Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

Chapter 1
Guy de Maupassant
An introductory chapter on the life and works of Guy de Maupassant, exploring his literary style, themes, and influence.
Chapter 2
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 3
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 4
Short Fiction
A collection of short stories exploring themes of love, desire, obsession, social class, and the illusions that shape human relationships, often set in 19th-century French society.
Chapter 5
The Dead Hand
A group of friends gather for an evening of drinking and storytelling when a friend, Pierre, arrives with a gruesome souvenir: a skinned, dried hand that once belonged to a notorious criminal. He hangs it on his bell-pull, but soon after, he is violently attacked in his bedroom, nearly strangled by an unseen assailant. The hand disappears, and Pierre is left traumatized and insane. Months later, during his funeral, gravediggers unearth the skeleton of the original criminal, whose hand has been severed, suggesting a supernatural revenge.
Chapter 6
Doctor Heraclius Gloss
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, a learned and eccentric scholar, discovers an ancient manuscript that leads him on a journey of obsession and delusion, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.
Chapter 7
I: The Mental Faculties of Doctor Heraclius Gloss
The chapter introduces Doctor Heraclius Gloss, a man widely regarded as very learned in the city of Balançon, despite having no published works or formal diploma. His reputation is inherited from his father and grandfather, both called 'Doctor,' and is supported by his vast library of forty shelves of books. The Dean and Warden of the city smile mysteriously at his name, and it is rumored the Warden once praised him in Latin before the Archbishop, though the quote 'Parturiunt montes, nascitur ridiculus mus' suggests a possible irony.
Chapter 8
II: The Physical Appearance of Doctor Heraclius Gloss
This chapter describes the physical appearance of Doctor Heraclius Gloss, emphasizing the harmony between his mental and physical traits. He is depicted as small, alert, and wiry, with a rat-like, ant-like, and terrier-like nature—investigative, gnawing, hunting, and tireless. His extreme thinness is highlighted, with his face compared to a razor blade and his spectacles to a yardarm. Despite his small head, he is deeply learned, and his friend the Dean jests that he might have been pressed in a folio volume. He is smart, fond of scent, wears a wig, is never ill, loves animals, does not detest his fellow men, and adores roast quails.
Chapter 9
How Doctor Heraclius Used to Spend His Days
The chapter describes Doctor Heraclius Gloss's daily routine: a morning garden stroll, a lunch of roast quails, and then a visit to the Ruelle des Vieus Pigeons, where he spends hours in bookshops searching for philosophical truth. Despite his extensive studies, he remains uncertain and laments the difficulty of finding truth, comparing his plight to that of explorers.
Chapter 10
IV: How Doctor Heraclius Spent His Nights
Doctor Heraclius Gloss returns home laden with old philosophical books, spends his evenings reading and pondering, and attempts to synthesize disparate doctrines in his mind, seeking truth without success.
Chapter 11
How the Dean Placed His Hopes in Eclecticism, the Doctor in Revelation and the Warden in Digestion
The Dean, the Warden, and the Doctor engage in a philosophical debate about truth, eclecticism, revelation, and digestion, with the Doctor advocating for absolute truth through revelation, the Warden promoting eclectic enjoyment, and the Dean mediating.
Chapter 12
VI: How for the Doctor the Road to Damascus Turned Out to Be the Ruelle des Vieux Pigeons, and How the Truth Was Revealed to Him in the Form of a Metempsychosic Manuscript
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, after a feverish night and a prophetic dream, visits the Ruelle des Vieux Pigeons and discovers a parchment manuscript titled 'My Eighteen Metempsychoses.' The manuscript, written by a philosopher in 1748, recounts his theory of metempsychosis—the transmigration of souls through animal and human forms as a process of purification. It argues that memory of past lives can be recovered through physical records, and that the soul progresses through spheres until it reaches a state of supreme happiness, only to fall again. The doctor is deeply affected by this revelation.
Chapter 13
VII: How One May Interpret a Couplet by Corneille in Two Ways
Doctor Heraclius Gloss purchases a strange manuscript, spends days deciphering it with the help of a friend, the Warden, who finds both the translation and the text absurdly funny. The doctor becomes radiant and enlightened, repeating a line from Corneille, while the Warden insists on a punning reinterpretation.
Chapter 14
VIII: How, Just as One Can Be More Royalist Than the King and More Devout Than the Pope, One Can Equally Be More of a Metempsychosist Than Pythagoras
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, after long philosophical uncertainty, fully embraces the doctrine of metempsychosis, developing a precise system to calculate the transmigration of souls through animal forms based on past deeds, with the monkey as the highest beast before man.
Chapter 15
IX: Obverse and Reverse
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, elated by his discovery of metempsychosis, attempts to share his doctrine but faces mockery from the Dean and the Warden, who ridicule his beliefs with absurd animal genealogies.
Chapter 16
X: How a Mountebank Can Be More Cunning Than a Learned Doctor
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, undeterred by previous failures, continues his quest to find evidence of metempsychosis in animals. While visiting a traveling menagerie, he becomes fascinated by a monkey labeled 'The Man of the Woods,' interpreting it as a transmigrated human soul. Despite the monkey's hostile grimace and biting the showman, Heraclius buys the creature at an exorbitant price, convinced he can communicate with it and prove his theory.
Chapter 17
XI: In Which It Is Shown That Heraclius Gloss Was in No Way Exempt from All the Weaknesses of the Stronger Sex
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, returning home, is troubled not by philosophical problems but by the practical difficulty of introducing a wild man into his household without provoking the wrath of his servant Honorine. The chapter reveals that Heraclius, who bravely faces academic ridicule, is cowardly before his servant due to a past weakness: he once took in a shepherdess as a servant and became subservient to her. When Honorine sees the caged wild man, she erupts in fury, but the wild man's fierce response forces her to retreat, allowing Heraclius to install the cage in his study.
Chapter 18
XII: Which Explains How Doctor and Animal Tamer Are in No Way Synonymous
Doctor Heraclius Gloss attempts to study his newly acquired monkey by freeing it from its cage, hoping to observe its natural behavior and uncover memories of a former life. The monkey escapes, wreaks havoc, and chases the Doctor out of the room. After a day of standoff, the Doctor uses starvation to force the monkey's surrender, leading to a peaceful reconciliation and a newfound friendship.
Chapter 19
XIII: How Doctor Heraclius Gloss Found Himself in Exactly the Same Position as Good King Henry IV Who, Having Heard Two Leading Counsel Plead Their Case, Was of Opinion That Both Were Right
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, confined indoors by heavy rain, spends the morning in his study philosophically observing his monkey and dog, Pythagoras. He reflects on the gradations of intellect in declassed men, comparing instinct in the dog to reason in the monkey. A playful attack by the monkey on the dog's tail leads to a counterattack, and the doctor intervenes, left pondering whether the dog displayed more cunning than the monkey.
Chapter 20
XIV: How Heraclius All but Devoured a Dish of Beautiful Ladies of a Past Age
At lunch, Doctor Heraclius Gloss reads a passage from his manuscript warning against eating any food that once had life, as it may contain reincarnated human souls. Horrified, he orders his servant to remove the quail dish and serve only vegetarian fare, reflecting on the possibility that the quails might be the reincarnated forms of beautiful women from the past.
Chapter 21
XV: How the Warden Interpreted God’s Commandments
The Dean and the Warden visit Doctor Heraclius in his study. The Doctor explains his dietary restrictions, which prohibit eating quails and other edible animals, comparing it to a Jew avoiding ham. The Dean reacts with blasphemy, while the Warden humorously twists the Fourth Commandment to justify eating one's parents if necessary.
Chapter 22
How the Forty-Second Reading of the Manuscript Shed New Light Into the Doctor’s Mind
Doctor Heraclius, after reading the manuscript for the forty-second time, is struck by the idea that its author may have returned to human form. He feverishly calculates the probability and becomes convinced that the author is his contemporary or soon to be reborn, experiencing an overwhelming emotion akin to discovering a long-lost father.
Chapter 23
How Doctor Heraclius Gloss Set About Finding the Author of the Manuscript
Doctor Heraclius Gloss places a cryptic advertisement in the Balançon Star, hoping to attract the author of the manuscript he discovered. He visits the post office daily, growing increasingly anxious and discouraged as no reply comes. Meanwhile, the townspeople grow curious and gossip about the connection between the advertisement and the doctor's daily visits.
Chapter 24
XVIII: In Which Doctor Heraclius Recognises with Amazement the Author of the Manuscript
Unable to sleep, Doctor Heraclius Gloss goes to his study in the middle of the night to reread a passage of the manuscript. There he is horrified to see what appears to be a duplicate of himself reading the manuscript. After a moment of terror, he realizes the figure is actually his monkey, and he is overcome with joy, embracing the monkey as the long-sought author of the manuscript.
Chapter 25
XIX: How the Doctor Was Placed in a Terrible Dilemma
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, having discovered that the soul he sought resides in a monkey, faces a terrible moral and practical dilemma. He realizes that without a human apostle, his crusade against superstition is doomed. Contemplating killing the monkey to free the soul for rebirth into a human child, he is restrained by the fear that the soul might instead re-enter another animal, condemning him to eternal punishment. Overcome by emotion, he faints.
Chapter 26
XX: In Which the Doctor Has a Little Talk with His Servant
Doctor Heraclius Gloss wakes at seven o'clock to find his monkey missing. His servant Honorine recounts how she struck the monkey with a shovel after it mimicked the Doctor and attacked her. The Doctor angrily insists the monkey be treated as the master of the house, while Honorine mutters that the Doctor himself seems mad.
Chapter 27
XXI: In Which It Is Shown That a Dearly-Loved Friend Can Lighten the Heaviest Sorrow
Doctor Heraclius Gloss, having discovered his monkey to be a great philosopher, devotes himself entirely to the animal, treating it with the tenderness of a lover and the reverence of a worshipper. The monkey accepts this adoration calmly. Heraclius, isolated by his sublime intellect and unable to convince his friends of his doctrine, finds solace in his companion. However, his life grows sadder as the Warden and the Dean visit less frequently, especially after he decrees that no food which once had life be served at his table. He dreads his lonely meals and is haunted by remorse—not for having eaten quails, but for having renounced them forever.
Chapter 28
XXII: In Which the Doctor Discovers That His Monkey Resembles Him Even More Than He Thought
Doctor Heraclius Gloss wakes to a commotion in the kitchen, where his housekeeper Honorine has tied his monkey to a table leg and torments it by tempting it with food just out of reach. The monkey breaks free, and the Doctor intervenes to prevent it from devouring the delicacies.
Chapter 29
XXIII: How the Doctor Realized That His Monkey Had Shamefully Imposed Upon Him
Doctor Heraclius, enraged by his monkey's deception, thrashes the animal, which retaliates by flinging snuff and stealing the manuscript. The doctor pursues in vain, then discovers the monkey tearing pages from a tree. Realizing the monkey is an impostor, Heraclius uses a garden hose to subdue it, but the monkey flings the torn manuscript at him. Overcome, the doctor recovers most of the manuscript, missing only three pages.
Chapter 30
XXIV: Eureka
After a visit from the Dean and the Warden, Heraclius confides his despair over the manuscript and the monkey's trick. The Warden suggests he might be the author himself, leading Heraclius to a revelation: he is the prophet of metempsychosis. He adds his life story to the manuscript.
Chapter 31
XXV: “I Am That I Am.”
Heraclius Gloss, believing himself to be the reincarnation of Pythagoras, becomes consumed with pride and isolates himself in a world of animals. He forbids the killing of any creatures, leading to an infestation of pests, but is troubled by the constant cycle of animals devouring each other. He spends hours observing insects and animals, eventually losing connection with humanity and feeling alienated from his fellow men.
Chapter 32
XXVI: What Was Said at Madame Labotte’s, the Fruiterer’s, 26, Rue de la Maraicherie
At Madame Labotte's fruit shop, a gathering of servants hears from Doctor Heraclius's housekeeper, Mademoiselle Honorine, about her master's increasingly erratic behavior toward animals. She recounts how he freed a mouse from a trap, treating it as a sentient being. The story spreads through Balançon, reaching the bourgeois, magistrates, and the Prefect's party, where the Warden quips that La Fontaine could write a new fable about 'The Philosopher's Mouse.'
Chapter 33
How Doctor Heraclius Did Not Agree with the Dauphin, Who, Having Saved a Monkey from Drowning, Threw It Back Again and Went Off to Find a Man to Save Instead
Doctor Heraclius, noticing the curious stares of passersby, initially believes his doctrine has gained him admiration. However, he witnesses a group of children tormenting a drowning kitten by throwing stones at it. Enraged, he attacks the children, one of whom falls into the river. Heraclius rescues the kitten, dries and kisses it, then returns home, indifferent to the commotion.
Chapter 34
XXVIII: “This Story Will Show You That, if You Want to Save a Fellow Creature from Blows and Believe That It Is Better to Rescue a Cat Than a Man, You Will Excite the Anger of Your Neighbours. All Roads Lead to Rome—But Metempsychosis Leads to the Lunatic Asylum.”—Balançon Star
Doctor Heraclius Gloss is arrested and committed to a mental asylum after a mob, incited by local priests, attacks his home. In the asylum, he meets Dagobert Félorme, who also claims to be the reincarnation of Pythagoras and the author of the same manuscript. A violent confrontation over the manuscript ends with it being torn in two. After a month of reflection and guidance from the asylum staff, Heraclius renounces metempsychosis and is released.
Chapter 35
XXIX: How One Sometimes Exchanges Scylla for Charybdis
After being released from the asylum, Doctor Heraclius Gloss is immediately harassed by a mob of street urchins who mock him as the 'animal man.' He flees home, where in a fit of rage he kills his monkey and then massacres all the animals in his garden. The next day, the harassment continues, and his vengeful obsession with killing animals leads to public outrage. He is declared mad by a panel of doctors and recommitted to the asylum.
Chapter 36
XXX: How the Proverb—“The Madder One Is, the More One Laughs”—Is Not Always Quite True
The chapter describes the escalating conflict between Heraclius and Dagobert over their opposing beliefs about metempsychosis. Their rivalry splits the community into two violent factions, forcing the Governor to schedule separate exercise times to prevent bloodshed. Meanwhile, the dog Pythagoras howls outside at night, haunting Heraclius.
Chapter 37
On the River
The narrator recounts a night spent alone on the Seine, where a boating enthusiast shares a terrifying experience of being stranded on the river at night, grappling with irrational fear and the supernatural, only to discover the anchor is caught on the body of a drowned woman.
Chapter 38
At the Church Door
A wheelwright and his wife lose their young son Jean to a traveling circus. After years of desperate searching, poverty, and grief, they settle near a church where the father becomes the holy water attendant. One day, a young man resembling the father appears with two ladies. The old couple recognizes him as their long-lost son, now a wealthy gentleman engaged to be married. The family is joyfully reunited.
Chapter 39
Lieutenant Laré’s Marriage
During the Franco-Prussian War, Lieutenant Laré leads a detachment to rescue a general, encounters an old butler and his daughter fleeing from Uhlans, and when the girl collapses from exhaustion, his men carry her on a stretcher. After a skirmish with Uhlans, they reach the French camp. The general introduces the butler as the Comte de Ronfi-Quédissac, who offers Laré his daughter's hand in gratitude. A year later, Laré marries Mademoiselle de Ronfi-Quédissac.
Chapter 40
Simon's Father
Simon, the son of the unmarried La Blanchotte, is taunted by his schoolmates for not having a father. After a violent confrontation, he runs to the river intending to drown himself, but is stopped by a blacksmith named Philip. Philip brings him home and, moved by the boy's distress, agrees to become his father. Over time, Philip courts La Blanchotte and eventually proposes marriage, restoring the family's honor.
Chapter 41
A Family Affair
Monsieur Caravan, a chief clerk at the Admiralty, leads a monotonous life defined by his office routine and his recent receipt of the Legion of Honour. On a stifling summer evening, he travels home by steam-tram with Doctor Chenet, discussing local grievances and his elderly mother's health. Upon arriving, he learns of his mother's sudden death. His initial grief gives way to a strange relief under the serene night sky, and he seeks sympathy at a café, only to be met with indifference. The chapter explores his emotional journey from despair to a quiet, guilty comfort.
Chapter 42
Boule de Suif
During the Franco-Prussian War, a diverse group of travelers flee Rouen in a stagecoach. Among them is Boule de Suif, a prostitute. Initially shunned, she shares her provisions with the starving passengers, who then warm to her. When the coach is detained by a Prussian officer who demands Boule de Suif's favors, the companions pressure her into sacrificing herself for their freedom. After she complies, they hypocritically shun her again, and during the resumed journey they eat their own food while she goes hungry.
Chapter 43
Les Dimanches d'Un Bourgeois
The chapter follows a bourgeois man's Sundays, exploring his routines, observations, and interactions that reveal the monotony and social pretensions of middle-class life.
Chapter 44
I: Preparing for Excursions
Monsieur Patissot, a Parisian clerk who has spent his life indoors and advanced slowly through imitation of Napoleon III, is suddenly spurred to take up walking excursions after a doctor warns him of apoplexy. He spends a week preparing his outfit, buying heavy boots, corduroy trousers, gaiters, a knapsack, a field glass, an ordnance map, and an alpaca coat, all with characteristic hesitation and eventual satisfaction.
