Barberin

Barberin is the man who, together with Mme Barberin, has raised Rémi, but he ultimately hands the child over to the traveling musician Vitalis. In the departure scene, his brusque authority and the eight five-franc coins he accepts make the transfer feel less like a family parting than a transaction from which Rémi has no power to withdraw.

Role in Rémi’s Departure

When Rémi begs not to be taken away and calls for Mme Barberin, Barberin seizes him roughly by the ear. He tells the boy that he cannot remain in the house and offers only two alternatives: go with Vitalis or be sent to the hospice. Rémi continues to cry for Mme Barberin; Barberin responds with anger and threatens to drive him out with a stick. His words leave no room for the child’s wishes to affect the decision.

The Transaction with Vitalis

Vitalis lays eight five-franc coins on the table, and Barberin makes them disappear into his pocket in a single quick movement. He then produces Rémi’s bundle, a blue cotton handkerchief tied at all four corners. The coins and the small, knotted package give the exchange its concrete terms: Barberin takes payment, while Rémi is sent away with only what has been gathered for him.

Barberin also resists Vitalis’s sympathy for the child, warning that pity will only make Rémi howl louder. The remark frames Rémi’s grief as a nuisance to be controlled rather than a reason to reconsider the transfer. Barberin’s conduct in the scene is marked by that contrast: he moves efficiently through the business of the handover while the child’s distress continues around him.

Farewell and Narrative Significance

After Rémi’s voice dies into a sob and no one answers him, he has to follow Vitalis, who still holds his wrist. Barberin calls out a farewell and goes back into the house. His return indoors closes the scene from the household’s side; Rémi, by contrast, is drawn into an uncertain life on the road.

The episode establishes Barberin as the immediate agent of Rémi’s separation from the home where he was raised. The blunt ultimatum, the payment, and the quick retreat indoors make the child’s helplessness central to the departure: Rémi cannot choose whether to leave, and his appeal to Mme Barberin does not alter what Barberin has arranged.