# Maître Chicot — Short Fiction character guide

> Maître Chicot in Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Monsieur Chicot, Chicot, The Little Cask Maître Chicot

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

## Snapshot

A smooth-tongued Norman innkeeper who trades a cask of brandy for an old woman's farm and watches her drink herself to death.

## Who they are

Maître Chicot is a prosperous, calculating peasant-innkeeper who understands exactly how much a thirsty old woman will pay for a free drink. He plies his neighbor with brandy, feigns pity for her decline, and waits patiently for the farm to fall into his hands. His genial cruelty and the story's dry, fatalistic tone make him a perfect specimen of Maupassant's Norman avarice.

## In the story

### [Saint Anthony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/saint-anthony)

The mayor who delivers the Prussian soldier to Saint Anthony's farm, warning him not to cause trouble.

### [Old Boniface's Crime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/old-boniface-s-crime)

A farmer greeted by Boniface during his delivery; mentioned briefly as a recipient of the newspaper.

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

Mentioned as Maître Malandain, the harness-maker and enemy of Hauchecorne, who falsely accuses him of stealing the pocketbook.

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

The son-in-law, a peasant farmer who is more concerned about his colza crop and the cost of the funeral feast than his father-in-law's death.

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

The farmer who catches Bell stealing a hen, beats him severely, and has him arrested.

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

The innkeeper who cunningly arranges a life annuity to acquire Mother Magloire's farm, then deliberately encourages her alcoholism to hasten her death.

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

The barman at the Café du Commerce who serves Martin and Lévesque a drink after Martin's return.

## Links

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