Character Relationship Map: Topaze

Characters

• Auguste A. Topaze (played by John Barrymore) — protagonist

  An honest, naive chemist and teacher at the Stegg Academy, Topaze loses his job after refusing to alter a student's grades. He becomes the scientific front for fraudulent curative water, then discover...

• Coco (played by Myrna Loy) — supporting

  Coco is the Baron's mistress and the person who first brings Topaze into the La Tour business circle by seeking his tutoring services. She admits the truth about her relationship with the Baron, comfo...

• Charlemagne de La Tour-La Tour (played by Jackie Searl) — supporting

  Charlemagne is the Baron's and Baroness's spoiled son whose grades cause Topaze to lose his teaching position. Later, he is selected to receive the graduation prize through his family's influence, but...

• Dr. Stegg (played by Frank Reicher) — supporting

  Dr. Stegg is associated with the academy where Topaze formerly taught. After Topaze becomes successful and influential, Dr. Stegg asks him to preside over the school's graduation ceremony, placing Top...

• Dr. Bomb (played by Luis Alberni) — supporting

  Dr. Bomb refuses the honor of having the fraudulent water named after him, then demands money from the Baron while threatening to expose the product. The Baron neutralizes him with blackmail, but Bomb...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Auguste A. Topaze → Dr. Stegg (Professional Former School Colleagues) — Their professional connection survives Topaze's dismissal and later reversal of status.

  Topaze teaches at the Stegg Academy, and Dr. Stegg later asks him to preside at the school's graduation.

• Auguste A. Topaze → Coco (Romantic Interest) — Their relationship develops from Coco's practical assistance into mutual romantic attention.

  Coco cares for Topaze after he discovers the fraudulent water, and the plot states that she later develops romantic interest in him. Topaze is last se...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Coco → Dr. Bomb (Social Shared Business Circle) — Coco and Bomb are connected through Topaze's later professional network.

  Bomb later works as Topaze's assistant, while Coco remains closely connected to Topaze during the same period of his new office and business dealings.

• Auguste A. Topaze → Dr. Bomb (Alliance Business Partners) — Bomb becomes Topaze's operational partner after Topaze embraces a more corrupt professional identity.

  After remaking his public image, Topaze opens his own office with Bomb as his assistant.

• Auguste A. Topaze → Charlemagne de La Tour-La Tour (Conflict Academic Opponent) — Charlemagne's academic privilege becomes an early and final source of conflict for Topaze.

  Topaze loses his teaching position after refusing to alter Charlemagne's grades. Later, he exposes Charlemagne's ignorance during the graduation cerem...

Story Analysis

An honest teacher loses his innocence, embraces corruption, and finally uses his new power to reject inherited privilege.

Plot Progression

1. The Honest Dismissal — Topaze refuses to alter Charlemagne's grades and loses his position at the academy. A new tutoring opportunity introduces him to Coco and the business world surrounding her.
2. The False Remedy — Topaze is recruited as the scientific front for a supposedly curative water. He remains unaware that the product does not contain his formula while personal misunderstandings develop around Coco.
3. Fraud Revealed — Dr. Bomb threatens to expose the fraudulent product, and Topaze independently tests the water. The discovery destroys his faith in the respectable world around him.
4. The New Topaze — After receiving an award from people connected to the fraudulent system, Topaze abandons his former naivete. He creates a new office, employs Bomb, and uses blackmail to gain business power.
5. A Public Reversal — Topaze returns to the academy as a graduation authority. He rejects the expected reward for Charlemagne, exposes the boy's ignorance, and ends the story with Coco at the cinema.