The Wolf-Leader · Chapter
X: Maître Magloire explained
Thibault, now better dressed and with money, attends the drawing of the ponds at Berval and Poudron.
What happens
Thibault, now better dressed and with money, attends the drawing of the ponds at Berval and Poudron. There, he accidentally bumps into Madame Magloire, the bailiff's wife, and her husband, Maître Magloire. After a clumsy compliment, Maître Magloire invites Thibault home for a drink, and promises his wife a new silk dress if she agrees. Thibault, seeing an opportunity for advancement, accepts the invitation, thinking of the advantages of being the beloved of a bailiff's wife.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Power
Thibault's new clothes and money allow him to appear as a 'well-to-do farmer' or 'comfortable citizen', yet Madame Magloire sees through this to his true class. His desire to be the 'beloved of a bailiff's wife' shows his ambition to rise in social standing.
Characters to notice
- Thibault
Attends the pond drawing, well-dressed and with money. He clumsily steps on Madame Magloire's dress but charms her husband, leading to an invitation to their home.
- Madame Magloire
The bailiff's wife, whose dress is crumpled by Thibault. She is initially haughty but is mollified by her husband's promise of a new silk dress.
- Bailiff Népomucène Magloire
A jovial magistrate who invites Thibault home for a drink, despite his wife's protests, and promises her a new dress to be agreeable.
Key passages
“And in truth, Thibault, the bridegroom elect of Agnelette, the lover who had been so ignominiously expelled her house by the mistress of the mill, was thinking not only of all the pleasure he could enjoy, but of the proud position he would hold as the beloved of a bailiff’s wife, and of all the advantages to be drawn from the good fortune which had so unexpectedly befallen him, and which he had so long desired.”
Thibault, despite his past humiliations, saw this encounter as a chance to gain status and pleasure by becoming the lover of the bailiff's wife.
Highlights Thibault's opportunistic nature and social ambition.