Maurice Gros

Overview

Maurice Gros, a young man of the Nice «bataclan» (the idle fashionable set Marie despises), hanging on the arm of whoever is near and companion of Saëtone and Audiffret. The Mon Journal indexes give «Gros (Maurice)» in t.1–t.7 (e.g. t.3 p.163; t.4 pp.301, 304, 341; t.6 «[Choulowsky]» pp.289, 301, 314, 325). Marie's own note at 018.0296 calls him «un homme jeune, riche, noble et même beau» who «s'encanaille».

Relevance to Marie

Stub replaced. Identification of the Nice man from 018.0296 (RSR 2026-10-21, Tome 3 index «Gros (Maurice), 163») and the t.6 index «Gros (Maurice) [Choulowsky]» (the diary's «Choulowsky» at 050.0536 is an image of dissipation, not his name). WRONG-TAG CANDIDATE: 005.0029 (Geneva, «M. Gros») may be a different man; the first name is not given. No outside biography found.

References in Diary

Marie's verdict is steady contempt. «Gros, (Maurice) toujours avide de saisir le bras de quelqu'un» (014.0245, December 1873); «le grand et superbe Maurice Gros, toujours pendant au bras de quelqu'un» (025.0188). On 3 February 1875 she meets the whole Nice set at the ticket sale for a masked ball, where Gros says «on ôtera le capuchon» «de son air canaille» (029.0175). In August 1875 she mocks him in verse: «Maurice Gros, illustre faquin» (039.0171). The great quarrel is over Audiffret: in December 1875 she is ashamed that Audiffret keeps company with «des Gros et Cie», the theatre, the singers, «les cocottes et Gros» (050.0468); she writes an anonymous warning that «si tu continues à fréquenter Gros ta réputation auprès des femmes est perdue» (050.0536), sent to London to be posted by Collignon's brother (050.0679). In the mock-monastic letters of January 1876 «Maurice Gros» is the supplier of rice powder and the worldly bond Audiffret must give up (052.0068, 052.0168). In April 1876 she writes that one may call Audiffret or Maurice Gros a canaille, but not Larderel (059.0187).