The Ladies’ Paradise: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

That Monday, the sun finally shines after a weekend of rain. By 8 a.m., the windows of the Ladies’ Paradise are shining with colorful merchandise, and flags announcing the sale are waving in the breeze. The local tradesmen gather in their doorways and glare at four delivery vans leaving the Paradise. These vans are painted with bright colors and advertise the Monday sale.  At this time of the morning, only a few customers enter the store. The customers are greeted by a huge display of antique carpets arranged by the door. This “oriental hall” was Mouret’s idea—a “harem scene” of vibrant goods from all over Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Denise is beginning her first day of work at the Ladies’ Paradise. She is shown her cubicle room in the attic where the other salesgirls sleep. There she finds her uniform—a black silk dress—and puts it on. Not noticing that her hair is messy and her dress too big, she runs downstairs to the ladieswear department where Clara and Marguerite are arguing about the order of their names on the selling roster. They laugh when they see Denise’s messy appearance. Denise notices that the salesgirls all have pencils shoved in their bodices, and that they try to distinguish themselves with their hairdos.

Madame Aurélie pulls Denise to a mirror and tweaks at her appearance. She comments that Denise’s hair—ankle-length and blonde—could be beautiful if she didn’t just pile it in a messy bun. Clara tries to insult Denise to a girl from the lingerie department, but this girl defends Denise, remembering her own first day. Madame Aurélie tells Denise to look better tomorrow, and to spend her first day learning the ways of the shop. Denise hopes she can prove herself; she wants to earn 1,200 francs a year so she can support her brothers. Since there are no customers, she tries to look busy. By lunchtime, several employees murmur that the sale has been a failure.

At 11 o’clock, a few customers appear. Madame Aurélie greets one of the ladies and calls for her salesgirls. Denise and Clara jump forward. Denise insists that it is her turn, but Madame Aurélie snaps at her to hold back till she knows what to do. Tears welling in her eyes, Denise retreats to the window. She looks down at the Vieil Elbeuf, wishing that she had begged Baudu to employ her there; she is afraid for her future, and feels lost and alone. Madame Aurélie chastises Denise for doing nothing, and orders her to fold the clothes that the salesgirls pulled out for customers earlier.

Suddenly, Mouret appears in the ladieswear department. Denise feels afraid, but Mouret doesn’t notice her. He has been surveying the empty store, and he fears that his sale will be a failure. Mouret watches the customer leave the ladieswear department without buying anything. He exchanges a few urgent words with Madame Aurélie, telling her to make use of Denise if the store gets busy. Mouret goes to the balustrade, avoiding Bourdoncle (whose pessimistic comments irritate him), and looks down over his empty store. The silence breaks his heart, and he feels that his “great machine” is coming to a standstill.

Downstairs, Hutin points out Mouret standing at the balustrade to Favier. Hutin then tells Favier that he needs to have 100 francs by Sunday, and that he’s counting on this sale. He lost a bet last week and now needs to take five people out to dinner. Favier and Hutin chat about gambling; they are both driven by the need for money and compete with each other and Robineau—the buyer of their department—for sales.

A customer comes in, and Hutin—guessing she is not the type to buy anything—hides behind the counter so as to forego his turn and get the next customer, a woman he knows. Robineau notices this trick and gives the next customer to Favier instead. When Favier’s customer leaves, Hutin asks him how the “tart” was. Favier says that she spent 293 francs, and Hutin suppresses his rage. Hutin and Favier have an ongoing rivalry; Favier pretends to be Hutin’s inferior so that, when he makes a big sale, Hutin is particularly humiliated.

Meanwhile, Mouret still stands at the upstairs balustrade where he can survey the whole store. Mouret’s faith in his sale is restored when he sees that the store is becoming more crowded by the minute. He can hear the rattle of coins at the cash-desk, and senses that his machine is coming back to life. Mouret spots Vallagnosc, greets him, and begins to give him a tour.

Downstairs, Hutin becomes enraged as Favier takes more of his sales. He notices Madame Desforges, whom he knows is Mouret’s girlfriend, trying on gloves with Mignot, an assistant with whom Hutin has a rivalry. Egged on by Favier, Hutin decides to usurp Madame Desforges soon. Meanwhile, Madame Desforges holds out her hand aloofly as Mignot puts gloves on for her. She can’t smell the leather and feels disconnected from the gloves. However, she sends several to the cash-desk to purchase. Then she goes to the wool department for material for a dress for her cook. There, middle-class women are sifting through piles of wool.

In the wool department, Madame Desforges approaches Lienard, a salesman who tries to work as little as possible. Lienard suggests a few wools on the lowest shelves, but Madame Desforges is unsatisfied. Lienard is forced to take down heavy bolts from the top shelves, but, to his chagrin, Madame Desforges sends Lienard to the cash-desk with the first wool she looked at. Madame Desforges notices Madame Marty, and the two rave about the “oriental hall.” Madame Marty is looking for material for a coat. Her daughter Valentine thinks the materials are “common,” but Madame Desforges persuades them to look at the silk. They go to the silk department where colorful silks cascade from every shelf.

