A Zola Dictionary Part 9

CHANTECAILLE (i.e. SINGSMALL), an usher at the college of Pla.s.sans.

He was so good-natured that he allowed the pupils to smoke when out walking. L'Oeuvre.

CHANTEGREIL, a poacher, who was sent to the galleys for shooting a gendarme. He was the father of Miette. La Fortune des Rougon.

CHANTEGREIL (MARIE), known as Miette, born 1838, daughter of Chantegreil, the poacher, who was sentenced to the galleys for murder.

She went to live with her aunt, the wife of Rebufat, farmer at Pla.s.sans.

Here she met Silvere Mouret, and an idyllic love affair followed. When Silvere joined the Republican Insurrection in 1861, Miette, fired by his enthusiasm, accompanied him, and carried the banner of revolt. In the attack by the regular troops, which soon followed, she fell mortally wounded. La Fortune des Rougon.

CHANTEGREIL (EULALIE). See Madame Eulalie Rebufat.

CHANTEMESSE (MADAME), a customer of Madame Francois, the market-gardener. It was she who brought up the two foundling children, Marjolin and Cadine. Le Ventre de Paris.

CHANTEREAU (MADAME), wife of an ironmaster. She was a cousin of the Fougerays, and a friend of the m.u.f.fats. With Madame du Joncquoy and Madame Hugon she gave an air of severe respectability to the drawing-room of Comtesse Sabine de m.u.f.fat. Her husband owned a foundry in Alsace, where war with Germany was feared, and she caused much amus.e.m.e.nt to her friends by expressing the opinion that Bismarck would make war with France and would conquer. Nana.

CHARBONNEL (M.), a retired oil-merchant of Pla.s.sans. His cousin Cheva.s.su, a lawyer, died leaving his fortune of five hundred thousand francs to the Sisters of the Holy Family. Charbonnel, being next heir, contested the will on the ground of undue influence; and the Sisterhood having pet.i.tioned the Council of State to authorize the payment of the bequest to them, he went to Paris, accompanied by his wife, in order to secure the influence of Eugene Rougon. The matter dragged on for some months, and was then indefinitely delayed by Rougon's resignation of the Presidency of the Council of State. After Rougon's appointment as Minister of the Interior, he induced the Council of State to refuse the pet.i.tion of the Sisterhood, and M. Charbonnel accordingly succeeded to the estate. Subsequently the Charbonnels accused the Sisters of having removed some of Cheva.s.su's silver plate, and Rougon ordered the police to make a search in the convent. This caused a scandal in the town, and brought the Charbonnels, as well as Rougon, into popular disfavour. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

CHARBONNEL (MADAME), wife of the preceding. She accompanied her husband to Paris to a.s.sist him in looking after their interests in the estate of his cousin Cheva.s.su. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

CHARDON (ABBE), the candidate favoured by Abbe Fenil for the vacancy in the church of Saint-Saturnin at Pla.s.sans. La Conquete de Pla.s.sans.

CHARDON (MADAME), a protegee of Madame Melanie Correur. The State having refused to accept some furnishings supplied by her, Eugene Rougon, the Minister, arranged the matter. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

CHARLES, a waiter at the Cafe Riche. It was he who served supper to Maxime Saccard and Renee in the White Salon. La Curee.

CHARLES, the attendant at the public washing-house where Gervaise Macquart had her great fight with Virginie. L'a.s.sommoir.

CHARLES, a butcher whose shop was in Rue Polonceau. The Coupeaus dealt with him. L'a.s.sommoir.

CHARLES, coachman in the service of Nana. He left her after a violent scene, in the course of which he called her a s.l.u.t. Nana.

CHARLES, a cousin of the little soldier Jules from Plogof. Germinal.

CHARLES, coachman to Aristide Saccard. He was discovered stealing oats, and was dismissed. In revenge, he disclosed to Madame Caroline the relations between his master and the Baroness Sandorff. L'Argent.

