though sometimes still criminals, to provide comic relief from the generally more serious tone of the story.