In the silk department, Madame Desforges and Madame Marty find Madame Bourdelais, another of Madame Desforges’ friends. Madame Bourdelais raves about the “oriental hall,” then says she’s needed at home. She departs, first giving her address to Albert Lhomme for a delivery of a quantity of Paris-Paradise—the famous Ladies’ Paradise silk.

Back in the silk department, Madame Desforges and Madame Marty can’t find an available assistant. The department is filled with ladies poring over the Paris-Paradise. Assistants swiftly cut lengths of the silk as it sells. Madame Desforges declares that the silk is a bargain, but Madame Marty and Valentine are disappointed. Bouthemont comes up to Madame Desforges and acts outraged that she hasn’t been served. Hutin, furious at a customer who wasted his time, hands his customer to Robineau and hurries over to Madame Desforges and Madame Marty. He asserts that he knows just what Madame Marty wants and unrolls a bolt of the Paris-Paradise. Madame Marty examines the silk, offering a few complaints.

Madame Guibal spots Madame Desforges and Madame Marty examining the Paris-Paradise. They chat about the great crowd, and then Madame Guibal wanders off. Returning to the subject of the Paris-Paradise, Madame Desforges advises Madame Marty to get a pre-made coat from the ladieswear department and she agrees. Incensed to lose another sale, Hutin escorts Madame Desforges and Madame Marty upstairs.

Hutin leads Madame Desforges and Madame Marty through the “commercial battle” in which salesmen are holding the “army of women” at their mercy. The Ladies’ Paradise is so packed with the commotion of shopping that it is hard to move. Looking up, Madame Desforges notices Mouret standing at the balustrade. She smiles, but Mouret is busy giving Vallagnosc a tour. By the time they get upstairs, Mouret has disappeared. In the lace department, they run into Madame de Boves and Blanche. The ladies remark on the “dazzling” spectacle. Madame de Boves is plunging her hands into piles of lace, even though she only has money for a cab in her purse.

The ladies continue to chat. Finally, Madame de Boves and Blanche break off, planning to meet Madame Marty and Madame Desforges later in the “oriental hall.” The latter two continue towards the ladieswear department with Hutin, who is silently fuming; there is a rivalry between the ladieswear department and the materials departments as they always take each other’s customers, and he’s missing sales downstairs. In the ladieswear department, Hutin calls for Clara and Marguerite, but both are busy. Even though they are girls, Hutin hates Marguerite and Clara just as he hates the salesmen who take his sales.

Catching sight of Denise, Hutin brings Madame Desforges and Madame Marty to her. He takes vindictive pleasure in burdening the new girl with difficult customers. Denise thinks he is being kind to give her customers and watches him go tenderly. When Madame Marty asks to see Denise’s selection of coats, Denise does not know where to look. Madame Aurélie sees that Denise is neglecting the ladies and sends Marguerite for coats. Marguerite convinces Madame Marty that the coats in her budget are cheap and brings out an expensive silk coat lined with fur. Madame Aurélie snaps at Denise to do something useful and makes her model the coat.

Just then, Mouret comes into the ladieswear department with Vallagnosc. Madame Desforges and Madame Marty congratulate Mouret on his sale. Then they look at Denise, who is being made to spin around in the coat. Madame Marty voices her complaints about the coat, and Madame Aurélie says that Denise’s bad figure makes the coat look bad. Madame Desforges adds that the coat would look better if Denise’s dress weren’t so ill-fitting. Mouret, who wants to please Madame Desforges, says that Denise should have combed her hair. The salesgirls giggle. Denise feels violated and humiliated. She is hurt most by Mouret and Madame Desforges’s comments because she feels that they are intelligent people.

Bourdoncle tells Madame Aurélie to make sure that Denise looks better tomorrow. Holding back her tears, Denise goes back to folding clothes. The girl from the lingerie department who defended Denise earlier introduces herself as Pauline, and she tells Denise it will get better with time. Madame Aurélie puts the coat on Madame Marty, and everyone exclaims at its beauty. Mouret leaves, and Vallagnosc joins Blanche. The ladies meet in the “oriental hall” then depart. The crowd ebbs away, leaving the store looking “like a battlefield,” in which an army of women had undressed “in a wave of desire.” In commissions, Favier made 15 francs and Hutin only made 13.

Mouret stands at the balustrade and looks down over the ravaged store. He is triumphant that he has conquered his competitors and Baron Hartmann. He listens to the sound of clerks counting coins and feels the Ladies’ Paradise expanding already. Bourdoncle congratulates Mouret. Lhomme, who is coming up the stairs with the money bags in his one arm, tells them that the store made 8,742 francs.

That evening, Denise throws herself on her bed. She feels that she doesn’t have the courage to work another day at the Ladies’ Paradise. She puts on her old wool dress, then bursts into tears of despair.