The Ladies' Paradise

The Ladies’ Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) is an 1883 novel by French writer Émile Zola, part of Zola’s 20-novel Rougon-Macquart cycle. Set in a department store in 19th-century Paris, the novel depicts class conflict and the rise of consumer culture. The novel has been adapted for film and television.

This guide refers to the 2008 Oxford University Press edition translated by Brian Nelson.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide mention suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, and death.

Plot Summary

The Ladies’ Paradise is set in the 1860s. Denise Baudu and her two brothers, Pepe and Jean, go to Paris after the deaths of their parents. They stay with their uncle Baudu, the owner of a drapery store. When they visit his shop, the siblings pass a grand department store named The Ladies’ Paradise. They soon learn that Baudu is facing financial ruin because of the department store’s popularity. The Ladies’ Paradise seemingly sells everything, often at low prices, and people love the atmosphere. Baudu cannot give Denise a job as she had hoped, so she applies for a job at The Ladies’ Paradise, offending Baudu and his family.

Octave Mouret owns The Ladies’ Paradise. He arrives at his store one morning, suffering the effects of the previous night’s party. Mouret is a widower, and he looks thankfully at his late wife’s picture as he starts work. He inspects the many departments of the store, which he founded to appeal to women. His business partner, Bourdoncle, praises Mouret’s business sense. Mouret meets Denise as she applies for a job. While Madame Aurelie, the head of ladieswear, believes Denise is unsuitable, Mouret hires her anyway. Denise remembers seeing Mouret on the street before she knew his identity. Now, as then, she feels a strange sense of fear toward him.

Mouret plans to expand his store. At a party, he convinces Baron Hartmann to sell him the property next door. His plans for The Ladies’ Paradise excite the female guests. At the store, the other sales staff bully Denise. She is covering her brothers’ expenses (rent for Pepe and romance for Jean) and is struggling to make ends meet. She rejects a colleague’s suggestion that she become a sex worker. During a trip to the countryside, she spots a man who works at The Ladies’ Paradise, whom she finds attractive, acting obscenely in a bar. Later, another male colleague confesses that he is in love with her. She politely declines his advances.

During the annual slow period, the staff constantly worry they will be fired. Jouve, the watchman who was also romantically turned down by Denise, mistakes Jean for her lover. He accuses her of wasting company time and has her fired. He does not consult Mouret, who developed his own romantic attachment to Denise. Out of a job, Denise suffers immensely, living in a small, squalid apartment with Pepe. She eventually finds work in a drapery store. When she meets Mouret by chance, however, their conversation inspires him to invite her back to his store. Denise speaks positively of modern businesses such as The Ladies’ Paradise even though her friends and family who run small stores suffer because of the department store.

During a sale, Denise witnesses Mouret’s tactics as wealthy women are persuaded to spend vast sums. Denise and Mouret fall in love, but she rejects him, not wanting to be just his mistress. The awkward situation is made worse when one of Mouret’s lovers, Madame Desforges, confronts Denise. Mouret becomes jealous at the suggestion that Denise has other lovers even as she assures him that she does not. Denise rises through the ranks at the store and launches a series of social programs to help the staff. When she reaches out to her friends and family who are negatively affected by the store, they turn her down.

The small business owners suffer a string of tragedies as The Ladies’ Paradise expands. The vast profits bring Mouret no happiness, however. Despondent, he proposes to Denise. Though she planned to leave The Ladies’ Paradise, Denise accepts. They embrace under the portrait of Mouret’s late wife, who seems to approve.