# Mademoiselle Henriette — Short Fiction character guide

> Mademoiselle Henriette in Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mademoiselle, Mademoiselle Henriette Bonnel, Henriette, Henriette Bonnel

**First appearance:** 0056-a-country-excursion

## Snapshot

A provincial lawyer's wife who slips away to Paris chasing the scandalous pleasures she has only read about in newspapers, and finds reality far stranger than her fantasies.

## Who they are

Henriette has spent years as an irreproachable wife and mother, her heart quietly starving beneath the routine of a snoring husband and two children. She engineers a solo trip to Paris and drifts through boulevards, cafés, and the Agony Column of the Figaro, hunting for the orgies and passions she imagines hidden behind every door. Her eager, slightly bewildered pursuit of experience exposes the gap between provincial longing and Parisian reality.

## Relationships

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

_romantic_

Mademoiselle Henriette shares a flirtatious and possibly secret romantic bond with Monsieur Parent.

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

_romantic_

Mademoiselle Henriette shares a flirtatious and possibly secret romantic bond with Monsieur Parent.

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

_romantic_

Mademoiselle Henriette shares a flirtatious and possibly secret romantic bond with Monsieur Parent.

## In the story

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

Madame Henriette Létoré, the elder sister, returns from Switzerland and confesses to her affair, driven by emotional neglect and a moonlit night.

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

The young woman who was assaulted by Morin; she is charming, witty, and engages flirtatiously with the narrator.

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

Henriette Bonnel, the young woman Labarbe seduces during the visit to her uncle's house.

### [On Horseback](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/on-horseback)

Hector's wife, who worries about the accident and later suggests taking the injured woman into their home to save money.

### [The Little One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-little-one)

The old nurse who cares for Jean, disapproves of the spoiling, and reveals the truth about the child's paternity.

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

Mademoiselle Charlotte Cachelin, the old spinster aunt, discusses her property and fortune with Lesable.

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

The deceased aunt who left a conditional will requiring a child to be born within three years for Cora to inherit.

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

Carlotta Rondoli, the second daughter who accompanies the narrator.

### [Finis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/finis)

Renée, the daughter of Lise de Vance, is a young woman who strikingly resembles her mother as she was in her youth, causing Lormerin to relive his past love.

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

The little Baronne de Grangerie, who is reading on her couch and listens to the Marquise's story.

### [The Marquis of Fumerol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-marquis-of-fumerol)

One of the two young mistresses (Mamzelle Claire) attending the Marquis.

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

Mademoiselle Donet, the young woman who was his father's mistress, shows grief and gratitude during César's visit.

## Links

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