# Du Bousquier — The Jealousies of a Country Town character guide

> Du Bousquier in The Jealousies of a Country Town by Honoré de Balzac.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** du Bousquier, a du Bousquier, Bousquier, M. du Bousquier, the unsuspecting du Bousquier, Citizen du Bousquier

**First appearance:** 0000-story-i-the-old-maid

## Snapshot

A former revolutionary turned rich banker, du Bousquier pursues Mlle. Cormon's hand as coldly as he once pursued other men's property.

## Who they are

Du Bousquier is the town's new power: a man of the Revolution who made his fortune in army contracts and now wants respectability to match his money. Rebuffed by the aristocracy he once helped to ruin, he nurses a grudge against Chesnel and the d'Esgrignons that will outlast a generation. His courtship of Mlle. Cormon is not romance but conquest — and his rivalry with the Chevalier is the town's whole social order in miniature.

## Relationships

### [Mlle. Cormon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mlle_cormon)

_romantic_

Du Bousquier is a calculating suitor to Mlle. Cormon, motivated by her fortune and social position.

### [Chevalier de Valois](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/chevalier_de_valois)

_rivalry_

The Chevalier de Valois and Du Bousquier are fierce rivals, competing for influence and Mlle. Cormon's hand.

### [Mme. Granson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mme_granson)

_rivalry_

Du Bousquier and Mme. Granson are antagonists, with Mme. Granson opposing his ambitions in town politics.

### [Suzanne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/suzanne)

_psychological_

Du Bousquier manipulates Suzanne, using her as a tool in his schemes against the Chevalier de Valois.

### [Chevalier de Valois](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/chevalier_de_valois)

_rivalry_

The Chevalier de Valois and Du Bousquier are fierce rivals, competing for influence and Mlle. Cormon's hand.

### [Mlle. Cormon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mlle_cormon)

_romantic_

Du Bousquier is a calculating suitor to Mlle. Cormon, motivated by her fortune and social position.

### [Mlle. Cormon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mlle_cormon)

_romantic_

Du Bousquier is a calculating suitor to Mlle. Cormon, motivated by her fortune and social position.

### [Suzanne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/suzanne)

_psychological_

Du Bousquier manipulates Suzanne, using her as a tool in his schemes against the Chevalier de Valois.

### [Chevalier de Valois](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/chevalier_de_valois)

_rivalry_

The Chevalier de Valois and Du Bousquier are fierce rivals, competing for influence and Mlle. Cormon's hand.

### [Mme. Granson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mme_granson)

_rivalry_

Du Bousquier and Mme. Granson are antagonists, with Mme. Granson opposing his ambitions in town politics.

### [Mme. Granson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/mme_granson)

_rivalry_

Du Bousquier and Mme. Granson are antagonists, with Mme. Granson opposing his ambitions in town politics.

## In the story

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

A bourgeois rival to the Chevalier, symbolizing the rising middle class and its ambitions.

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

Du Bousquier is described as a strong public man and politician, but a despot at home. He is astute, hypocritical, and crafty, and his marriage to Rose is unhappy. He is king of Alençon and closed his salon to the Chevalier after his marriage.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_jealousies_of_a_country_town_se/characters/du_bousquier
- 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