Chapter 45
Patissot's First Outing
Patissot, a Parisian clerk, eagerly prepares for his first country outing, but his journey is marked by a series of mishaps: he falls, breaks a wine bottle in his knapsack, gets lost, and encounters a lost couple. The husband, having lost both his dog and his purse, leaves Patissot alone with his flirtatious wife, who charms him into lending her money before disappearing. Patissot returns home with a headache and a depleted wallet.
Chapter 46
A Visit
Patissot, having become friends with his colleague Monsieur Boivin, visits Boivin's home in Colombes for a Sunday breakfast. He meets Boivin's hostile wife, helps water the garden, suffers through a meager meal, and later accompanies Boivin on a walk that ends in drunkenness and a chaotic return home.
Chapter 47
IV: Fishing
Monsieur Patissot, a novice fisherman, prepares for his first fishing trip by studying a pamphlet and buying equipment. He joins his friend Boivin and a fat man on a boat at Bezons, where he struggles to bait his hooks and becomes seasick. After a failed morning, he befriends the fat man over lunch, then accidentally hooks a woman's bonnet, causing a scene. He finally catches a tiny fish, which he proudly eats, and plans to sail with his new friend.
Chapter 48
Two Famous Men
Patissot, accompanied by his journalist cousin, visits the homes of two celebrated artists: the painter Meissonier at Poissy and the writer Émile Zola at Medan. The chapter contrasts the lavish, eccentric estate of Meissonier with Zola's more modest but imposing residence, highlighting Patissot's awe and social awkwardness.
Chapter 49
Before the Festival
As a grand festival approaches, Monsieur Patissot eagerly prepares his decorations, consulting neighbors and strangers for original ideas. He rents a room from a royalist coachman, buys flags and lanterns, and engages in a spirited omnibus debate about how the government should present itself to the people.
Chapter 50
VII: A Sad Story
Monsieur Patissot, seeking a tranquil Sunday in nature, visits the terrace of Saint-Germain. There he meets a melancholy gentleman who, prompted by Patissot's casual remarks about love, recounts a tragicomic tale of his youth. The man explains how his uncle, a Norman priest, discovered his mistress in his bed during a surprise visit, leading to his disinheritance and lifelong estrangement from family and love.
Chapter 51
VIII: A Trial of Love
Monsieur Patissot, seeking a poetic and tender companion, visits the Folies-Bergères and chooses a young débutante, but she sends a substitute, Octavie, a loud and coarse red-haired girl. They travel to Maisons-Laffitte for regattas, where Octavie's vulgar behavior embarrasses Patissot. She abandons him for boating men, and after a brief moment of tenderness on the water, she leaves him asleep and joins a crew of rowers, mocking him as a 'big canary.'
Chapter 52
A Dinner and Some Ideas
Monsieur Antoine Perdrix, newly made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, hosts a dinner for his office staff at his home in Asnières. After speeches, the conversation turns to love and women, then to politics and principles. Monsieur Rade, a freethinking clerk, challenges the others with his radical views on government and morality, provoking indignation among his colleagues.
Chapter 53
X: A Public Meeting
Monsieur Patissot attends a public meeting organized by the General International Association for the Vindication of the Rights of Women. The meeting features speeches by various women's rights advocates, including Zoé Lamour, Eva Schourine, and Césarine Brau, as well as citizen Sapience Cornut. A young man argues against women's equality, claiming their power lies in seduction. Patissot's neighbor dismisses the speakers as hysterical or foolish, blaming education for their ideas.
Chapter 54
Suicides
A meditation on suicide, presented through the discovered letter of a man who, after a lifetime of monotonous routine and the painful resurgence of memories triggered by old letters, decides to end his life. The narrative explores the slow accumulation of small vexations and the disintegration of hope that can lead to such an act, challenging the notion that only great tragedies cause suicide.
Chapter 55
A Grandmother's Advice
In an old-fashioned château, a grandmother and her granddaughter Berthe discuss modern love and marriage after reading newspaper accounts of violent love affairs. The grandmother, representing the gallant spirit of the 18th century, argues that love and marriage are separate—marriage a social necessity, love a sacred instinct—and criticizes contemporary society for its moral seriousness and violent revenge. Berthe, influenced by modern ideals, insists on eternal passion and the sanctity of marriage, leading to a generational clash over honor, love, and female agency.
Chapter 56
Story of a Farm Girl
Rose, a farm servant, becomes indispensable to her master Vallin but struggles with her low wages. After a brief affair with a farmhand named Jacques, she becomes pregnant and secretly gives the child to a nurse. Years later, she marries Vallin, but their marriage is strained by her inability to have more children. After enduring abuse, she confesses that she already has a child by Jacques. Vallin, initially shocked, eventually laughs and decides to adopt the child, bringing a resolution to their conflict.
Chapter 57
A Country Excursion
The Dufour family takes a long-awaited country outing to Bezons. While the parents indulge in food and drink, the daughter Henriette and a young man named Henri share a romantic, intense encounter on the river and in a secluded wood. The chapter contrasts the idyllic setting with the characters' mundane lives and ends with Henriette's eventual marriage to another man, though the memory of the affair lingers.
Chapter 58
In the Spring
A narrator describes the intoxicating effect of spring in Paris, which leads him to take a steamboat on the Seine. There he becomes infatuated with a young working-girl. A stranger intervenes, warning him of the dangers of love, and recounts his own story of marrying a woman he met in similar circumstances, only to find himself trapped in a miserable domestic life.
Chapter 59
Paul's Mistress
Paul, the son of a senator, is deeply in love with his mistress Madeleine, a thin brunette with a coarse and unfaithful nature. Despite his refined sensibilities, he is hopelessly enslaved by her. At La Grenouillère, Madeleine flirts openly with other men, humiliating Paul. After a confrontation, Paul, in despair, drowns himself in the river. His body is recovered by boatmen, and Madeleine is consoled by her friend Pauline.
Chapter 60
Madame Tellier's Establishment
Madame Tellier, the owner of a brothel in Fécamp, decides to close her establishment for a day to take her five girls to the confirmation of her brother's daughter in a nearby village. The journey is marked by humorous and awkward encounters with other passengers, including a flirtatious man and an elderly peasant couple. Upon arrival, the girls participate in the religious ceremony, deeply moved by the experience. Afterward, they enjoy a festive dinner, but tensions arise when Madame's drunken brother attempts to assault one of the girls. Madame intervenes forcefully, and the group returns home, singing songs on the way back.
Chapter 61
An Adventure in Paris
A provincial woman, driven by unsatisfied curiosity and longing for the excitement of Parisian life, fabricates a trip to Paris alone. After failing to find the debauchery she imagines, she encounters the famous writer Jean Varin in a shop, buys an expensive Japanese figure he admires, and insists on giving it to him. He reluctantly accompanies her through a day of Parisian activities—a walk, absinthe, dinner, and the theatre—culminating in her insistence on going to his rooms, where the night proves disappointing and mundane.
Chapter 62
A Christmas Eve Festival
The narrator and his cousin Jules de Banneville, staying at a remote Norman château during a hunting trip, discover it is Christmas Eve. After dinner, they attend midnight mass and later visit the home of the deceased shepherd Fournel, where they find his grandchildren using his corpse's bin as a table while they eat their Christmas meal.
Chapter 63
The Cake
Madame Anserre, a beautiful Parisian socialite, hosts receptions where a brioche is ceremonially cut by a chosen guest, a privilege that once conferred status and favor. Over time, the honor becomes a burden as guests flee to avoid it, until a naive young man accepts, only to later realize the implications and flee himself, leading to the tradition's end.
Chapter 64
The Log
An old lady and her lifelong friend sit by the fire in comfortable silence. When a log falls from the grate, the friend is prompted to explain why he never married. He recounts how a similar accident once saved him from betraying his best friend Julien with Julien's wife Bertha, who had made a passionate advance during a tête-à-tête. The log's fall interrupted the moment, preserving the friendship, though it later cooled due to the wife's influence.
Chapter 65
Words of Love
A man writes a letter to his lover explaining that her trivial and ill-timed expressions of affection have ruined his passion for her, arguing that love requires perfect harmony and refined sensibility, not childish endearments.
Chapter 66
Marroca
The narrator recounts his passionate affair with Marroca, a Spanish-descended woman married to a French civil servant in Algeria. Their intense, sensual relationship culminates in a dangerous game when the narrator hides under the bed during the husband's unexpected return, only to discover Marroca's readiness to kill her husband with a hatchet if discovered.
Chapter 67
The Shepherd’s Leap
A story is told of a violent young priest in a coastal village who, driven by a fanatical hatred of love and natural instincts, beats a mother dog to death after she gives birth to puppies. Later, in a storm, he discovers a couple embracing in a shepherd's hut, locks them inside, and drags the hut to the edge of a cliff, sending it crashing down. The lovers die in each other's arms, and the priest is arrested and sentenced to penal servitude.
