Bourras is the owner of a small umbrella shop next to the Ladies’ Paradise. He is old and fiery, with white hair and eyebrows. While Denise is staying above his shop when she has no job, he rants to her about the Ladies’ Paradise while carving umbrella handles. Despite his abrasive personality, he has a fondness for Pépé and takes care of him while Denise works at Robineau’s. Bourras despises the Ladies’ Paradise and does everything he can to resist being put out of business by it. Bourras is obstinate to the point of his own demise, refusing to let go of his shop for the enormous sums of money that Mouret offers him. Mouret then expands the Ladies’ Paradise around Bourras’s shop, dwarfing it and making it look even more decrepit. When Bourras is driven to bankruptcy and Mouret buys his shop for a meager 500 francs, the police are forced to physically remove Bourras from his store. Even once he is homeless and bankrupt, he refuses Denise’s offer to help him. His character exemplifies the stubbornness of the small tradesmen in refusing to break with tradition.
Bourras Quotes in The Ladies’ Paradise
The The Ladies’ Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Bourras or refer to Bourras . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 13
Quotes
She seemed to hear the trampling of a herd of cattle being led to the slaughterhouse, the destruction of the shops of a whole district, the small traders squelching along in their down-at-heel shoes, trailing ruin through the black mud of Paris.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Bourras Quotes in The Ladies’ Paradise
The The Ladies’ Paradise quotes below are all either spoken by Bourras or refer to Bourras . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 13
Quotes
She seemed to hear the trampling of a herd of cattle being led to the slaughterhouse, the destruction of the shops of a whole district, the small traders squelching along in their down-at-heel shoes, trailing ruin through the black mud of Paris.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
