# M. Lesable — Short Fiction character guide

> M. Lesable in Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the wretched M. Lesable, Lesable, Jacques Léopold Lesable, Léopold

**First appearance:** 0003-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A nervous office clerk whose marriage becomes a battlefield of ambition, suspicion, and quiet humiliation as another man circles his wife.

## Who they are

M. Lesable is a minor functionary in a government office, timid, proud, and acutely conscious of his own mediocrity. His marriage to a woman with grander connections exposes him to the condescension of colleagues and the too-attentive friendship of a rival, testing his patience and his self-respect. His slow-burning resentment and awkward dignity give the story its anxious, claustrophobic edge.

## In the story

### [A Dinner and Some Ideas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/ix-a-dinner-and-some-ideas)

Subchief who gives a speech in reply to Perdrix.

### [The Odyssey of a Prostitute](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-odyssey-of-a-prostitute)

The seedsman at Yvetot who first made advances toward the girl.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/i)

A dapper, ambitious young clerk who is favored by the chief and is the target of Cachelin's flattery.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/ii)

Jacques Léopold Lesable, the protagonist, visits the Cachelin home, impresses the family, and becomes engaged to Cora.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/iii)

Tormented by doubt about his aunt's inheritance and disappointed by lack of promotion, he eventually feels triumphant joy after her death.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/iv)

Lesable is tormented by his failure to conceive a child and the loss of Aunt Charlotte's million. He moves to the country with his wife to improve his health and chances, but returns to Paris frustrated. A quarrel with Maze over his childlessness leads to a violent confrontation.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/v)

Lesable is the target of constant reproach from his wife and father-in-law for his perceived impotence. He lies about having an illegitimate child, undergoes a humiliating medical consultation, and becomes consumed by fear for his health, abandoning hope for the inheritance.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/vi)

Initially shocked and jealous, but gradually won over by the prospect of wealth and a country house.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/vii)

Becomes more gay and grateful, thanks his wife for dismissing Maze, and kisses her tenderly.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/viii)

Lesable fulfills the duties of assistant-chief after Rabot's death and hosts the christening at his new villa.

### [The Hole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-hole)

Cabinetmaker and witness to the fight.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters/m_le_sable
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters