Chapter 65 - A Domestic Scene

Summary

Upon returning from the Count’s dinner, Lucien Debray accompanies Baroness Danglars to her residence, where he attempts to discern the cause of her distress. However, Baron Danglars abruptly interrupts their conversation, dismissing Debray to enforce a private confrontation with his wife. Danglars accuses Hermine of causing his financial loss of seven hundred thousand francs on the Spanish stock market by relaying false telegraph news to Debray, whom he suspects of being her lover. He details their past financial entanglements and asserts his dominance over her secret life, citing her first husband’s death as proof of his own power and prudence, before leaving her in stunned silence to recover from the shock.

Characters

• Debray / Lucien — Debray accompanies Madame Danglars home, but is dismissed by Baron Danglars, who insists on a private conversation with his wife. Debray departs in embarrassment, reflecting on the surprising authority husbands can wield over their perceived social inferiors.
• Danglars / Baron — Danglars intercepts his wife’s guest and commands Debray to leave. He then confronts Hermine, accusing her of financial ruin through her liaison with Debray and exposing his knowledge of her past infidelities and financial dealings to assert total control over the household and her secrets.
• Mme Danglars / Madame / Hermine (Baroness) — Madame Danglars returns home with Debray, hiding her emotional turmoil. She is forced into a confrontation with her husband, who reveals he knows of her affair with Debray and her financial losses, and she collapses in shock and humiliation as he leaves her alone.
• Cornélie — Cornélie serves as Madame Danglars’s chambermaid and confidante, answering inquiries about her daughter and undressing the Baroness before departing the room at the end of the evening.