Jerome Barberin works as a mason in Paris, far from his home in the village of Chavanon. His wife looks after a foundling child named Remi, whom Barberin had found as an infant in Paris. The child was dressed in fine clothes, suggesting he might belong to a wealthy family. Barberin took him in hoping one day to be rewarded by the child’s parents.

After a work accident left him injured, Barberin returned to Chavanon bitter and destitute. He had sued his employer for compensation but lost the case, spending his last savings in the process. The defeat sharpened his harsh and practical nature.

Under severe financial pressure, he ordered his wife to sell their cow, which was essential to their livelihood. He also told her to abandon Remi, seeing no further use for a child who was not his own and had become a burden. His wife sold the cow but could not bring herself to part with the boy.

Returning home to find Remi still there, Barberin took matters into his own hands. At a local pub, he met Vitalis, a traveling artist who performed with a troupe of trained animals. Seizing the opportunity, Barberin arranged to sell Remi to Vitalis as an apprentice, accepting payment to free himself of the expense.

He acted against his wife’s wishes, though she was deeply attached to Remi and would have stopped the arrangement if she could. Barberin completed the transaction, and Remi was taken away without a chance to bid farewell to the woman who had raised him.

Barberin’s choices were driven by financial desperation and a hardened outlook shaped by misfortune. He is portrayed as a pragmatic man who values survival above emotional ties.