Penguin Island · Chapter
III: The Cabal explained
The Reverend Father Agaric conspires with Prince Adélestan des Boscénos and other royalists to restore the Draconides monarchy.
What happens
The Reverend Father Agaric conspires with Prince Adélestan des Boscénos and other royalists to restore the Draconides monarchy. They debate strategies, including legal propaganda, violence, and kidnapping the President, while Agaric advises using a Republican as a front. The chapter ends with Prince Boscénos assaulting a workman who sings a mocking song, leading to the prince being thrown down a tower staircase.
Themes in this chapter
Political Corruption and Oligarchy
The cabal's secret plotting, bribery, and manipulation of Republicans to overthrow the government exemplify oligarchic corruption.
Human Folly and Vanity
The aristocrats' self-serving ambitions, Prince Boscénos's violent pride, and the President's envy of power highlight human folly.
Satire of Historiography
The mock-heroic account of the Boscénos family history, including the motto's origin, parodies how chroniclers glorify dubious deeds.
Characters to notice
- Father Agaric
Discloses his restoration projects to Prince Boscénos and organizes the royalist cabal.
- Prince Adélestan des Boscénos
Eagerly joins Agaric's plot, advocates force, and later attacks a workman for singing a derogatory song.
- M. de La Trumelle
Argues for legal and propaganda-based action, opposing violence and kidnapping.
- Viscount Cléna
Proposes extreme violence: slaughtering Republicans and partisans of the government.
- M. Bigourd
Delivers a speech analyzing Penguin dissatisfaction and advising covert manipulation through a Republican front.
- President Formose
Mentioned as a target for kidnapping; described as a 'goose' who secretly desires monarchical power.
- Prince Crucho
The Draconian heir whose restoration is the goal of the cabal.
Key passages
“the Penguins are dissatisfied with the new order because it exists, and it is natural for men to complain of their condition. But at the same time the Penguins are afraid to change their government because new things alarm them.”
The Penguins are unhappy simply because the current system exists, yet they fear change because the unfamiliar scares them.
M. Bigourd's cynical analysis of public opinion, used to justify covert royalist strategy.
“To make people sympathise with us and follow us we must make them believe that we want, not to overthrow the Republic, but, on the contrary, to restore it, to cleanse, to purify, to embellish, to adorn, to beautify, and to ornament it, to render it, in a word, glorious and attractive.”
We must pretend we want to improve the Republic, not destroy it, in order to win public support.
Agaric's plan to use a Republican front to disguise the royalist coup.
“Boscénos est un gros cochon; On en va faire des andouilles Des saucisses et du jambon Pour le réveillon des pauv’ bougres.”
Boscénos is a fat pig; we'll make sausages and ham from him for the poor folks' Christmas Eve feast.
A popular satirical song mocking Prince Boscénos, which triggers his violent confrontation with a workman.