# La Chicot — The Cloven Foot character guide > La Chicot in The Cloven Foot by M. E. Braddon. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Chicot, the suspected Chicot, Madame Chicot, Mademoiselle Chicot **First appearance:** 0003-iv-la-chicot ## Snapshot A celebrated dancer whose bold face smiles from every London wall, La Chicot lives for applause and caprice, heedless of the danger her husband fears. ## Who they are La Chicot is a theatrical sensation in Cibber Street, courted and run after, her name in three-foot capitals across London. She dismisses Jack's warnings about the drunken scene-shifter with a shrug—she means to do it, and no one diverts her. When the machinery fails, her near-death becomes a public question, and the neighbourhood's gossip reveals a marriage already hollowed out by drink and indifference. ## Relationships ### [Mr. Desrolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mr_desrolles) _professional_ La Chicot is a servant or employee of Mr. Desrolles, with a relationship defined by duty and occasional intrigue. ### [Edward Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/edward_clare) _rivalry_ Edward and La Chicot are antagonists, often clashing over secrets and loyalties within the household. ### [Mrs. Treverton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mrs_treverton) _psychological_ La Chicot is a pawn in Mrs. Treverton's manipulations, used to gather information and carry out covert tasks. ### [George Gerard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/george_gerard) _rivalry_ George and La Chicot are enemies, each suspicious of the other's motives and actions regarding the Clare family. ### [Mr. Desrolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mr_desrolles) _professional_ La Chicot is a servant or employee of Mr. Desrolles, with a relationship defined by duty and occasional intrigue. ### [Edward Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/edward_clare) _rivalry_ Edward and La Chicot are antagonists, often clashing over secrets and loyalties within the household. ### [Mr. Desrolles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mr_desrolles) _professional_ La Chicot is a servant or employee of Mr. Desrolles, with a relationship defined by duty and occasional intrigue. ### [George Gerard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/george_gerard) _rivalry_ George and La Chicot are enemies, each suspicious of the other's motives and actions regarding the Clare family. ### [Mrs. Treverton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mrs_treverton) _psychological_ La Chicot is a pawn in Mrs. Treverton's manipulations, used to gather information and carry out covert tasks. ### [George Gerard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/george_gerard) _rivalry_ George and La Chicot are enemies, each suspicious of the other's motives and actions regarding the Clare family. ### [Edward Clare](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/edward_clare) _rivalry_ Edward and La Chicot are antagonists, often clashing over secrets and loyalties within the household. ### [Mrs. Treverton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/mrs_treverton) _psychological_ La Chicot is a pawn in Mrs. Treverton's manipulations, used to gather information and carry out covert tasks. ## In the story ### [La Chicot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/iv-la-chicot) A dancer whose beauty and wildness captivate audiences; she dominates her husband, spends lavishly, and grows coarser over time. ### [La Chicot](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/iv-la-chicot) Jack Chicot, La Chicot's husband, a painter and critic who suffers silently under his wife's temper and regrets their marriage. ### [La Chicot Has Her Own Way](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/vi-la-chicot-has-her-own-way) Jack Chicot, the husband of La Chicot, feels trapped in a miserable marriage, working as a draughtsman and fearing for his wife's safety. ### [La Chicot Has Her Own Way](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/vi-la-chicot-has-her-own-way) La Chicot, a ballet dancer, insists on performing a dangerous ascent and accepts an anonymous gold bracelet, leading to a quarrel with her husband. ### [Days That Are Over, Dreams That Are Done](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/viii-days-that-are-over-dreams-that-are-done) Lies unconscious after a stage accident, her life hanging by a thread. ### [Days That Are Over, Dreams That Are Done](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/viii-days-that-are-over-dreams-that-are-done) Returns home after a week's absence; his relief at his wife's condition is detected by Gerard. ### [XIV: “You Have but to Say the Word”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xiv-you-have-but-to-say-the-word) Drinks heavily, dismisses her husband and suitor, and lives defiantly despite Gerard's warnings. ### [XIV: “You Have but to Say the Word”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xiv-you-have-but-to-say-the-word) Jack Chicot is an absent, wandering husband; his marriage to La Chicot is nominal and strained. ### [Edward Clare Discovers a Likeness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xv-edward-clare-discovers-a-likeness) Mentioned as a hard-working comic artist whose wife drinks heavily; he bears a strong likeness to a man Edward knows. ### [Edward Clare Discovers a Likeness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xv-edward-clare-discovers-a-likeness) Described as a French dancer and Chicot's wife, with a propensity for drinking. ### [XVI: Shall It Be “Yes” or “No”?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xvi-shall-it-be-yes-or-no) La Chicot is the central figure, wrestling with the decision to accept Joseph Lemuel's offer of diamonds and a new life in Paris, while still clinging to her identity as an honest woman and her lingering love for her husband. ### [XVI: Shall It Be “Yes” or “No”?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xvi-shall-it-be-yes-or-no) Jack Chicot, La Chicot's husband, is mentioned as neglectful and nearly estranged, with La Chicot suspecting he has another woman. ### [XVII: Murder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xvii-murder) Jack Chicot discovers his wife's body and raises the alarm, then disappears while supposedly fetching a policeman. ### [XVII: Murder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xvii-murder) Found murdered in her bed with a throat wound; the chapter centers on the discovery of her body. ### [What the Diamonds Were Worth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xviii-what-the-diamonds-were-worth) The murder victim; her wound is examined by Gerard and later by the surgeon who set her broken leg. ### [What the Diamonds Were Worth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xviii-what-the-diamonds-were-worth) The missing husband, presumed murderer; his paint box contains the suspected murder weapon. ### [XXVII: Desrolles Is Not Communicative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xxvii-desrolles-is-not-communicative) Chicot is the caricaturist and fellow lodger of Desrolles, suspected of murdering his wife. Desrolles suggests he may have drowned himself in the Thames. ### [XXVII: Desrolles Is Not Communicative](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xxvii-desrolles-is-not-communicative) The murdered dancer, wife of Chicot, whose death is central to the conversation. Edward Clare refers to her fate as a warning for Laura. ### [At the Morgue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xxxiii-at-the-morgue) Recalled in John's memory: her past in Paris, her rise as a dancer, and her hysterical reaction at the Morgue. ### [Mr. Leopold Asks Irrelevant Questions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/chapters/xl-mr-leopold-asks-irrelevant-questions) The murder victim, Treverton's wife; her death is the subject of the inquiry. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters/la_chicot - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cloven_foot_se/characters