Chapter 68
The Bed
The narrator purchases a beautiful Louis XV chasuble at an auction and discovers hidden letters inside addressed to Monsieur l'Abbé d'Argence. The letters, written by a woman confined to her bed, reflect on the profound significance of the bed in human life—as a place of birth, love, and death—and share intimate thoughts on its symbolic and emotional importance.
Chapter 69
Mademoiselle Fifi
The Prussian officers stationed at the château d'Uville, led by Major Count von Farlsberg and Captain Baron von Kelweinstein, endure a monotonous rainy day. To alleviate their boredom, the captain arranges for five prostitutes to be brought from Rouen for a dinner party. The youngest officer, Count Wilhelm von Eyrick, nicknamed 'Mademoiselle Fifi' for his dandified and destructive nature, is paired with Rachel, a young Jewish woman. The chapter highlights the officers' idle cruelty and the women's resigned acceptance of their situation.
Chapter 70
Relics of the Past
An elderly woman, Adélaide, writes to her friend Colette reflecting on a life lived in one house, finding solace in memories and the objects that evoke them. She contrasts youthful dreams of happiness with the quieter, more reflective contentment of old age, and describes her two methods of reminiscing: sitting by the fire and exploring the lumber-room of cast-off belongings.
Chapter 71
The Blind Man
A blind peasant, neglected and cruelly mistreated by his family after his parents' death, is subjected to relentless abuse, forced to beg, and ultimately abandoned in the snow to die. His corpse is discovered half-eaten by crows, a stark contrast to the joy of a sunny day.
Chapter 72
Magnetism
At a dinner party, bachelors debate the reality of magnetism and supernatural phenomena. A skeptic dismisses the stories as humbug, then recounts two tales: one about a fisherman's child who dreamed of his father's death at sea, which he explains as coincidence; the other about his own intense dream of a woman he barely knew, which led to a real affair. The group challenges his disbelief.
Chapter 73
Guillemot Rock
A group of aging hunters gather annually at Étretat to hunt guillemots, rare migratory birds that return to the same rock each spring. One year, Monsieur d'Arnelles arrives late, distracted, and eventually reveals he has brought his son-in-law's corpse in a carriage, delaying the funeral to join the hunt. His companions persuade him to postpone the burial another day.
Chapter 74
A Son
An Academician recounts to a politician and a senator his agonizing return to Pont-Labbé thirty years after a brief, violent encounter with a servant, only to discover she died in childbirth and that her son—a degraded, alcoholic stable hand—may be his own. His attempts to confirm or deny the paternity, to help or to distance himself, lead only to obsessive torment and the horrifying realization that he may have killed the mother and ruined the child.
Chapter 75
Travelling
The narrator writes to a friend from Saint-Agnès, describing the spring landscape of the South, the intoxicating scent of orange blossoms, and a tragic story told by an old gentleman about two boys who fell into a deep reservoir. The elder boy drowns after giving his watch to his younger brother, and the narrator reflects on the haunting memory that the survivor will carry forever.
Chapter 76
A Corsican Bandit
The narrator and his companion traverse the rugged Corsican landscape, entering the wild valley of Niolo, a refuge for bandits. The companion recounts the story of the infamous bandit Sainte-Lucie, who, after years of inaction, suddenly avenges his father's murder by killing the assassin and his groomsman, then escalates into a brutal vendetta against all accusers and enemies, embodying the harsh code of Corsican honor.
Chapter 77
A Dead Woman's Secret
After the death of their seemingly virtuous mother, her son, a stern magistrate, and her daughter, a nun, grieve beside her body. They decide to read her old letters to remember her life, but discover a packet of passionate love letters from a man not their father, shattering their idealized image of her. The son, in judgment, silently condemns her and orders the letters hidden, leaving the room without a final glance.
Chapter 78
Dreams
Five friends—an author, a doctor, and three wealthy bachelors—discuss the tedium of idle days and nights. The conversation turns to the desire for new sensations, and the doctor describes his experiences with ether, which he claims produces a clear, exhilarating dream-state unlike other narcotics, offering heightened mental clarity and a sense of invincible intelligence.
Chapter 79
A True Story
At a dinner party of Norman squires, Monsieur de Varnetot recounts his youthful affair with a servant girl named Rose. After she becomes pregnant, he arranges her marriage to a peasant by providing a dowry of land and a cottage. Despite her continued devotion and visits after marriage, Rose dies of grief, and her husband inherits the property.
Chapter 80
The Burglar
An old artist recounts a drunken night at the studio of the late Sorieul, where he, Sorieul, and Le Poittevin, costumed as soldiers, discover a real burglar hiding in a cupboard. After a mock trial and a series of absurd threats, they eventually befriend the terrified intruder, share punch with him, and let him go at dawn.
Chapter 81
A Woman's Confession
An elderly, childless woman recounts her first romantic adventure and a traumatic event from her early marriage to Count Hervé de Ker. After noticing her husband's suspicious behavior and hearing footsteps at night, she agrees to join him on a fox hunt. In the darkness, her husband shoots a man he believes to be her lover. The woman's maid, Paquita, rushes to the dead body and passionately kisses him, revealing he was her own lover. The husband realizes his mistake and begs forgiveness, but the narrator concludes that from that moment she knew she would be unfaithful.
Chapter 82
Moonlight
Madame Henriette Létoré returns to Paris from Switzerland and reveals to her sister, Madame Roubère, that she has taken a lover. She explains that her husband's emotional detachment and a moonlit night on Lake Lucerne led her to yield to the advances of a young barrister, driven by a longing for passion and tenderness.
Chapter 83
A Cock Crowed
Madame Berthe d'Avancelles, a tall and determined woman, resists the advances of Baron Joseph de Croissard, who is ruining himself for her with lavish fêtes and hunts at his château. She promises to yield only if he kills a wild boar himself. During the hunt, they share a passionate kiss, and after the boar is slain, she invites him to her room. Exhausted, the Baron falls asleep, and when a cock crows at dawn, she dismisses him with a haughty remark, revealing her power over him.
Chapter 84
The Child
Jacques Bourdillère, a formerly dissolute man, marries the innocent Berthe Lannis after a seaside romance. On their wedding night, he receives an urgent letter from his dying ex-mistress, who has just given birth to his child. He rushes to her side, promises to raise the child, and returns home with the infant after her death. His new bride Berthe, despite the shock, accepts the child and vows to bring it up.
Chapter 85
The Lock
At a bachelor's dinner, the narrator recounts his first affair with a married woman of society, which culminates in a comedic and humiliating interruption when his landlord, concierge, and chimney-sweep burst into his rented room to fix the chimney, finding the couple in flagrante delicto.
Chapter 86
A Normandy Joke
The chapter describes a rustic Norman wedding feast for Jean Patu and Rosalie Roussel, marked by heavy eating, drinking, and crude jokes. On their wedding night, Jean is repeatedly distracted by distant gunshots from poachers. Despite his wife's pleas, he eventually rushes out with his gun to confront them. He is found the next morning tied up, his gun broken, with dead hares around his neck and a mocking placard, having been humiliated by the poachers as a practical joke.
Chapter 87
My Uncle Sosthène
The narrator describes his uncle Sosthène, a freethinker and Freemason who despises the clergy. After a heavy Good Friday dinner that leaves him incapacitated, the narrator plays a prank by fetching a Jesuit priest to visit his uncle. The priest stays all night, and the next day the uncle, weakened and confused, accepts the priest's care and even pins a religious image to his bed curtain.
Chapter 88
A Reckless Passion
Two young officers, Paul d'Henricel and Jean Renoldi, observe Madame Poinçot, a reputedly virtuous married woman, who becomes infatuated with Renoldi. Despite his reluctance, he becomes her lover. Her obsessive passion suffocates him, leading to a tumultuous affair that culminates in her attempted suicide, a duel, and her eventual abandonment of her family to follow him. Years later, her husband arrives to reclaim her for the sake of their daughters, offering Renoldi a chance at freedom.
Chapter 89
Mad?
The narrator recounts his acquaintance with Jacques Parent, a man who died mad in an asylum. Jacques reveals his terrifying power of magnetism, which allows him to control animals and even objects through his will and gaze. He demonstrates this by hypnotizing the narrator's dog, Mirza, and making a paper-knife slide into his hand. The narrator is left horrified and shaken by the revelation.
Chapter 90
Correspondence
Two women exchange letters discussing the perceived decline in male politeness and the hypocrisy of female manners. The younger niece complains about men's vulgarity at the seaside, while her older aunt counters that women are equally, if not more, rude, and that men's behavior reflects what women allow. The aunt reminisces about a more gracious past at Étretat.
Chapter 91
A Widow
During a rainy hunting season at the de Banville country seat, a young lady notices a ring made of blond hair on her old aunt's finger and asks for its story. The aunt reluctantly recounts her tragic past: as a seventeen-year-old, she became the object of devotion for her twelve-year-old cousin, the last of the passionate Santèze family. She encouraged his childish love as a game, but when she became engaged, the boy, true to his family's legacy of fatal passion, hanged himself. She broke off her engagement and has lived ever since as the 'widow' of the thirteen-year-old boy.