CHARLES, (MONSIEUR AND MADAME), see Badeuil.

CHARPIER, a grain merchant at Vendome. He became bankrupt, and his papers having been purchased by Fayeux on behalf of Busch, the latter found among them a doc.u.ment signed by Comte de Beauvilliers, undertaking payment of a large sum to Leonie Cron. L'Argent.

CHARRIER, a bricklayer who ama.s.sed a fortune by speculations in building-sites during the early days of the Second Empire. Along with Mignon, his partner, he had many business dealings with Aristide Saccard. La Curee.

CHARVET, one of the party which met at Lebigre's wine-shop to discuss revolutionary subjects. He was the best educated of the coterie, and his flood of bitter words generally crushed his adversaries. Le Ventre de Paris.

CHa.s.sAGNE (DOCTEUR), director of the asylum at Moulineaux, where Saturnin Josserand was confined for a time. Pot-Bouille.

CHAUMETTE, counsellor at the court of Rouen. At the trial of Roubaud he acted as a.s.sessor to the a.s.sizes. La Bete Humaine.

CHAUMETTE FILS, son of the preceding, was a subst.i.tute at Rouen. He was the latest fancy of Madame Bonnehon, who did all she could to secure his advancement. La Bete Humaine.

CHAVAILLE (ROSALIE), cousin of La Mechain, and mother of Victor Saccard.

She fell into a life of vice and poverty, and died at the age of twenty-six. L'Argent.

CHAVAL, a miner employed at the Voreux pit. From the first he had an instinctive hatred towards Etienne Lantier, caused partly by jealousy regarding Catherine Maheu, whose lover he became. He treated the girl very badly, and she ultimately left him. During the strike he took up a position antagonistic to Lantier, who was one of the leaders, and even undertook the direction of a party of Belgians brought in by the mine-owners to work the pits. By a strange chance, Chaval met Lantier and Catherine in a gallery of the pit after a terrible accident, which resulted in its being flooded; a struggle followed, and Chaval was killed, his body being thrown into the water. But the rise of the flood brought him back time after time to the feet of the others, as if his jealousy continued even after death. Germinal.

CHAVE (CAPTAIN), brother of Madame Maugendre, and uncle of Madame Jordan. He was a petty gambler of a cla.s.s who frequent the Bourse daily, in order to make an almost certain profit of fifteen or twenty francs, which must be realized before the day's operations are over. He said he was forced to speculate, as the pension which he received from the Government was not sufficient to keep him from starvation. L'Argent.

CHAVIGNAT, an employee at the Ministry of Public Education. Pot-Bouille.

CHEDEVILLE (DE), deputy for Eure-et-Loire under the Empire. He was an old beau who had flourished in the reign of Louis Philippe, and was still supposed to have Orleanist sympathies, though his reputed friendship with the Emperor was sufficient to secure his success at the polls. He had gone through all his money, and had now only the farm of La Chamade left. His political career was cut short by a scandal which gave offence at the Tuileries, and he was defeated by Rochefontaine, who was nominated by Government as the official candidate. La Terre.

CHERMETTE (MADAME DE), a friend of Madame Deberle. Une Page d'Amour.

CHEVa.s.sU, a lawyer at Faverolles, who died leaving his fortune to the Sisters of the Holy Family. His cousin, M. Charbonnel, got the will reduced on the ground of undue influence. Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

CHEZELLES (MADAME LEONIDE DE), a school friend of Comtesse m.u.f.fat, who was five years her senior. She was the wife of a magistrate. "It was rumoured that she deceived him quite openly, but people pardoned her offence, and received her just the same, because, said they, 'She's not answerable for her actions.'" Nana.

CHIBRAY (COMTE DE), aide-de-camp to the Emperor. He was for a time the lover of Renee Saccard. La Curee.

CHOUARD (MARQUIS DE), father of Comtesse Sabine m.u.f.fat de Beuville.

He was a Councillor of State and Chamberlain to the Empress, but, notwithstanding this, had kept up his relations with the Legitimist party; he was known for his piety, and expressed the belief that his cla.s.s should show an example in morals to the lower orders. In secret, however, his life was vicious, and many damaging stories were known of him. He was one of Nana's admirers, and after a visit to her he was struck by sudden imbecility and semi-paralysis, the result of sixty years of debauchery. Nana.

CHOUARD (SABINE DE), daughter of the preceding and wife of Comte m.u.f.fat de Beuville. She was married at seventeen, and ever since had led a cloistered existence with a pious husband and a dictatorial stepmother.

The death of her stepmother made little difference, and the family continued to live in an atmosphere of frigid respectability. At thirty-four Sabine looked little older than her own daughter, and would not have been taken for more than twenty-eight. About this time Comte m.u.f.fat fell entirely under the influence of Nana, and a change came over the household. Sabine accepted the attentions of Fauchery, whose mistress she became, and soon after launched into a course of extravagance which in the end went far to complete the ruin to which her husband was himself contributing. Other lovers followed Fauchery, and in the end she ran off with the manager of a large drapery store.

Ultimately she returned, and was pardoned by her husband, who had lost his own self-respect as a result of his intrigue with Nana. Nana.

CHOUTEAU, an old man of over ninety years of age, who with his wife lived in a little hut in Beaumont, furnished for them by Angelique with articles taken from the attic of her adopted parents. She, as well as Felicien d'Hautecoeur, showed them much kindness. Le Reve.

CHOUTEAU, a soldier in the 106th regiment of the line, commanded by Colonel de Vineuil. He belonged to the squad of Corporal Jean Macquart.

Originally a housepainter of Montmartre, his time was almost expired when the outbreak of war prevented his leaving the army. A revolutionary in his ideas, he was the leader in every breach of discipline among his companions, suggesting to them that they should throw away their knapsacks and guns; on the plateau of Floing, in front of the enemy, he declared that as he had not eaten he would not fight. Sergeant Sapin having been severely wounded, Chouteau offered, along with Loubet, to remove him to the ambulance, and the two men disappeared from the battlefield. After the defeat of the French Army he was made prisoner at Iges, where he continued to advise his companions in committing all kinds of excesses, going the length of handing a knife to Lapoulle in order that he might kill Pache, who had hidden some provisions from him.

Along with Loubet he made an attempt to escape from the Germans, and in this he attained success by treacherously sacrificing his comrade.

During the Commune he took an active part in the excesses which were then committed; but during the sanguinary repression which followed he was seen in the blouse of an honest workman applauding the ma.s.sacre which ensued. La Debacle.

CHRISTINE. See Christine Hallegrain.

CHUCHU (MADEMOISELLE), an actress at the Varietes. A liaison between her and Flory led to the ruin of the latter on the Stock Exchange. L'Argent.

CLARISSE, waiting-maid in the service of Baroness Sandorff. She betrayed to Delcambre the confidences of her mistress. L'Argent.

CLEMENCE, a clerk at the fish auction. She attended the meetings in Lebigre's wine-shop along with Charvet, with whom she lived. Le Ventre de Paris.

CLEMENCE (MADEMOISELLE), occupied a room in the same tenement-house as the Coupeaus and Lorilleux, where she took in ironing, as well as added to her income by less reputable means. When Gervaise Coupeau's laundry was at the height of its success Clemence got regular employment there, but when business began to go she had to leave. L'a.s.sommoir.

CLEMENCE, lady's maid to Madame Duveyrier. Pot-Bouille.

CLORINDE. See Clorinde Balbi.

CLOU, Munic.i.p.al Councillor at Rognes. He played the trombone at choral services in church. La Terre.

COEUR (GERMAINE), a _demi-mondaine_ who was on intimate terms with many members of the Paris Bourse. L'Argent.