Marianne

Marianne is a playable character from the game Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Marianne is a student at the Officers Academy who is from the Leicester Alliance and is a member of the Golden Deer. She possesses a minor Crest of The Beast. She is 17 at the start of the game.

Early life
Marianne is the daughter of an unmentioned noble within the Leicester Alliance. At 14 years old, she was adopted by the lord of the remote Margraviate of Edmund.

Academy phase
Marianne enrolls in Garreg Mach Monastery Officers Academy in Imperial Year 1180, and joins the Golden Deer. In her Support with Hanneman, her adoptive father sent a letter to the church with a large donation to keep her Crest a secret.

War phase
If recruited during the Academy phase, she will join on behalf of her adoptive father whose interest is to build up relations with the factions that were taught by Byleth for political reasons.

Paralogue
Rumors have spread across the monastery of a beast said to kill people in the middle of the night in a forest. Originally known as Maurice, it was rumored that those who bore his Crest would also transform into a hideous beast like him and kill unsuspecting people. His latest descendant, Marianne, has drawn ire from the uninformed masses. Seeing her plight, Byleth agrees to help her confront the beast and slay it if needed, bringing their students for help. In the forest, the beast approaches Marianne and realizes that she bears his crest, but nonetheless attacks her and sends more monster after her and her allies. After a fierce battle, the Beast is slain and he thanks his descendant for finally putting his soul to rest. The sword Maurice originally carried, Blutgang is found by his corpse, which she takes back to the Monastery. With the sword in hand, the rumors die down as the truth had been revealed as a result of the battle.

Personality
Marianne has low self-esteem and often full of pessimism. She actively avoids most people as she fears that her presence will bring them misfortune. When she talks, whenever she does, she tends to keep things brief and will try to detach as soon as she can. Because of her withdrawn and recluse nature, Marianne hardly socializes with her peers. She speaks so infrequently that there are many students who have never heard her speak.

This is due to her unique Crest of Maurice, also known as the Crest of the Beast. Said Crest has a dubious reputation for cursing members of her family and having control of a beast said to kill unsuspecting visitors of a particular forest. She believes that it is due to her crest that both of her parents went missing. This lead to her adoption by Margrave Edmund who is among the few privy to her secret, but genuinely cares for her despite the rumors. Due to this, her adopted father paid a large sum to keep it a secret to the staff, so much so that few even knows that she bears a crest and was told never tell a soul that she is a bearer of the Crest. Marianne fears having her secret known and maintains her distance as a result. While she uses it in battle, she dislikes doing so out of fear of revealing its true nature to her peers.

She is fond of animals in general, often found talking to birds or can be found taking care of the horses in the monastery, most notably taking care of Dorte whom she seems to understand. She loves birds and other animals, opening her heart to them and talking to them. She is deeply religious, and prays to the Goddess every day. This is not to say her devotion is out of sheer belief, as she considered herself a curse and hoped that praying to the Goddess would allow her to escape it.

After the timeskip, she has gained significantly more confidence and has lost some of her gloominess, notably looking much more lively and healthier as a result. In certain supports, she can learn to come to terms with her Crest and become more accepting of its nature. However, this pessimism and dislike of her Crest can be absolved by completing her paralogue, revealing that there was no truth to the curse and no longer needs to live a life of fear. She remains mostly reserved, but no longer has the same tone as before.

Growth Rates

 * 35%
 * 20%
 * 50%
 * 40%
 * 40%
 * 35%
 * 15%
 * 45%
 * 40%
 * }

Maximum Stats

 * 68
 * 30
 * 73
 * 56
 * 57
 * 49
 * 39
 * 64
 * 57
 * }

Learnt Magic

 * D
 * Blizzard
 * Heal
 * D+
 * Nosferatu
 * C
 * Thoron
 * Physic
 * C+
 * B
 * Cutting Gale
 * Silence
 * B+
 * A
 * Fimbulvetr
 * Aura
 * A+
 * }
 * Silence
 * B+
 * A
 * Fimbulvetr
 * Aura
 * A+
 * }
 * Fimbulvetr
 * Aura
 * A+
 * }
 * }
 * }
 * }


 * The Budding Talent of Marianne unlocks the Combat Art Frozen Lance.

Overall
A player who wants to recruit Marianne into other Houses will need a high Magic Stat (around 15-20) and a high Riding Skill (around C). Having at least a C Support Rank will help, too.