Chapter 92
Rust
Baron Hector de Coutelier, a man whose life is consumed by his passion for hunting and sport, falls ill with rheumatism and is bedridden for two months. His friends, the Courville family, nurse him and later decide he should marry to avoid loneliness in old age. They introduce him to Madame Berthe Vilers, a lively widow who shares his enthusiasm for hunting. The Baron falls in love with her but abruptly breaks off the engagement after a mysterious trip to Paris, citing an honorable but unexplained reason. He eventually confesses to his friend Courville that his long-standing devotion to sport has left him uncertain of his ability to fulfill marital duties.
Chapter 93
The Chair Mender
At a hunting season dinner, a discussion arises about whether one can love truly more than once. The doctor arbitrates by recounting the story of an old chair mender who loved the chemist Chouquet for fifty-five years without respite, a passion that ended only with her death. The tale reveals her lifelong devotion, from childhood encounters to her final bequest of savings to him, which is met with indignation by Chouquet and his wife.
Chapter 94
An Artifice
A doctor tells a young married patient a story about a woman whose lover dies in her bedroom and the frantic cover-up she orchestrates with the doctor's help before her husband returns home.
Chapter 95
An Old Man
Monsieur Daron, an 86-year-old man obsessed with prolonging his life, moves to the spa town of Rondelis and enlists the local doctor to provide him with detailed reports on all inhabitants over eighty. He treats these elderly residents as an experimental field, analyzing their deaths to reassure himself of his own superior health and caution. As each one dies, he rationalizes the cause as imprudence or accident, until the death of Paul Timonet, who dies of no identifiable cause, deeply unsettles him.
Chapter 96
A Parricide
A young joiner, Georges Louis, confesses to murdering a wealthy couple, revealing they were his biological parents who abandoned him at birth. He recounts his discovery of their identity, their rejection of him, and his subsequent violent act.
Chapter 97
Pierrot
Madame Lefèvre, a parsimonious country widow, and her servant Rose decide to get a small dog after their onions are stolen. They acquire a small, odd-looking dog named Pierrot for free. However, when faced with the eight-franc dog tax, they decide to dispose of him by throwing him into a chalk pit used as a cemetery for dogs. After initially feeling remorse and attempting to feed him, they abandon him when they discover another dog has been thrown in and they would have to feed both.
Chapter 98
A Norman
The narrator and a companion travel from Rouen to Jumièges, discussing the landscape and the eccentric Father Matthew, a former sergeant-major who tends a miraculous chapel dedicated to 'Notre Dame du Gros-Ventre'. Matthew sells saints, drinks heavily, and uses a self-invented 'boozometer' to measure his drunkenness. The chapter culminates in a comedic scene where two old women request Saint Blanc, only to find him used as a stake in a rabbit hutch.
Chapter 99
The Pardon
Berthe Savignol, a naive provincial woman, marries Georges Baron and moves to Paris. She discovers through an anonymous letter that her husband has been having an affair with a young widow, Madame Rosset. Georges convinces her to meet the mistress, and the two women become close friends. When Madame Rosset falls fatally ill, she sends a note to Georges asking him to come alone to embrace her before she dies. Berthe intercepts the note, realizes the truth of the betrayal, and confronts her husband. After a year of estrangement, she finally forgives him at the grave of Madame Rosset.
Chapter 100
The Relic
Henri Fontal writes to his old schoolfellow, the Abbé Louis d'Ennemare, explaining how his engagement to the Abbé's cousin Gilberte was broken off due to a foolish deception. Henri bought a relic (a bone of one of the Eleven Thousand Virgins) for Gilberte, but lost it and replaced it with a similar fragment, then claimed he had stolen it from the cathedral in Cologne. Gilberte initially adored him for the supposed sacrilege, but when she visited Cologne and discovered the truth, she broke off the engagement. Henri now seeks the Abbé's help to obtain a genuine relic to win her back.
Chapter 101
In the Moonlight
The fanatical Abbé Marignan, who believes he can divine God's intentions and despises women as temptresses, learns from the sacristan's wife that his beloved niece has a lover. Furious, he takes an oaken club and sets out at night to confront them. But the sublime beauty of the moonlight, the singing of nightingales, and the sight of the two lovers walking together in the radiant landscape overwhelm him with doubt. He questions why God would create such a seductive night if love were sinful, and ultimately flees, feeling he has trespassed into a sacred temple of love.
Chapter 102
Fear
A traveler on a midnight train witnesses a strange vision of two men around a fire in a forest, prompting a conversation with an elderly fellow passenger about the nature of fear. The old man argues that true fear comes only from the unknown and the supernatural, lamenting that science has stripped the world of its mysteries. He recounts a story by Ivan Turgenev about a terrifying encounter with a madwoman in a Russian forest, and then shares his own harrowing experience in Brittany where he was terrified by a wheelbarrow rolling by itself, illustrating that fear arises from incomprehensible phenomena.
Chapter 103
In the Country
Two peasant families, the Tuvaches and the Vallins, live side by side in poverty. A wealthy couple, the d'Hubières, offer to adopt one of their children. The Tuvaches refuse indignantly, while the Vallins accept, selling their son Jean for a monthly pension. Years later, Jean returns as a wealthy young man, causing Charlot Tuvache to bitterly resent his parents for not selling him.
Chapter 104
A Million
Léopold Bonnin and his wife are modest clerks expecting a million-franc inheritance from a wealthy aunt, but the will stipulates the fortune goes to their firstborn child within three years or to the poor. Their desperate attempts to conceive lead to marital strife, public ridicule at the office, and a fraught reconciliation after the wife becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son named Dieudonné, securing the inheritance.
Chapter 105
The Will
René de Bourneval recounts the dramatic reading of his mother's will, which reveals her secret love affair with Monsieur de Bourneval, declares René to be his son, and exposes the hypocrisy and cruelty of her marriage to Monsieur de Courcils. The revelation leads to a duel and René's choice to embrace his true father.
Chapter 106
The Wolf
The old Marquis d'Arville recounts a family legend about his great-grandfather Jean and his brother François, two passionate hunters in 1764 Lorraine. After a monstrous gray-white wolf terrorizes the region and kills their livestock, the brothers pursue it relentlessly. During the chase, Jean is fatally injured when his horse crashes into a tree. François, carrying his brother's body, continues the hunt, finally cornering and strangling the wolf with his bare hands. He returns home with both bodies, laughing and weeping. The tale is presented as true, and a lady remarks on the beauty of such passions.
Chapter 107
The Kiss
An old aunt, Collette, advises her crying niece that she may be losing her husband's affection because she kisses him too much and at inappropriate times. She argues that love is a delicate art where the kiss is the most powerful weapon, but it must be used with tact and restraint. She illustrates her point with examples of poorly timed kisses that annoy rather than endear.
Chapter 108
That Pig, Morin
A story about Morin, a man who is arrested for assaulting a young woman on a train, and the subsequent social and legal repercussions.
Chapter 109
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 110
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 111
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 112
Madame Baptiste
The narrator, waiting at a station in Loubain, follows a civil funeral out of curiosity. A fellow mourner explains that the deceased is a young woman who committed suicide after being publicly humiliated. As a child, she was raped by a footman named Baptiste, which led to lifelong social ostracism. She eventually married a man who accepted her past, but during a public ceremony, a bandmaster insulted her by referencing the footman, causing her to drown herself. The clergy refused a religious burial due to her suicide.
Chapter 113
My Wife
At a dinner party of married men, Pierre Létoile recounts how he came to marry his wife. After a drunken mistake at a cousin's wedding in Normandy, he mistakenly entered the room of Miss Dumoulin and was found asleep there the next morning. Facing scandal and threats from her father, he was pressured into marriage. Despite his initial reluctance, he eventually embraced the match and has never regretted it.
Chapter 114
The Snipe
Baron des Ravots, a former champion sportsman now paralyzed, spends his days shooting pigeons from his chair. During hunting season, he hosts dinners where guests recount their hunting exploits and participate in a ritual involving snipe heads, with the winner telling a story.
Chapter 115
The Mad Woman
Monsieur d'Endolin recounts a harrowing story from the Franco-Prussian War about a neighbor, a mad woman who had lost her mind after losing her father, husband, and child within a month. She remained bedridden and silent for fifteen years. When Prussian soldiers occupied her home, a major, irritated by her refusal to get up, ordered his men to carry her mattress into the forest of Imauville. She was left there and never seen again. The following autumn, the narrator finds her skull in the woods and realizes she must have lain still under the snow until wolves devoured her.
