Fantômas · Chapter
XXXII: On the Scaffold explained
The chapter describes the public execution of Gurn, who is believed to be Fantômas, at the Santé prison.
What happens
The chapter describes the public execution of Gurn, who is believed to be Fantômas, at the Santé prison. A large and festive crowd gathers to witness the guillotining. Detective Juve and journalist Jérôme Fandor attend with special passes. After the execution, Juve examines the severed head and discovers that the face is painted like an actor's, realizing that Fantômas has escaped and an innocent man has been executed in his place.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Deception
The central twist of the chapter: the executed man is not Gurn/Fantômas but an innocent substitute, revealed by the painted face.
Crime and Justice
The execution is meant to deliver justice for the murder of Lord Beltham, but the deception undermines the legal process.
Theatricality and Performance
The crowd treats the execution as a spectacle, and the condemned man's face is painted like an actor's, highlighting the performative nature of the event.
Characters to notice
- Inspector Juve
Attends the execution with Fandor, expresses doubts about Gurn being Fantômas, and after the beheading examines the head and discovers the deception.
- Jérôme Fandor
Accompanies Juve to the execution, is nervous and upset, and witnesses Juve's revelation that Fantômas has escaped.
- M. Gurn
The condemned man believed to be Fantômas; is executed, but later revealed to be an innocent substitute.
- Fantômas
Implied to have escaped execution by having an innocent man executed in his place; Juve realizes the deception.
- M. Deibler
The executioner who oversees the guillotining and interacts with Juve.
- François Bonbonne
Landlord of the Saint-Anthony's Pig, seen leading friends through the crowd, half-drunk.
Key passages
“Juve panted brokenly. "This face has not gone white because it is painted! It is made up—like an actor's! Oh, curses on him! Fantômas has escaped! Fantômas has got away! He has had some innocent man executed in his stead! I tell you Fantômas is alive!"”
Juve gasps that the executed man's face is painted like an actor's, meaning Fantômas has escaped and an innocent man was killed in his place.
Climactic revelation that Fantômas has evaded justice.
“Juve stopped and laid a hand upon the journalist's shoulder. "Wait," he said, "we are right in front now: only the men who are holding the line are ahead of us. If we want to get through and avoid the crush we must make ourselves known at once. Here is your pass."”
Juve tells Fandor they are near the front and need to use their passes to get through the crowd.
Shows Juve's authority and planning to witness the execution.