Marianne is the main healer for the Golden Deer house, but differs from other healers like Mercedes, Linhardt or Flayn in that her Faith spell list is more offensively oriented, having access to Aura and Silence, but she still does her healing job well thanks to Physic. Her budding talent in Lances and strength in Riding means that she can become an acceptable Holy Knight, and her talent in swords means she can do quite well with a Levin Sword or Blutgang (since they scale off her magic stat). However, her low strength means that she should only use magic weapons or spells (or Frozen Lance, which allows her to use her Magic and can make her potent against sword users if she has Swordbreaker), as she will otherwise deal poor damage. Much like other mages, her physical bulk is poor, and her speed is only average, so she'll tend to be taken out easily if a fast enemy can reach her, especially Falcon Knights.

Another problem with Marianne is that her array of offensive spells tend to be inaccurate (besides Cutting Gale), which is compounded by her only having average dexterity growths. However, she tends to have a high critical hit chance with her spells, so she can dish out some powerful attacks if she lands her shots.

Marianne's above-average Charm growth and strength in Swords also means she can make for an adequate Dancer, with Sword Avo+20 providing a means for her to dodge incoming attacks. She is arguably better suited for the class than Hilda, who has a weakness in Authority and is better suited for Axe-based classes.

Supports

 * Byleth (S-Support with male Byleth)
 * Dimitri
 * Claude
 * Ferdinand
 * Linhardt
 * Ashe
 * Sylvain
 * Lorenz
 * Raphael
 * Ignatz
 * Lysithea
 * Hilda
 * Leonie
 * Hanneman

Quotes
Marianne/Quotes

Possible Endings
Marianne - Survivor of the Curse
 * Marianne returned home to a hero's welcome. The people praised her talent and acknowledged her as a savior of Fódlan. Her adoptive father groomed her as his successor, teaching her the power of words over weapons. By the time she claimed her inheritance, she had transformed into one of Fódlan's most skilled orators.

Marianne and Byleth (Azure Moon route)
 * Byleth announced an engagement to Marianne shortly after being named archbishop of the Church of Seiros. Before they were officially wed, Marianne first returned home to prepare for the ceremony and to study oration and management under her adoptive father. She returned under the Great Tree Moon, and became the archbishop's wife in a grand wedding. The Kingdom experienced remarkable growth thereafter, thanks to the church, and while the archbishop became known for his incredible wisdom, few people of the time understood the depth of his wife's influence.

Marianne and Byleth (Verdant Wind route)
 * Byleth announced an engagement to Marianne shortly after being named leader of the United Kingdom of Fódlan. Before they were officially wed, Marianne first returned home to prepare for the ceremony and to study oration and management under her adoptive father. She returned under the Great Tree Moon, and became queen of a restored Fódlan in a grand wedding. The kingdom experienced remarkable growth thereafter, and while Byleth became known as a leader of incredible wisdom, few people of the time understood the depth of the queen's influence.

Marianne and Byleth (Crimson Flower route)
 * Almost immediately after Byleth and Marianne had celebrated their engagement, the struggle against those who slither in the dark began in earnest. Together they fought tirelessly to bring the war to an end so that Fódlan could have lasting peace. Afterwards, they left the Imperial army and were officially wed in Edmund territory. In time, the pair grew into first-rate politicians under the tutelage of Margrave Edmund himself. With the emperor's blessing, they annexed part of Riegan territory, including Derdriu, and used their influence to improve relations and expand trade with foreign nations. Their work greatly contributed to the restoration of the Empire.

Marianne and Dimitri
 * Dimitri assumed the throne of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and spent his life ruling justly over Fódlan. Several years after his coronation, he took Marianne, whom he loved dearly, as his queen. Many of Dimitri's greatest achievements can be traced to wisdom provided by Marianne, who had received tutelage from her adoptive father, Margrave Edmund. Many years later, when Dimitri fell to illness, he clutched his queen's hand until the very end. The queen's journal, uncovered after her passing, contained recounts of their time together. The last words, penned with trembling hand, are: "I would not trade our time together or the happiness we knew for anything."

Marianne and Claude
 * Entrusting the future of Fódlan to his friends, Claude left for Almyra to reclaim his place as heir to the throne. Several years later, when he became king, he took initial steps to open trade routes with Fódlan, and entered into negotiations with Margrave Edmund. During this time, he was reunited with Marianne, who had grown under her adoptive father's guidance into a wise and talented woman. She offered him her aid, and as they worked together to secure friendly relations between their respective nations, they fell deeply in love.

Marianne and Ferdinand
 * Ferdinand announced his engagement to Marianne just after becoming the new Duke Aegir. While he got started restoring his territory, Marianne returned home to study politics under her shrewd adoptive father. When she returned to Ferdinand's side, they were wed, and with her new skills she proved herself to be an asset to the rebuilding effort. Aegir territory flourished under their reign, becoming one of the most prosperous regions in all Fódlan. It is said that Ferdinand commissioned a bronze statue of his wife to honor her, but that Marianne ordered it to be hidden away in storage for eternity.