Chapter 116
Artfulness
The Count of L—— recounts his three-year affair with a clever bourgeoise who fabricated a pregnancy, a child, and a journey to Italy to maintain his interest. When his brother investigates and exposes the deception, she calmly accepts the end of the affair, revealing she borrowed her sister's child and invented the letters, explaining that such artifice was necessary to keep a man of his station.
Chapter 117
The Legend of Mont Saint-Michel
The narrator describes his awe-inspiring first views of Mont Saint-Michel from Cancale and Avranches, and his subsequent visit across the sands. A local peasant then recounts a folk legend about Saint Michel tricking the Devil out of his fertile lands through clever crop-sharing schemes and a final chase that ends with Satan being kicked off the mount, leaving his marks on the rock at Mortain.
Chapter 118
Minuet
Jean Bridelle, an old bachelor, reflects on how certain small, poignant episodes can leave deeper emotional scars than great tragedies. He recounts his encounter with an elderly former dancing master from the time of Louis XV, who performs a minuet each morning in the Luxembourg garden with his wife, La Castris. Their dance, a ghostly relic of a bygone era, moves Bridelle profoundly, and he later learns the garden was destroyed, leaving him haunted by their fate.
Chapter 119
Mother and Daughter
The chapter recounts the tragic story of the Comtesse Samoris, a courtesan, and her virtuous daughter Yveline. After overhearing gossip about her mother's lifestyle at a ball, Yveline confronts her and demands they change their way of living. When her mother refuses, Yveline secretly accumulates chloroform and kills herself, with the death later attributed to a faulty stove.
Chapter 120
A Christmas Tale
Doctor Bonenfant recounts a strange Christmas miracle he witnessed as a country doctor in Rolleville. During a severe winter, the blacksmith's wife becomes violently possessed after eating an egg found in the snow. Despite medical and religious attempts to cure her, she remains mad. On Christmas Eve, the priest and doctor bring her to Mass, where the sight of the monstrance during communion causes her to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep, seemingly cured. Bonenfant presents this as a true miracle he observed.
Chapter 121
Christmas Eve
Henri Templier recounts a disastrous Christmas Eve two years prior when, seeking a companion for the night, he picked up a beautiful, plump woman only for her to go into labor in his apartment. The ensuing chaos involved drunken neighbors, a doctor, and a six-week convalescence, leaving him with a child he supports and a woman who became obsessively in love with him.
Chapter 122
The Substitute
A captain recounts a scandalous tale about the seemingly devout Madame Bonderoi, who secretly hires dragoons for weekly assignations, paying them ten francs each. The story involves a quarrel between two soldiers over her patronage, resolved by her keeping both men on separate days, with the soldiers using the money to support their families.
Chapter 123
On Horseback
Hector de Gribelin, a poor aristocrat working as a clerk, uses a small bonus to rent a horse for a family outing. His inept riding causes an accident that injures an elderly charwoman, Mme. Simon, who then feigns paralysis to avoid work. The financial burden of her care forces the family into deeper poverty.
Chapter 124
The Wooden Shoes
A young, naive peasant girl named Adélaïde is sent by her parents to work as a servant for the wealthy widower Maître Césaire Omont. Despite his initial gruffness, he insists she eat and drink with him, play dominoes, and eventually share his bed. Six months later, Adélaïde returns home pregnant, utterly ignorant of how it happened, and her parents arrange for her to marry Omont.
Chapter 125
Monsieur Jocaste
The narrator recounts a past argument with a woman about a father who committed incest, and now tells the story of Pierre Martel, who fell in love with a married woman, fathered her child, and later, after her death, unknowingly fell in love with and married his own daughter.
Chapter 126
Beside a Dead Man
The narrator encounters a dying German man who was a personal friend of the philosopher Schopenhauer. The German recounts the night of Schopenhauer's death, when he and a comrade watched over the body and experienced a terrifying moment when the corpse's false teeth fell out, causing them to believe the dead man had moved.
Chapter 127
Two Friends
During the Siege of Paris, two fishing companions, Monsieur Morissot and Monsieur Sauvage, reunite and decide to go fishing at their old spot despite the danger. They are captured by Prussian soldiers, who demand the password to return to Paris. When they refuse to betray their country, they are executed by firing squad and their bodies are thrown into the river. The Prussian officer then orders their catch of fish to be fried and eaten.
Chapter 128
At Sea
A newspaper report of a recent shipwreck prompts the narrator to recall an earlier maritime tragedy involving Captain Javel and his brother. During a storm, Javel junior's arm is crushed by a fishing cable. To save the net—a valuable asset—the crew refuses to cut it, leading to a gruesome amputation at sea. The severed arm is preserved in a salt barrel and later given a proper burial on land, highlighting the harsh priorities of survival and property.
Chapter 129
The Necklace
Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful but poor woman married to a minor clerk, longs for wealth and luxury. When her husband secures an invitation to a prestigious ball, she borrows a diamond necklace from her wealthy friend Madame Forestier. After a glorious evening, she loses the necklace. To replace it, the Loisels incur massive debt, spending ten years in grueling poverty to repay it. In the end, Mathilde learns from Madame Forestier that the original necklace was a fake, worth only a fraction of what they paid.
Chapter 130
The Awakening
Jeanne, a young married woman living a quiet life in the Val de Ciré, is advised by doctors to spend winter in Paris for her health. There, she becomes animated by social life and receives attentions from two men: the bold Paul Péronel and the gentle Monsieur d'Avancelle. After a vivid dream of love with d'Avancelle, she develops a deep but chaste attachment to him. To avoid yielding, she writes to her husband asking to return home, but he advises her to stay. One evening, while riding with d'Avancelle, she feels overcome with desire, but upon returning home, she mistakenly embraces Paul Péronel in a hallucination, thinking he is d'Avancelle. Horrified, she drives Péronel away and returns to her husband, realizing her love for d'Avancelle was only a dream.
Chapter 131
Father Judas
The narrator visits a remote, desolate region and meets an old boatman, Father Joseph, who lives on a gloomy tarn. During a boat ride, they see a ruined hovel with a red cross on its wall, which Father Joseph claims is where Judas died—referring to the Wandering Jew. The legend unfolds: a beggar woman took in an ancient, wandering man, and the locals called him Father Judas. He kept pigs, and after his companion died, he was eventually devoured by his own pigs on Good Friday. The red cross appeared mysteriously, and the narrator momentarily believes the tale.
Chapter 132
Feminine Men
Maupassant critiques the 'feminine man' in French society, describing him as fickle, charming, and inconsistent—a figure prevalent in politics, journalism, and daily life. He draws parallels to the volatile friendships and love affairs of prostitutes, emphasizing the emotional instability, contradictory loyalties, and moral ambiguity that define these men.
Chapter 133
Mademoiselle Cocotte
The narrator, visiting an asylum, notices a man named François who obsessively calls for an imaginary dog. The doctor explains that François was a coachman who went mad after drowning his beloved dog, Cocotte. The story recounts how François adopted a stray, thin dog, named her Cocotte, and grew deeply attached to her despite her incessant promiscuity that caused chaos in the household. Forced by his master to drown her, François reluctantly did so but was haunted by guilt. Months later, while swimming, he discovered the decaying carcass of Cocotte, which had followed him sixty miles, and the shock drove him insane.
Chapter 134
The Jewels
Monsieur Lantin, a modest clerk, marries a seemingly virtuous and economical woman who loves the theatre and costume jewelry. After her sudden death, Lantin discovers that her 'paste' jewels are actually priceless gems, revealing her secret life and shattering his trust. He sells them for a fortune, transforming his grief into wealth and cynicism.
Chapter 135
Saint Anthony
Saint Anthony, a robust and cunning Norman peasant, adopts a captured Prussian soldier as his 'pig' during the Franco-Prussian War, using him as a source of amusement and local fame. After a drinking contest, a violent struggle ensues, and Anthony accidentally kills the soldier. In a panic, he hides the body under a pile of manure, fearing execution and the destruction of his farm.
Chapter 136
An Apparition
The old Marquis de la Tour Samuel recounts a terrifying experience from his youth in 1827. While stationed in Rouen, he meets an old friend consumed by grief after his wife's sudden death. The friend asks the Marquis to retrieve some papers from the bedroom of his abandoned château, a room he cannot bear to re-enter. Upon arriving, the Marquis finds the room dark and disordered, and while searching the desk, he sees the apparition of a woman who vanishes. He flees in terror, later finding long woman's hairs on his uniform. His friend subsequently disappears without a trace, and the mystery remains unsolved for fifty-six years.
Chapter 137
Walter Schnaffs' Adventure
Walter Schnaffs, a reluctant Prussian soldier, terrified of battle and longing for his family, hides in a ditch after a skirmish with French sharpshooters. Driven by hunger, he stumbles into a castle where he gorges himself on food and falls asleep. He is captured by a French National Guard unit, which claims victory. Overjoyed at being taken prisoner and thus safe from further combat, Schnaffs celebrates his capture.
