Character Relationship Map: Chasing Yesterday

Characters

• Sylvestre Bonnard (played by O. P. Heggie) — protagonist

  An aging book collector and the story's protagonist. Initially driven to find a rare book containing a note from a former lover, his mission shifts upon discovering the girl's daughter, Jeanne. Deeply...

• Mlle. Prefere (played by Elizabeth Patterson) — supporting

  The headmistress of the girls' boarding school where Jeanne lives. She treats the girl cruelly alongside Mouche. After Jeanne manipulates her into visiting Paris, Mlle. Prefere misinterprets Bonnard's...

• Coccoz (played by John Qualen) — supporting

  A traveling bookseller acquainted with Bonnard. He appears at a critical moment when Bonnard is preparing to sell his collection to save Jeanne. Coccoz reveals the truth that Mouche had stolen the rar...

• Mouche (played by Etienne Girardot) — supporting

  An attorney who serves as Jeanne's guardian. He and Mlle. Prefere treat the girl with cruelty. When Bonnard takes Jeanne to Paris, Mouche tracks them down and attempts to blackmail Bonnard by selling...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Mouche → Mlle. Prefere (Professional Co-Guardian) — They are connected through the girl's guardianship and institutional supervision.

  Mouche is the girl's guardian, while Mlle. Prefere is the headmistress of the boarding school. The plot states that both treat the girl cruelly.

• Sylvestre Bonnard → Mlle. Prefere (Romantic Misunderstood Suitor) — Their apparent romance is created by a deception and sustained by Prefere's misunderstanding.

  The girl convinces Mlle. Prefere that Bonnard is romantically interested in her. Prefere later interprets his happiness at their Paris visit as romant...

Story Dynamics

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

• Coccoz → Mouche (Conflict Exposer) — Coccoz uncovers the wrongdoing that reverses Mouche's leverage over Bonnard.

  Coccoz reveals that Mouche stole the rare book and forged the original papers giving him custody of the girl.

• Sylvestre Bonnard → Coccoz (Social Acquaintance) — Coccoz is a professional acquaintance whose intervention changes Bonnard's situation.

  Coccoz is described as a traveling bookseller with whom Bonnard is acquainted. He arrives at the critical moment when Bonnard is preparing to sell his...

• Sylvestre Bonnard → Mouche (Conflict Adversary) — Bonnard's attempt to protect the girl brings him into direct conflict with Mouche's exploitative guardianship scheme.

  Mouche attempts to sell the girl's adoption to Bonnard and threatens to press kidnapping charges. Coccoz later exposes Mouche's theft and forged custo...

Story Analysis

An aging collector abandons a decades-long book search to protect a girl, confronting institutional cruelty and a corrupt guardian.

Plot Progression

1. A Note From The Past — Bonnard discovers a former lover's note on a page from a rare book he has sought for decades. He returns to the old hometown to continue the search.
2. The School’s Cruel Truth — Mouche identifies the former lover's daughter as a boarding-school resident. Bonnard fails to find the book and instead becomes disturbed by the girl's treatment.
3. A Dangerous Misunderstanding — The girl uses a romantic deception to create an opportunity connected to Paris. Mlle. Prefere mistakes Bonnard's welcome for love and proposes marriage.
4. Rescue And Extortion — After Prefere blocks Bonnard's access, he takes the girl away without permission. Mouche follows him to Paris and demands money for adoption and silence.
5. The Bookseller’s Reversal — Bonnard prepares to sell his collection, but Coccoz exposes Mouche's theft and forged custody papers. Mouche then accepts Bonnard's adoption without payment.