# Madame Dambreuse — Sentimental Education character guide

> Madame Dambreuse in Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Madame

**First appearance:** 0011-chapter-iii

## Snapshot

A cool, well-connected society hostess whose salon opens doors in Paris, and whose composure hides appetites she has learned to manage.

## Who they are

Madame Dambreuse presides over one of the capital's most polished drawing-rooms, a world of bankers, deputies, and correct opinions that Frederick longs to enter. Married to a financier whose fortune and politics she wears like a well-cut dress, she measures everyone by usefulness and self-control, and her interest in Frederick is at first no more than a hostess's curiosity. As his ambitions and his heart drift toward her circle, she becomes the test of whether he can belong to the society he covets, or only admire it from the edge.

## In the story

### [Frederick Entertains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sentimental_education_se/chapters/frederick-entertains)

Hosts a reception; Frederick attends and observes her.

### [At the Races](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sentimental_education_se/chapters/at-the-races)

Madame Dambreuse is seen in a landau at the races, and her presence triggers Frederick's memories and jealousy.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sentimental_education_se/characters/madame_dambreuse
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sentimental_education_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sentimental_education_se/characters