Chapter 138
Queen Hortense
Queen Hortense, an imperious old maid in Argenteuil, lives a solitary life ruling over her animals and servants with authority. When she falls fatally ill, her estranged relatives gather, and in her final moments, she deliriously speaks of a family and children she never had, revealing a deep, hidden longing for the domestic life she denied herself.
Chapter 139
On the Journey
A group of travelers embarks on a journey, facing various challenges and interactions that reveal their personalities and social dynamics.
Chapter 140
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 141
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 142
A Surprise
The narrator recounts his upbringing by his uncle, the abbé Loisel, in a Norman village, his harsh seminary education, and his move to Paris with his brother. After a period of strict piety, he and his brother take on two shopgirls as lovers, living happily until the uncle's unexpected late-night visit threatens to expose the arrangement. The narrator frantically hides his lover Louise, but the uncle discovers her in bed, leading to a scandal, the narrator's disinheritance, and his lifelong aversion to women.
Chapter 143
Old Milon
During the Franco-Prussian War, old peasant Pierre Milon, after his father and son were killed by Prussians, systematically murders sixteen German soldiers by disguising himself in a dead Uhlan's uniform and luring them with cries for help. He is captured, confesses proudly, and defiantly spits in the colonel's face, refusing mercy.
Chapter 144
The Accursed Bread
Old Taille, a widowed foreman, has three daughters: Anna, who ran away and now lives well with a wealthy man; Rose, who is engaged to the son of the cooper Touchard; and Clara. When Anna returns to the family, she offers to host Rose's wedding at her own house, sparing her father the expense, and the family agrees.
Chapter 145
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 146
Friend Joseph
Monsieur de Méroul rekindles his college friendship with Joseph Mourador, a Republican district councillor. When Joseph visits the Mérouls' country estate, his boisterous, anti-clerical, and democratic manners clash with their conservative, traditional values, culminating in his taking over the household and driving the couple away.
Chapter 147
The Mother of Monsters
The narrator recounts a visit to a rural town where a local friend shows him a woman known as the 'She-Devil,' who deliberately deforms her unborn children by tight-lacing during pregnancy and sells them as freaks to showmen. The story contrasts this peasant monster-factory with a fashionable lady at a seaside resort who similarly risks her children's health by wearing corsets to preserve her figure, highlighting the cruelty and vanity behind both cases.
Chapter 148
The Orphan
Mademoiselle Source, a lonely, disfigured woman, adopts an orphan boy out of pity and a desire for companionship. She raises him with tenderness, but as he grows into a quiet, bookish youth, his behavior becomes increasingly strange and unsettling. He stares at her obsessively, refuses to communicate, and fills her with a nameless dread. She confides in her relatives, who dismiss her fears, and secretly arranges to move to town. On the night she returns from signing the contract, she is found murdered with her throat cut. The orphan is arrested but acquitted due to an alibi; he inherits her property and eventually wins back the community's trust, becoming mayor.
Chapter 149
Old Boniface's Crime
Postman Boniface, while on his rural delivery route, becomes deeply affected by a gruesome crime story he reads in a newspaper. When he arrives at the house of the new tax-collector, Monsieur Chapatis, and finds it locked and shuttered with groans coming from inside, he panics and runs to fetch the police, convinced a murder is in progress. The inspector and constable return with him, only to discover that the sounds are not a crime but the intimate noises of the newlywed couple. The chapter ends with the police laughing at Boniface's misunderstanding, leaving him humiliated and bewildered.
Chapter 150
The Greenhouse
M. and Mme. Lerebour, a married couple living in a country house near Mantes, endure a strained relationship marked by Madame's constant irritability and Monsieur's cheerful endurance. After two nights of mysterious noises, M. Lerebour investigates and discovers their maid Céleste having an assignation in the greenhouse. The revelation shocks Madame, but the shared secret unexpectedly rekindles their intimacy, transforming their marriage.
Chapter 151
Denis
Monsieur Marambot, an old village chemist, receives news that he will collect a debt of five thousand francs from Malois. His servant Denis, usually energetic and cheerful, becomes agitated and later attacks Marambot in the night with a knife, wounding him multiple times. Marambot reveals he has not yet received the money, and Denis stops. Marambot chooses to keep Denis on as a servant, valuing his exceptional care despite the attack. Denis is later arrested for stealing two ducks, and at trial the lawyer argues insanity, citing the attack and Denis's subsequent devotion. Marambot tearfully testifies for Denis, and Denis is acquitted and sent to a sanatorium at Marambot's expense.
Chapter 152
He?
The narrator explains to a friend his decision to marry, despite his belief that marriage is foolish and that men are naturally inclined to love many women. He reveals that his true motive is a desperate fear of being alone at night, stemming from a terrifying hallucination he experienced the previous year. He describes the onset of an irrational fear of solitude, a spectral presence he calls 'he,' and his conviction that marriage will banish this haunting sense of dread.
Chapter 153
The Window
The narrator recounts his courtship of the widow Mme. de Jadelle, who proposes a summer trial period at her estate to study his character before marriage. Frustrated by her constant surveillance, he bribes her maid Césarine for intimate details about her mistress's body, then seduces the maid. One morning, while playfully lifting a petticoat he believes belongs to Césarine, he discovers it is Mme. de Jadelle herself. The scandal ends the engagement, leaving the narrator haunted by the scent of verbena.
Chapter 154
The Donkey
Two junk-gatherers, Labouise and Maillochon, poach and torture a donkey for sport, eventually killing it by shooting it in the mouth. They then deceive a wine shop owner into buying the carcass as if it were a deer, pocketing twenty francs.
Chapter 155
André’s Disease
Mathilde, the wife of a lawyer, has an affair with Captain Sommerive while her husband is away. Their secret meetings are repeatedly interrupted by her infant son André's crying. To silence the child, the Captain brutally pinches him, causing bruises. When the husband returns, he discovers the marks on André and blames the nurse, who is dismissed.
Chapter 156
The Moustache
In a letter to her friend Lucy, Jeanne describes her boredom at the Château de Solles during rainy weather, leading to amateur theatricals. Her husband shaves off his moustache to play a soubrette, which profoundly disturbs her. She reflects on the essential role of the moustache in love, masculinity, and French identity, recalling a wartime memory of recognizing fallen French soldiers by their moustaches.
Chapter 157
Timbuktu
In the golden dusk of a Parisian boulevard, two officers encounter a jubilant, wealthy Negro named Timbuktu, who greets his former lieutenant with delight. The major recounts Timbuktu's service during the Siege of Bézières in the Franco-Prussian War, where the resourceful and loyal soldier led a daring raid, amassed a fortune by looting, and later opened a successful restaurant, embodying a peculiar form of revenge.
Chapter 158
My Uncle Jules
Joseph Davranche recounts the story of his Uncle Jules, who was once the family's shame for squandering money but later became their hope after writing from America of his success. The family, struggling with poverty, dreams of Jules's return and plans to use his fortune. During a trip to Jersey, they encounter a ragged oyster seller who turns out to be Jules, now destitute. His mother reacts with fury and denial, and the family avoids him, leaving Joseph with a sense of pity and disillusionment.
Chapter 159
Hydrophobia?
A newlywed woman writes to her friend Geneviève, recounting the disastrous start of her honeymoon. Her innocence about marital intimacy leads to a public scene in a hotel, after which she becomes consumed by the fear that she has contracted rabies from a playful bite from her dog Bijou. Her terror is amplified by news of a woman who died mad from a similar bite, plunging her into a spiral of anxiety and despair.
Chapter 160
Caresses
Two letters exchanged between a man and a woman debate the nature of physical love and desire. The woman, Geneviève, recoils from the idea of carnal intimacy, viewing it as shameful and degrading, while the man argues that the caress of love is a precious, intoxicating pleasure that should be refined and idealized, separate from nature's reproductive trap. The letters explore the tension between spiritual affection and physical passion, ultimately questioning whether love can exist without the body.
Chapter 161
A Duel
In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, M. Dubuis, a Parisian merchant traveling to Switzerland, encounters a boastful Prussian officer on a train. The officer provokes him, leading to a physical confrontation and a duel in which Dubuis kills the officer, witnessed by two Englishmen.
Chapter 162
The Little One
Monsieur Lemonnier, a widower who adored his late wife, raises their son Jean with excessive indulgence and grief. His friend Monsieur Duretour dotes on the boy, while the old nurse Céleste warns against spoiling him. After a violent confrontation where Céleste forces the child to eat soup and reveals that Jean is not Lemonnier's biological son but the image of Duretour, Lemonnier hangs himself, leaving a note entrusting the child to Duretour.
