# Madame de Beauséant — Shorts from Scenes from Private Life character guide

> Madame de Beauséant in Shorts from Scenes from Private Life by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mme. de Beauséant, de Beauséant, the Vicomtesse de Beauséant, la Vicomtesse

**First appearance:** 0013-the-deserted-woman

## Snapshot

A vicomtesse of the Faubourg Saint-Germain who embodies the old aristocracy's elegance, pride, and slow retreat before a coarser age.

## Who they are

Madame de Beauséant moves through Balzac's provincial and Parisian scenes as the living standard of a vanishing nobility — haughty, exquisite, and quietly aware that the world is passing to men who read the Débats instead of the Quotidienne. Her presence sharpens the contrast between the fossil grandeurs of the old houses and the self-satisfied wealth of the new, and between true refinement and the anxious imitation of it. When she withdraws, as she does, the withdrawal registers as a judgment on the society that has made her position untenable.

## Relationships

### [Derville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/derville)

_professional_

Derville, as a lawyer, manages legal affairs for Madame de Beauséant, maintaining a formal and trusted professional bond.

### [Gaston de Nueil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/gaston_de_nueil)

_romantic_

Gaston de Nueil is a devoted and passionate lover of Madame de Beauséant, entangled in a deeply romantic and ultimately tragic affair.

### [Paz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/paz)

_social_

Madame de Beauséant and Paz move in the same aristocratic social circles, maintaining a polite but distant acquaintance.

### [Count Férédia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/count_feredia)

_social_

Count Férédia is a frequent guest and social acquaintance within Madame de Beauséant's exclusive Parisian salon.

### [Marquise de Listomère](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/marquise_de_listomere)

_friendship_

Madame de Beauséant and the Marquise de Listomère are close friends and confidantes within high society.

### [Clémentine Laginski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/clementine_laginski)

_social_

Clémentine Laginski and Madame de Beauséant are social acquaintances, connected through aristocratic circles.

### [Adam Laginski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/adam_laginski)

_social_

Adam Laginski, as Clémentine's husband, is a social peer and occasional guest of Madame de Beauséant.

### [Augustine Guillaume](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/augustine_guillaume)

_social_

Augustine Guillaume is a younger socialite who admires and seeks the approval of the influential Madame de Beauséant.

### [Maximilien Longueville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/maximilien_longueville)

_social_

Madame de Beauséant and Maximilien Longueville are social acquaintances, connected through aristocratic networks.

### [Derville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/derville)

_professional_

Derville, as a lawyer, manages legal affairs for Madame de Beauséant, maintaining a formal and trusted professional bond.

### [Count Férédia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/count_feredia)

_social_

Count Férédia is a frequent guest and social acquaintance within Madame de Beauséant's exclusive Parisian salon.

### [Derville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/derville)

_professional_

Derville, as a lawyer, manages legal affairs for Madame de Beauséant, maintaining a formal and trusted professional bond.

## In the story

### [The Deserted Woman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/chapters/the-deserted-woman)

The Vicomtesse de Beauséant, a woman of noble birth living in seclusion in Normandy after a notorious love affair, whose reputation and solitude captivate Gaston.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters/madame_de_beauseant
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/shorts_from_scenes_from_private_life_se/characters