Short Fiction · Character

M. Cachelin

A weathered Norman peasant father whose pride in his son's prospects collides with the family's blunt prejudice when the boy brings home the woman he loves.

supporting

Also known as M. César Cachelin, papa Cachelin, Cachelin, César

First appearance: short fiction

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, M. Cachelin is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Elegant young employee, Orléanist in politics.

In the storyA Dinner and Some IdeasOpen this moment free

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Old Antoine Boitelle's father is a small-holding Norman farmer who measures the world by soil, custom, and the approval of neighbors. When his son's happiness threatens to cross the color line, he becomes the voice of a community's unspoken rule, torn between affection for the boy and the shame he imagines before his peers. His refusal is the story's quiet engine, turning a love story into an anatomy of inherited bigotry.

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Character Web

24 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Social Hypocrisy and Class
Love and Exotic Settings
Misfortune and Surprise
Varied Tales of Human Nature
Marriage and Emotional Turmoil

+19 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional and psychological peak occurs when Leuillet receives news of Souris’s sudden death and experienc…

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In the story

M. Cachelin appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

A Dinner and Some Ideas
Elegant young employee, Orléanist in politics.
I
An old noncommissioned officer turned clerk, he schemes to get promoted and dreams of marrying his daughter to Lesable.
II
César Cachelin, the host, introduces Lesable to his sister and daughter, and orchestrates the evening's festivities.
III
Father of Cora, he pressures Lesable to have a child and manages funeral arrangements after his sister's death.
IV
Cachelin, Lesable's father-in-law, is hopeful during the country stay but later harasses the couple with coarse epigrams about their childlessness. He receives no bonus at the ministry and is ready to fight when Lesable quarrels with Maze.
V
Cachelin, Cora's father, is enraged by Lesable's failure to produce an heir. He verbally abuses Lesable, calls him a 'capon' and 'M. Lecoq,' and tracks the passing days on a calendar, growing more furious as the fortune slips away.
VI
Overjoyed by Cora's pregnancy, dances and plans for the future, orchestrates a dinner with Maze.
VII
Recovers his old gaiety, but feels secret hostility toward Maze and announces Cora's pregnancy to him.
VIII
Cachelin retires, takes up scroll-saw work, and serves as godfather at the christening, making heavy jokes enabled by his new wealth.

Chapter companion notes

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See M. Cachelin in A Dinner and Some Ideas