The Ladies’ Paradise: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Denise stands on the sidewalk, dazed at having been dismissed so suddenly. She starts walking, wondering how it is possible that she suddenly has no place to sleep. She finds herself in front of the Ladies’ Paradise again, unable to stop being obsessed with it. She can’t go to Baudu’s; he ignores her now when he sees her. Then she sees a “room to let” sign at Bourras’s umbrella shop.

When Denise inquires after the room, Bourras says it won’t suit her; he recognizes her as a salesgirl from the Ladies’ Paradise. Denise asks to see the room anyway, so Bourras takes a key from the wall and leads her up a dark, dirty staircase. He leads her to a back room with a view onto the street. The room is tiny and decrepit, but Denise says she’ll take it.

Denise is unable to pay for Pépé’s room and board, so she brings him to live with her. She finds the necktie seller and gets her money back, but then is unable to find a job. She often skips dinner herself so that Pépé can eat. When Jean shows up in another predicament, Denise gives him what money she can. She never cries in front of Pépé or Jean but lies awake all night anxious and afraid. The girl renting the room next to hers welcomes male visitors at night, and sometimes these men bang on Denise’s door.

One night, Denise slams her door in the face of a man who is pursuing her. She has nothing for Pépé to eat that night and thinks of the women who avoid poverty by sleeping with men. But no matter how desperate she is, her good conduct and courage keep her from this lifestyle. She feels that her bravery comes from some love in her heart. She sometimes sees Hutin pass by and is hurt by his vanity. When Mouret passes, Denise hides, her heart beating. Occasionally she runs into Pauline and Deloche, but she keeps both of them from seeing where she lives. Colomban often visits Denise, asking for details about Clara.

At the end of the summer, Pépé catches a cold. One night, Bourras takes pity on Denise and comes up with broth to stop Pépé from crying. The next day, even though he has no business and no staff, Bourras gives Denise some mending and pays her two francs a day. While she works, Bourras sits in the doorway carving umbrella handles and gesturing angrily at the big stores and their customers. With the pride of an artist, Bourras shouts insults at the big stores.

Bourras loves children and lets Denise bring Pépé to work with her. He rants about how long he’s been at his shop and how he will hold out for a while yet, pausing to show Pépé the animals he has carved. Sometimes, Denise remarks that the Ladies’ Paradise has made Bourras a reasonable offer for his lease. Bourras shouts that he won’t sell for any amount of money and won’t leave, even if his landlord sells. He shakes his fist at the sounds of the Paradise coming through his wall. He rejoices when he hears silence and foreshadows the fall of the Paradise. He repeatedly asks Denise to recount how badly she was treated in the ladieswear department.

Denise is grateful to Bourras for giving her a job, but she wants to find better-paying work. One day, Deloche suggests she work for Robineau, who has bought Vinçard’s business. He did so with the support of Gaujean, who hopes to form an alliance of small manufacturers. Gaujean is unable to meet the demand of big shops like the Ladies’ Paradise because he is a small manufacturer with only a few looms. Denise calls on Robineau’s shop and finds Robineau’s wife, Madame Robineau, who hires Denise immediately. Denise tells Bourras the news, and he offers to watch Pépé while Denise is at work.

At Robineau’s, Denise gets a salary and meals but not commission. Everyone treats her kindly, especially Madame Robineau. One day, Gaujean comes for lunch and complains about how the Ladies’ Paradise reserves the rights to fabric from big manufacturers who can supply their demand, making it impossible for smaller manufacturers to compete. Robineau says that the Paradise’s low prices are the death of small businesses. Madame Robineau, who doesn’t understand business, looks at her husband tenderly.

Denise, who has “an instinctive love of logic and life,” remarks that the public doesn’t complain. Pretending to joke, she illustrates the natural development of business: if small manufacturers want to survive, they will work for the big businesses whether they like it or not. When Gaujean and Robineau accuse her of siding with the enemy, Denise denies the accusation. Robineau thinks privately that it might not be wise to resist the powerful current that Denise is talking about. Gaujean says he is making a silk for Robineau to sell just under the price of the Ladies’ Paradise’s Paris-Paradise. Gaujean shows the table a sample, and everyone declares it nicer than the Paris-Paradise.