Marianne and Linhardt
 * Marianne returned home to a warm welcome from her adoptive father, who recognized her wisdom and skill and began to groom her as his successor. Meanwhile, Linhardt abandoned his noble claim, and happened to choose Margrave Edmund's territory as the site at which to continue his Crest research. Edmund took a liking to Linhardt and approved wholeheartedly when the scholar and his daughter expressed their wish to marry. As Edmund's successors, the couple combined Linhardt's brilliance with Marianne's practical wisdom to bring abundance to the people.

Marianne and Ashe
 * After the war, Ashe was formally knighted, and appointed the new head of House Gaspard, which had no successors. The young and inexperienced lord faced a great deal of difficulty in governing, until his court was blessed with a new adviser in Marianne. Using skills imparted to her by her adoptive father, Marianne helped Ashe to solidify his position. As the prosperity of Gaspard territory grew, so did a love between them, and soon Margrave Edmund saw fit to bless the couple's happy marriage. Years later, Ashe asked Marianne what made her choose to help him in the first place. She simply smiled and said that she decided to make supporting him her dream.

Marianne and Lorenz
 * As the new head of House Gloucester, Lorenz first worked to restore his own territory, and then expanded his vision to include reforms for all Fódlan. At the height of his storied political career, he announced his marriage to Marianne. Prior to the wedding, she received extensive tutelage from her adoptive father, Margrave Edmund, so that by the time they were wed she was fully prepared to govern. The pair was particularly successful in providing new innovations in dairy farming, and came to be known as the mother and father of horses and cattle in the region. It is said that Lorenz was rather vexed by the title.

Marianne and Raphael
 * Raphael returned to his hometown, where he served his liege lord as a knight for a time. Later, he gave it up to pursue his true passion of food by opening up an inn. He got the idea to install a bird feeder outside the place, calling it The Winged Inn & Tavern, and before long, the site began to attract the prettiest birds in the region. Soon after that, Marianne made her first visit, and she and Raphael enjoyed a happy reunion. Seeing her gift in talking to the birds, he invited her to stay. Marianne eventually became known as the woman whose talent for handling animals helped an inn to flourish.

Marianne and Ignatz
 * Marianne returned home to a warm welcome from her adoptive father, who recognized her wisdom and skill and began to groom her as his successor. During that time, she had a chance reunion with Ignatz, who had persuaded his family to allow him to travel the world as an artist. Marianne wholeheartedly supported his work, and before long, came to be enchanted not merely by the landscapes and portraits of all he had seen in his travels, but also by his character. The romance between artist and patron was considered unusual, but long after their wedding, the story of how they fell in love was immortalized in popular plays.

Marianne and Hilda
 * After returning to their respective homes, Hilda and Marianne stayed in touch and deepened their friendship through letters. Hilda informed Marianne that her passion for crafting fashionable accessories had given her the idea to start an artisan academy, and in response, Marianne pledged the financial support of the house of Margrave Edmund. Soon, artisan schools began to appear all over Fódlan, producing talented craftsmen and high-quality trade goods, which contributed greatly to the prosperity of Fódlan. The accessories sent to Marianne personally by Hilda became some of the most highly valued treasures in history.

Marianne and Hanneman
 * After the war, Marianne and Hanneman stayed in touch and deepened their friendship through letters. When Hanneman's Crest research fell on hard times, Marianne was able to secure Margrave Edmund's financial support to allow his work to continue. The research bore fruit in the form of magical tools which could be used even without the aid of Crests, and the funding allowed these tools to be produced in great number. After Marianne inherited her adoptive father's house, she guided Hanneman to create a branch of research devoted to peaceful applications of Crestology. These advancements, which Hanneman provided, became the legacy of Marianne's later years.

Etymology
Marianne is a French name formed from the union of Marie and Anne, versions of English names Mary and Ann, meaning "beloved, and full of grace" or "bitter and graceful."

Maria traces its roots to the Hebrew name Mairyam, meaning "sea of sorrow", or the Egyptian "beloved." Anne comes from the Hebrew Hannah "full of grace."

Trivia

 * Marianne's Crest appears as a Crest Stone on the axe Edelgard wields after the time skip.
 * Marianne shares her English Voice Actress, Xanthe Huynh, with Eir from Fire Emblem Heroes.
 * Marianne stands at 163cm (or about 5’4”).
 * Marianne is the only potentially playable character (bar Byleth) to never be encountered during Part 2 if she's not already in the player's house.
 * In a survey conducted by Nintendo DREAM Magazine, Marianne placed 9th with 10.5% of the vote overall in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The male-female vote ratio was 1:2.