Short Fiction · Chapter
The Wooden Shoes explained
A young, naive peasant girl named Adélaïde is sent by her parents to work as a servant for the wealthy widower Maître Césaire Omont.
What happens
A young, naive peasant girl named Adélaïde is sent by her parents to work as a servant for the wealthy widower Maître Césaire Omont. Despite his initial gruffness, he insists she eat and drink with him, play dominoes, and eventually share his bed. Six months later, Adélaïde returns home pregnant, utterly ignorant of how it happened, and her parents arrange for her to marry Omont.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Money
Adélaïde is sent to work for the wealthy Omont due to her family's poverty, and her eventual marriage is arranged to secure financial stability.
Gender and Power
Omont exerts complete control over Adélaïde, from forcing her to eat and drink with him to sharing his bed, while she remains passive and ignorant.
Characters to notice
- Césaire Houlbrèque
Referred to as Maître Césaire Omont, a stout, jovial widower who hires Adélaïde as a servant and later marries her.
- Irma
Adélaïde Malandain, the peasant girl sent to work for Omont, who becomes pregnant without understanding how.
- Old Amable
Adélaïde's father, the old peasant Malandain, who orchestrates her employment and later marriage.
- Madame Lefèvre
Adélaïde's mother, who is furious upon learning of her daughter's pregnancy.
Key passages
“He was about fifty-five years old, and was stout, jovial, and rough-mannered, as rich men often are.”
Maître Omont, around fifty-five, is a stout, jovial, and rough-mannered man, typical of wealthy farmers.
Describes Omont's character and social standing.
“She remained thunderstruck, and looked at her waist, and then said: 'No, I do not think so.'”
Adélaïde was stunned and, after glancing at her waist, said she didn't think she was pregnant.
Highlights her naivety and ignorance about reproduction.