# The Dowry explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

Maître Simon Lebrument marries Mlle. Jeanne Cordier, who brings a dowry of three hundred thousand francs. After a week of marital bliss, they travel to Paris, where Lebrument convinces his wife to ride inside an omnibus while he rides on top to smoke. He disembarks at the Madeleine with her dowry, abandoning her. Jeanne, realizing she has been swindled, seeks help from her cousin Barral, who confirms that her husband has likely fled with her money.

## Themes in this chapter

### Marriage and Domesticity

The marriage of Maître Lebrument and Jeanne Cordier is initially portrayed as idyllic, but it is revealed to be a calculated scheme to obtain her dowry.

### Cruelty and Suffering

Jeanne's emotional devastation upon realizing she has been abandoned and swindled by her husband highlights the cruelty of his deception.

### Social Class and Money

The dowry of three hundred thousand francs is central to the plot, illustrating how financial considerations drive marriage and social standing.

## Character check-ins

### Jeanne Cordier

The bride, Mlle. Jeanne Cordier, who marries Maître Lebrument and is abandoned in Paris after he takes her dowry.

### Monsieur Parent

Maître Simon Lebrument, the notary who marries Jeanne for her dowry and then flees with the money.

## Key lines

> No one was surprised at the marriage of Maître Simon Lebrument and Mlle. Jeanne Cordier.

The union between notary Simon Lebrument and Jeanne Cordier was expected by all.

_Establishes the societal acceptance of the marriage based on financial convenience._

> He took for his motto: 'Everything comes to him who waits.' He knew how to be patient and energetic at the same time. His success was rapid and complete.

Lebrument's strategy of patience and persistence quickly won his wife's adoration.

_Foreshadows his calculated manipulation of Jeanne's affections._

> I say that he has run off with your—your capital—and that's all about it.

Her cousin Barral bluntly tells Jeanne that her husband has stolen her dowry and fled.

_The moment of revelation where Jeanne understands she has been deceived._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-dowry
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters