# Irma Bécot — His Masterpiece character guide

> Irma Bécot in His Masterpiece by Émile Zola.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Irma

**First appearance:** 0001-his-masterpiece

## Snapshot

A young woman who drifts from modelling into the theatre, leaving behind a nude on Claude's canvas that becomes the obsession and ruin of his studio.

## Who they are

Irma Bécot is the flesh-and-blood woman behind the central figure Claude cannot finish, the feared and desired mistress Christine senses in every stroke he lays on that canvas. She moves on to the stage while the painting stays behind, unfinished and accusing, so that her absence matters more than her presence ever did. Her body becomes the battleground where Claude's craving for truth tips into hallucination, and where Christine's jealousy hardens into something like grief.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_masterpiece_se/chapters/iv)

Visits Claude's studio, offers to sit for him, and chaffs him before leaving.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_masterpiece_se/chapters/v)

Irma is on Gagnière's arm, flirting with the crowd, and later touches Claude's arm to get his attention.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_masterpiece_se/characters/irma_becot
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_masterpiece_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/his_masterpiece_se/characters