# Maître Chesnel — The Jealousies of a Country Town character guide

> Maître Chesnel in The Jealousies of a Country Town by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Chesnel, So Maître Chesnel, Maître Chesnel, Chesnel the notary, poor Chesnel, a Chesnel, M. Chesnel, Worthy M. Chesnel, the said Chesnel, old Chesnel, dear M. Chesnel, Old Chesnel, M. Choisnel, Choisnel

**First appearance:** 0002-story-ii-the-collection-of-antiquities

## Snapshot

The d'Esgrignons' notary, a man of scrupulous integrity, quietly spends his own fortune to keep an ungrateful noble family afloat.

## Who they are

Chesnel is the bourgeois steward who saved the d'Esgrignon estates during the Revolution and has served them ever since with a devotion bordering on worship. His reverence for the old name blinds him to the family's faults, even as his money and reputation are consumed defending them. His loyalty — and his eventual disillusion — makes him the moral center of the town's quiet war between caste and cash.

## In the story

### [The Old Maid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/chapters/story-i-the-old-maid)

The loyal family solicitor who manages the d'Esgrignon affairs and supports Victurnien.

### [The Collection of Antiquities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/chapters/story-ii-the-collection-of-antiquities)

The loyal notary and steward of the d'Esgrignon family, who manages their affairs and seeks to preserve their honor.

### [The Collection of Antiquities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/chapters/the-collection-of-antiquities)

The loyal notary who manages the family's affairs and advises Victurnien to marry an heiress; dies before the Marquis in 1830.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/chesnel
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters