# Mademoiselle — Pointed Roofs character guide

> Mademoiselle in Pointed Roofs by Dorothy M. Richardson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** silly little Mademoiselle, Little Mademoiselle

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

The flustered French teacher, dumpy and easily wounded, whose red swollen face and tinkling laughter betray a dignity forever on the verge of being grossière.

## Who they are

Mademoiselle trails the English girls along the boulevard, protesting in French that she does not make the advances, and her instant response to Miriam's careless cry about Pastor Lahmann leaves Miriam blushing to her soles. She appears at the head of the basement stairs with a face disfigured by crying, a black hat and black cotton gloves, and Miriam cannot decide whether it is nothing or something. Her raw, comic vulnerability shows Miriam how exposed a woman can be in this closed world.

## Relationships

### [Miriam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/miriam)

_professional_

Mademoiselle is Miriam's French teacher, maintaining a formal instructional relationship with occasional personal interest.

### [Fräulein Pfaff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/fraulein_pfaff)

_professional_

Fräulein Pfaff and Mademoiselle are colleagues who coordinate school operations and student discipline.

### [Miriam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/miriam)

_professional_

Mademoiselle is Miriam's French teacher, maintaining a formal instructional relationship with occasional personal interest.

### [Miriam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/miriam)

_professional_

Mademoiselle is Miriam's French teacher, maintaining a formal instructional relationship with occasional personal interest.

### [Fräulein Pfaff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/fraulein_pfaff)

_professional_

Fräulein Pfaff and Mademoiselle are colleagues who coordinate school operations and student discipline.

### [Fräulein Pfaff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/fraulein_pfaff)

_professional_

Fräulein Pfaff and Mademoiselle are colleagues who coordinate school operations and student discipline.

## In the story

### [Pointed Roofs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/chapters/pointed-roofs)

A teacher at the school, described as silly and somewhat frivolous.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/chapters/iii)

Wakes Miriam in the morning with a playful dance; Miriam feels affection for her.

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

Accompanies her duties with despatch; spends time in the Saal with needlework, seemingly insensible to music; Miriam finds her frugality and detachment noteworthy.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/chapters/viii)

Sobs at the mending table because she must share a room with a married servant, prompting discussion among the girls.

### [The End of Term and the Norderney Decision](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/chapters/x)

Seen with a red, swollen face from crying; is the subject of gossip after being caught taking letters from the letter box, leading to a row.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters/mademoiselle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/pointed_roofs_se/characters