# Madame Descoings — The Celibates character guide

> Madame Descoings in The Celibates by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Descoings, the luckless Descoings, the Descoings, the departed Descoings, Madame, old Madame Descoings

**First appearance:** 0006-story-iii-a-bachelor-s-establishment

## Snapshot

A warm-hearted widow whose lottery dreams and generosity sustain the Bridau family even as her fortune slips through her fingers.

## Who they are

Madame Descoings is the devoted second wife of the grocer Descoings, whose devotion to her and to her Bridau relatives survives his execution during the Terror. Her passion for the lottery and her open-handed kindness make her both a comic and a tender figure, but her improvidence leaves the family vulnerable. She matters because her warmth and her weakness together shape the Bridau children's precarious fortunes.

## Relationships

### [Monsieur Hochon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/monsieur_hochon)

_friendship_

Madame Descoings and Monsieur Hochon are old friends and allies in the provincial society of Issoudun, sharing gossip and mutual support.

### [Agathe Rouget](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/agathe_rouget)

_family_

Agathe and Madame Descoings are aunt and niece, sharing a close bond and living together in Paris while supporting each other through hardships.

### [Joseph Bridau](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/joseph_bridau)

_family_

Joseph is the beloved grand-nephew of Madame Descoings, who encourages his artistic talent and provides him with emotional and financial support.

### [Sylvie Rogron](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/sylvie_rogron)

_social_

Madame Descoings and Sylvie Rogron are distant acquaintances, with Madame Descoings disapproving of Sylvie's harsh treatment of Pierrette.

### [Sylvie Rogron](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/sylvie_rogron)

_social_

Madame Descoings and Sylvie Rogron are distant acquaintances, with Madame Descoings disapproving of Sylvie's harsh treatment of Pierrette.

### [Joseph Bridau](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/joseph_bridau)

_family_

Joseph is the beloved grand-nephew of Madame Descoings, who encourages his artistic talent and provides him with emotional and financial support.

### [Monsieur Hochon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/monsieur_hochon)

_friendship_

Madame Descoings and Monsieur Hochon are old friends and allies in the provincial society of Issoudun, sharing gossip and mutual support.

### [Monsieur Hochon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/monsieur_hochon)

_friendship_

Madame Descoings and Monsieur Hochon are old friends and allies in the provincial society of Issoudun, sharing gossip and mutual support.

### [Agathe Rouget](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/agathe_rouget)

_family_

Agathe and Madame Descoings are aunt and niece, sharing a close bond and living together in Paris while supporting each other through hardships.

### [Joseph Bridau](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/joseph_bridau)

_family_

Joseph is the beloved grand-nephew of Madame Descoings, who encourages his artistic talent and provides him with emotional and financial support.

### [Agathe Rouget](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/agathe_rouget)

_family_

Agathe and Madame Descoings are aunt and niece, sharing a close bond and living together in Paris while supporting each other through hardships.

### [Sylvie Rogron](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/sylvie_rogron)

_social_

Madame Descoings and Sylvie Rogron are distant acquaintances, with Madame Descoings disapproving of Sylvie's harsh treatment of Pierrette.

## In the story

### [A Bachelor’s Establishment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/chapters/story-iii-a-bachelor-s-establishment)

Madame Descoings is a close family friend whose lottery obsession and eventual execution impact the Bridaus.

### [A Bachelor's Establishment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/chapters/a-bachelor-s-establishment)

She gambles on the lottery, accumulating a debt of twenty thousand francs, which ruins Agathe.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters/madame_descoings
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_celibates_se/characters