Vinçard arrives, and he also praises the silk. After selling his business to Robineau, Vinçard started a restaurant, a business that allowed him to profit from rich people. Vinçard is privately happy to have foisted his business on the Robineaus, but he continues to pretend that his bad health had forced him to sell.

Two weeks later, a battle starts between Robineau’s and the Ladies’ Paradise. Robineau puts ads in the newspaper and prices his silk lower than the silk at the Ladies’ Paradise. The first few days, he has a rush of customers. Then, Mouret lowers the price of his silk. Robineau responds by lowering his price, and this continues until Robineau surrenders and prices his equal to Mouret’s. Every day, Robineau loses more customers and slips closer to bankruptcy.

One day, Madame de Boves shops at Robineau’s. She examines a coat and remarks that the Paris-Paradise is stronger than Robineau’s silk. Robineau made his coats from Paris-Paradise, removing the distinctive trim so as to conceal the trick. Losing his temper, Robineau tells Madame de Boves that the coat is Paris-Paradise. Madame de Boves spreads the story, and Robineau loses more customers. Robineau feels bad for investing his wife’s money in a failing business, but she tells him that she loves him no matter what.

Denise grows fond of the Robineaus. However, she feels excited about the new business methods that are transforming Paris. She is maturing from a child into a woman. On Sundays, she cleans her room and then takes Pépé for a walk. When Jean stops by, Denise gives him a little money. He starts to tell her of his affairs, but she hushes him. Pauline tells Denise she’s thinking of marrying Baugé, while Colomban begs Denise to ask Clara if she’ll marry him. Denise thinks these stories are silly and is glad she isn’t in love.

One day, Bourras tells Denise that the Ladies’ Paradise has bought the old hotel on the other side of his shop from Baron Hartmann. Bourras raves and gesticulates, saying that he is being surrounded by “the colossus.” Mouret starts proposing Bourras with more offers to buy his store. Bourras refuses to sell, and instead he pays to remodel his shop. He invents a new ruffled umbrella, but the Ladies’ Paradise steals the idea and sells it for a cheaper price.

One day, Denise is walking in a park with Pépé when she sees Mouret walking towards her, on his way to Madame Desforges’s. Denise tries to avoid him, but he sees her and greets her. Mouret asks polite questions then apologizes for how hastily he fired her. He says that he knows that the teenager in the basement was her brother. Denise is overjoyed that Mouret knows she had not been romantically involved with anyone. Mouret offers Denise her job back, but she says that she has another job.

Mouret walks with Denise and Pépé under some trees. Mouret knows that Denise is working for Robineau. He commends Robineau’s character, but he says that his business will fail. Denise agrees, and she starts talking enthusiastically of the new business methods. Mouret is delighted by her sensibility and passion. He says that Bourras is a madman for resisting big business and asks Denise to urge him to accept Mouret’s offer. She agrees and they fall silent. They say goodnight but Mouret lingers, wondering why he is attracted to Denise, who is skinny compared to Madame Desforges. He says goodnight again and walks away.

After Mouret leaves, Denise’s heart pounds. She sits down on a bench, and Pépé falls asleep in her lap. When they return, Bourras says that his landlord sold the building to Mouret, using Bourras’s renovation to get more money. Denise listens to Bourras rave, then tells him that Mouret plans to offer him a huge sum for his lease and advises him to accept it.

The door opens and Baudu comes in. Bourras tells Baudu the news, and yells that he’ll never leave his shop. Denise says that he’ll be forced to leave when his lease is up. Bourras tells Baudu that his niece has sided with the enemy. Denise starts to cry but realizes that Baudu feels remorse for not helping her. He invites Denise over for lunch the next day. She kisses him and he leaves, saying to Bourras that they will be buried in their fallen-down houses soon.