Chapter 9 Summary

While getting ready for a big sale day, Mouret suddenly decides to rearrange the departments. Denise runs into him on her way to her department, and he invites her to his office after work. After the doors to the store open, the shopkeepers' and workers' wives come in to fight over the bargains, creating quite a crowd. Madame de Boves and her daughter Blanche see Madame Marty and her daughter Valentine outside the store. None of them had planned to go in, but they get swept in with the crowd. Madame Marty wants to buy a simple braid, but gets lost on her way to the haberdashery. The store's confusing layout and wonderful displays and salesmen trap them. Madame Marty begins her spending spree. Madame de Boves does not have any money, but she enjoys the store in her own way. They meet...