User:Darius Whiteplume/Mirbeau

Célestine
The novel's heroine. A Parisienne servant who goes to the country to change her life. She has two estranged siblings; sister Louise, whose whereabouts are unknown, and a brother in the Navy, presumably in China.

The Lanlaire Household

 * Madame Lanlaire is the main antagonist. As Célestine's boss, she is difficult and demanding.
 * Monsiuer Lanlaire is the hen-pecked master of the house.
 * Marianne is the house cook.
 * Joseph is the coachman and gardener. He is violently against the Republic and anti-Semitic.

The Mauger Household

 * Captain Mauger is the Lanlaire's neighbor. He and Monsiuer Lanlaire had a falling out. The Captain has a mania about eating odd things, such as flowers and strange animals.
 * Mam'zell Rose is the servant to Captain Mauger. She takes Célestine in hand early on.

Quotes
"Although Madame forces herself to be amiable, she surely is not up to date, like some that I have seen. I believe her to be very wicked, very spying, very fault-finding, &mdash;a dirty character and a wicked heart. She must be continually at people's heels, pestering them in all ways. "Do you know how to do this?" and "Do you know how to do that?" or again: "Are you in the habit of breaking things? Are you careful? Have you a good memory? Are you orderly?" There is no end to it. And also: "Are you clean? I am very particular about cleanliness; I pass over many things, but I insist upon cleanliness." Does she take me for a farm girl, a peasant, a country servant? Cleanliness? Oh! I know that chestnut. They all say that. And often, when one goes to the bottom of things, when one turns up their skirts and examines their linen, how filthy they are! Sometimes it is disgusting enough to turn one's stomach."

- Célestine, Page 21

"Yet I am not old, but I have had a very close view of things; I have seen people naked. And I have sniffed the odor of their linen, of their skin, of their soul. In spite of perfumes, they do not smell good. All that a respected interior, all that a respectable family, can hide in the way of filth, shameful vice, and base crimes, beneath the appearance of virtue,&mdash;ah! I know it well. It makes no difference if they are rich, if they have rags of silk and velvet and gilded furniture; it makes no difference if they wash in silver tubs and make a great show,&mdash;I know them. They are not clean. And their heart is more disgusting than was my mother's bed."

- Célestine, Page 93