# Madame Melmotte — The Way We Live Now character guide > Madame Melmotte in The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Melmotte, the Melmotte, Poor Madame Melmotte **First appearance:** 0003-iv-madame-melmotte-s-ball ## Snapshot Melmotte's timid, foreign wife, a woman who has been dressed up into grandeur she never believed in and lives in terror of being found out. ## Who they are Madame Melmotte presides over the great house in Grosvenor Square with the anxious obedience of a woman who knows her position is borrowed and may be reclaimed at any moment. She is devoted to her daughter Marie in her helpless way, but her real condition is fear: of solitude, of sudden change, of the revelation that she was never fit to stand beside duchesses and cabinet ministers. When catastrophe arrives, her hysterical collapse exposes how much of the Melmotte edifice was always held up by nothing but nerve. ## In the story ### [Madame Melmotte's Ball](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/iv-madame-melmotte-s-ball) Stands receiving guests, almost fainting under the occasion; described as a Bohemian Jewess. ### [Lady Carbury at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xi-lady-carbury-at-home) Marie's stepmother, present at the gathering but not closely involved in the main interactions. ### [Everybody Goes to Them](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xxi-everybody-goes-to-them) Madame Melmotte is mentioned as the hostess for Georgiana's stay, though Georgiana views her as vulgar and low-born. ### [Yes;—I'm a Baronet.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xxiii-yes-i-m-a-baronet) Present in the drawing-room when Felix visits; Felix shakes hands with her before going downstairs. ### [Miss Melmotte's Courage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xxix-miss-melmotte-s-courage) Fears Melmotte's reaction to Felix's presence; urges Felix to leave and calls Marie's love 'a beastliness'; flees when she hears Melmotte's step. ### [Lady Monogram](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xxxii-lady-monogram) Georgiana's reluctant chaperone; her vulgarity and social circle are a source of Georgiana's misery. ### [All Prepared](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xli-all-prepared) Scolds Marie for refusing to marry Lord Nidderdale, but ultimately defers to her husband to handle the situation. ### [The India Office](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/liv-the-india-office) Madame Melmotte accompanies her husband and daughter to the India Office, but is left in the background as Melmotte orders Lord Alfred to take care of them. ### [Lord Nidderdale Tries His Hand Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lvii-lord-nidderdale-tries-his-hand-again) Present at lunch and instructed to receive guests in the drawing-room. ### [The Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxii-the-party) Leaves the party in the carriage with her daughter, as Melmotte stays behind. ### [The Election](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxiv-the-election) Frightened by Melmotte's behavior and the desertion of the Grendalls; asks about moving and is rebuffed. ### [Another Scene in Bruton Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxxvii-another-scene-in-bruton-street) Present during the confrontation; screams in fear and tries to intervene, but is ultimately powerless. ### [Mr. Cohenlupe Leaves London](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxxxi-mr-cohenlupe-leaves-london) Dismissed by Melmotte after being told to pack jewels; she creeps out and begins packing her ornaments. ### [The Meeting in Bruton Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxxxvi-the-meeting-in-bruton-street) Overwhelmed by grief and fear, she collapses into hysterics upon learning of her husband's death. ### [The Inquest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/lxxxviii-the-inquest) Taken to Hampstead lodgings with Marie, reluctantly leaving Bruton Street, and never returns to the Grosvenor Square house. ### [Hamilton K. Fisker Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xcii-hamilton-k-fisker-again) Numbed by Melmotte's death, she welcomes Fisker's company and the brandy-and-water he mixes for her. ### [Marie Melmotte's Fate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/chapters/xcviii-marie-melmotte-s-fate) Living with Marie in Hampstead, she is confused and resentful about Marie's control of the money. She considers a future with Herr Croll in New York, feeling excluded from Marie's plans. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/characters/madame_melmotte - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_way_we_live_now_se/characters