The true face of Mademoiselle Cloque

Mademoiselle Cloque is a fictional character whose exact model was a neighbor of the author's family, a devout believer named Adélaïde Blacque. Although René Boylesve denied having been inspired by an existing person, his personal work notes contradict this statement by explicitly citing the name of Madame Blacque. The writer was also inspired by his own grandmother who died in 1887 to attribute the age and cause of death of his character.