Chapter 6 Summary

The summer slow season brings mass layoffs to reduce costs in the store. Bourdoncle fires many and gives unpaid holidays to salesmen they want to keep. Denise fears being fired. When the department learns of her brothers, they assume Jean is Denise's lover, and Pépé is her child. When Denise confides in Robineau about what a hard time she is having making ends meet, he finds her some moonlighting work, which she stays up at night to do. However, the business goes bankrupt, leaving Denise unpaid for her work. When Jean needs money urgently, Denise looks for Robineau, hoping he can help her collect her wages.

The silk department employees are wishing that Robineau would not come back from his holiday, so that everyone can move up. Hutin and Favier go to the dining room for dinner, where another assistant asks whether...