# Madame Lefèvre — Short Fiction character guide

> Madame Lefèvre in Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Madame Julie Lefèvre, Juliette, Julie, Madame

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

## Snapshot

A thrifty farmer's wife who buys a dog to guard her poultry, only to find her careful household turned upside down.

## Who they are

Madame Lefèvre runs a tight, orderly farm where every hen and every coin is accounted for. When she acquires a dog named Cocotte to protect her chickens, the animal becomes both a practical investment and an unexpected source of trouble. Her frugality, her exasperation, and her very human attachment to the beast shape a story about ownership, loss, and the strange loyalty of animals.

## Relationships

### [Monsieur Parent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters/monsieur_parent)

_social_

Madame Lefèvre and Monsieur Parent are acquaintances who interact within their small-town social circle.

### [Monsieur Parent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters/monsieur_parent)

_social_

Madame Lefèvre and Monsieur Parent are acquaintances who interact within their small-town social circle.

### [Monsieur Parent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters/monsieur_parent)

_social_

Madame Lefèvre and Monsieur Parent are acquaintances who interact within their small-town social circle.

## In the story

### [Moonlight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/moonlight)

Madame Julie Roubère, the younger sister, receives Henriette and listens to her confession, offering comfort and insight.

### [Pierrot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/pierrot)

A pretentious, miserly country widow who decides to get rid of her dog Pierrot rather than pay the tax, then abandons him in a chalk pit.

### [The Wooden Shoes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-wooden-shoes)

Adélaïde's mother, who is furious upon learning of her daughter's pregnancy.

### [A Vendetta](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/a-vendetta)

Nicolas Ravolati, the murderer, is the target of the vendetta.

### [The Old Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-old-man)

Phémie, Maître Chicot's wife, who pragmatically manages the household and funeral preparations, showing little grief.

### [A Sale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/a-sale)

The victim, Brument's wife, who is forced into a barrel of water and later testifies against the men.

### [Farewell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/farewell)

The former love interest of Pierre Carnier; now a stout, ordinary mother of four, unrecognizable from her youthful self.

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

The wife of Lévesque and former wife of Martin; she is the central figure in the domestic crisis caused by her first husband's return.

### [Military Honors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/military-honors)

Berthine's mother, an old woman who is fearful and anxious throughout the ordeal.

### [Little Roque](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/little-roque)

Madame Roque, the mother of the murdered girl; arrives at the scene in hysterical grief and later obsesses over retrieving her daughter's bonnet.

## Links

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