Daniel LeBlanc is Marie’s father in All the Light We Cannot See. Daniel, played by Mark Ruffalo, sacrifices his life to protect his daughter.
Daniel loves Marie more than anything in the world. He raised her all by himself and taught her to be independent. However, later in life, Marie finds out that her father has something to do with her blindness.
As Daniel works in a museum, he comes across a precious stone called the Sea of Flames. Legend says that whoever possesses the stone will live forever, but if a person touches the stone, their loved ones will suffer a terrible misfortune.
Daniel is a scientific man and does not believe in the legend, so he has touched the stone multiple times with his bare hands. Due to that, his daughter lost her vision.
Safeguarding the Sea of Flames
Daniel teaches Marie to pay attention to every sound around her and use her touch to perceive things. He even measures the cities they live in and builds their wooden models to acquaint her with the streets, which allows her to go wherever she wants without assistance.
When Paris is invaded by the Nazis in 1940, Daniel knows that the Germans will loot the museum, so he hides all the precious jewels in a dinosaur head and sends them to Geneva. He keeps the Sea of Flames with him, as he is aware of the jewel’s blessing and curse.
He then takes Marie to Saint-Malo to live with Uncle Etienne and Madam Manec, but he does not tell anyone that he is carrying the stone, not even Marie. Soon, Daniel’s efforts to measure the city for the model get the attention of the locals.
People started spreading rumors about how Daniel has come from Paris to aid the Resistance. When the rumors reach the Gestapo, they pay Daniel a visit.
Daniel gives them false papers and proves his innocence, but he knows that it is only a matter of time before the Germans find out who he is. He finally tells Etienne and Madam Manec about the Sea of Flames.
Etienne and Madam Manec do not want to draw attention to their house, as they are working for the Resistance. To keep the Germans away from the house and Marie safe, Etienne and Madam Manec send Daniel to Paris to trick the Gestapo.
Daniel is to lead the Germans to believe that he fled to Spain with his daughter and the Sea of Flames. Once he accomplishes that, he will be able to return to Saint-Malo. However, things do not go as planned.
A father’s love
Reinhold von Rumpel, a high-ranking German officer whose job is to find and obtain the most precious jewels of Europe for the Reich, is looking for the Sea of Flames. Reinhold wants the cursed stone for himself, as he is sick and does not have long to live.
Reinhold is desperate to get the cursed stone, and Daniel is not good at deception, so it does not take Reinhold long to find Daniel in Paris. Daniel is arrested and interrogated by Reinhold.
As Daniel is a practical man, Reinhold knows that he would not be willing to die for the stone but he would do that for his daughter, which leads him to the realization that the stone is with Marie.
Daniel hid the stone in the wooden model before he left for Paris. He refuses to give this information to Reinhold. Daniel is tortured for three hours, but his love for Marie keeps him from revealing her location to Reinhold.
When Reinhold fails to get information out of Daniel, he kills him. Daniel never returns to his daughter, but Marie believes that her father will live as long as she lives. Her love for her father will keep him alive.
Also Read: Reinhold von Rumpel: All the Light We Cannot See character explained
