"The Muse of the Department," tells the story of a young woman who marries a man thirty years her senior. Monsieur de la Baudraye is a small and previously sickly man obsessed with finding an heir to his fortune. Despite their five years of marriage, the couple remains childless. As time passes, Monsieur de la Baudraye becomes increasingly miserly, even though he was once generous in the early days of their marriage.