Chapter 163
Madame Luneau’s Case
A comical and scandalous court case unfolds as Hippolyte Lacour sues Madame Luneau for breach of contract after she refuses to pay him the promised one hundred francs for fathering a child intended to secure her inheritance. The proceedings reveal that Madame Luneau, desperate to produce an heir within ten months of her husband's death, had solicited multiple men, leading to a farcical judgment where the court awards Lacour a reduced indemnity.
Chapter 164
Friend Patience
The narrator recounts a chance reunion with an old college friend, Robert Patience, who has become ostentatiously wealthy and invites him to his home. The visit reveals a garishly decorated house with erotic art and a mysterious, perfumed atmosphere, culminating in Patience's boastful revelation that his fortune came from his wife and sister-in-law.
Chapter 165
The Funeral Pile
The chapter recounts the secret cremation of an Indian prince, Bapu Sahib Khanderao Ghatgay, on the shore of Étretat. After his death from gangrene, his relatives and servants, with the mayor's tacit permission, build a funeral pile at night, perform Hindu rites, and burn the body. The narrator reflects on the dignity of cremation versus burial, while the next day the townspeople react with suspicion and morbid curiosity.
Chapter 166
Miss Harriet
A group of seven travelers, including four women and three men, journey by drag along the winding coast road from Étretat to Tancarville at dawn. The women are drowsy, but the men watch a hare. René Lemanoir teases the Baronne de Sérennes about her absent husband, and she asks Léon Chenal, an old painter, to tell a love story. Chenal agrees, warning that it will be a lamentable tale of the most sorrowful love affair of his life.
Chapter 167
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 168
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 169
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 170
Martin's Girl
Benoist becomes obsessed with Martin's girl after seeing her from a distance, but she marries another man. Later, he helps her through childbirth, which unexpectedly cures his obsession.
Chapter 171
The Orient
The narrator visits a friend who has retreated to the Orient, where he lives in a state of opium-induced reverie, contrasting the harsh, angular, and stressful life of the West with the soft, sensual, and dreamy existence of the East. The friend describes his ideal home, his escape from the struggles of civilization, and his embrace of opium as a means to achieve pure thought and happiness.
Chapter 172
The Child
Jacques Bourdillère, a formerly dissolute man, marries the innocent Berthe Lannis after a seaside romance. On their wedding night, he receives an urgent letter from his dying ex-mistress, who has just given birth to his child. He rushes to her side, promises to raise the child, and returns home with the infant after her death. His new bride Berthe, despite the shock, accepts the child and vows to bring it up.
Chapter 173
A Party
Maître Saval, a notary from Vernon who fancies himself a musical artiste, travels to Paris for the opera and ends up at a Montmartre café where he meets the painter Romantin. Invited to the painter's housewarming party, Saval is tricked into helping clean the empty studio and is left alone when Romantin disappears. A boisterous crowd of guests arrives, mistakes Saval for a servant, forces him to drink, and he wakes up naked and hungover in a strange room, ultimately concluding that painting is an inferior art.
Chapter 174
The Odyssey of a Prostitute
The narrator recounts a chance encounter with a young prostitute on a rainy Parisian night. After rescuing her from a police roundup, he listens to her tragic life story: orphaned at sixteen, seduced and betrayed by her employer and his assistant, forced to flee, assaulted by gendarmes, and eventually driven into prostitution by poverty and circumstance. The tale exposes the brutal cycle of exploitation and the impossibility of escape for women in her position.
Chapter 175
A Coup d'État
In the chaotic aftermath of the French defeat at Sedan and the proclamation of the Republic, the small town of Canneville becomes a microcosm of national upheaval. Doctor Massarel, the fervent Republican leader, attempts to seize power from the Legitimist mayor, Vicomte de Varnetot, leading to a tense standoff between the two factions. The doctor's efforts are met with resistance, hesitation from his own militia, and a stalemate that underscores the absurdity and confusion of the times.
Chapter 176
A Humble Drama
The narrator reflects on the charm and melancholy of travel encounters, then recounts meeting an elderly Englishwoman in Auvergne. After a chance meeting at a lake and later at the castle of Murol, she confides her story: she is a mother estranged from her son, who was taken from her by his wife and now lives in England. She wanders alone, like a lost dog, unable to return home.
Chapter 177
Théodule Sabot’s Confession
Théodule Sabot, a radical joiner and vocal atheist, is tempted by the lucrative contract to restore the church choir. After a tense negotiation with the rector, he agrees to publicly confess and take communion to secure the work, leading to a reluctant and anxious confession.
Chapter 178
A Vendetta
After her son Antoine is murdered by Nicolas Ravolati, the elderly widow Saverini swears a vendetta. Unable to rely on male relatives, she trains her dog Sémillante to attack and kill a straw dummy baited with black pudding. Once the dog is conditioned, she crosses to Sardinia, finds Ravolati, and sets the starving dog upon him, killing him.
Chapter 179
The Confession
After the funeral of the highly respected Monsieur Badon-Leremincé, his children and son-in-law open his will, which contains a posthumous confession. He reveals that as a young man in Paris, he took a mistress who became pregnant. Terrified that the child would ruin his future and his chance to marry the woman he loved, he was overcome by a criminal desire to cause the child's death. One freezing night, he opened the window to expose the infant to the cold, but was seized by remorse and love for the child. The baby fell ill, and the confession ends with his agonizing guilt.
Chapter 180
Beside the Bed
The Comte and Comtesse de Sallure engage in a tense, witty, and sexually charged argument after a party. The Comtesse, feeling neglected due to her husband's past infidelities, turns the tables by demanding payment for her favors, mirroring the transactional nature of his affairs with mistresses. The chapter explores the power dynamics and hypocrisy within their marriage.
Chapter 181
Regret
Monsieur Saval, an elderly bachelor, reflects on his empty life and the missed opportunity for love with his friend's wife, Madame Sandres. He confronts her years later to ask what would have happened if he had declared his love, and she reveals she would have yielded, leaving him devastated.
Chapter 182
The Avenger
Antoine Leuillet marries his friend's widow, Mathilde, after a decade of unrequited love. Though initially happy, he becomes obsessed with her deceased first husband, Souris, constantly mocking him. One night, during an intimate conversation, he goads Mathilde into confessing that she once deceived Souris. The confession shatters Leuillet, who reacts with violent rage, beating her and realizing his jealousy has poisoned their marriage.
Chapter 183
Suspense
Monsieur Le Brument recounts the story of a dying woman who, twenty years after her son discovered her affair with her lover and disappeared, hires him to find her son before she dies. The narrative explores the long-term consequences of a secret love affair and the mother's enduring agony and suspense.
Chapter 184
Decorated!
Monsieur Sacrement has been obsessed since childhood with obtaining the Legion of Honour. Despite his lack of qualifications, he pursues the decoration through pamphlets, applications, and the help of Deputy Rosselin. Returning home unexpectedly, he finds a new overcoat with the rosette already sewn in, and his wife reveals that Rosselin has secretly secured the honor for him.
Chapter 185
The Father
The narrator visits his friend Jean de Valnoix, who recounts how seven years ago he discovered a caravan in the forest with a woman in labor. He helped deliver the child and brought the family to his home. Since then, the woman, a fortune-teller named Mademoiselle Elmire, returns each year with the child and a new man, each claiming to be the father. The real father is a gendarme who cannot care for the child because he has a family.
Chapter 186
The String
Maître Hauchecorne, a peasant, picks up a piece of string from the ground, but is falsely accused by his enemy Malandain of stealing a lost pocketbook. Despite the pocketbook being returned by another man, Hauchecorne's reputation is ruined; he becomes obsessed with proving his innocence, but the townspeople mock and disbelieve him, leading to his mental decline and eventual death.
Chapter 187
A Wise Man
The narrator recounts his deep friendship with Blérot, which is strained after Blérot's marriage to a pale, delicate woman. After an eighteen-month absence, the narrator finds Blérot emaciated and confessing that his wife's insatiable passion is killing him. Six months later, Blérot appears healthy and introduces the narrator to his wife and her lover, Lucien Delabarre, revealing that the wife's desires are now satisfied elsewhere, saving Blérot's life.
Chapter 188
The First Fall of Snow
A woman trapped in a cold, isolated Norman manor suffers from her husband's indifference to her physical and emotional needs. After losing her parents, she becomes increasingly desperate for warmth and change. In a desperate act to force her husband to install a furnace, she exposes herself to the snow, contracting a lung infection that ultimately leads to her being sent to the South of France. Though she recovers somewhat, she lives with the dread of returning to the cold and finds a bitter happiness in her impending death, knowing she finally got her furnace.
Chapter 189
The Model
A painter, Jean Summer, is married to a crippled woman, his former model. The story of their relationship is recounted: he fell in love with her, they lived together, but constant quarrels led him to try to break off the affair by offering her money. She refused the money and threatened suicide if he married. When he callously dared her to jump, she leaped from a window, breaking both legs. He married her out of remorse, and they now live in silent misery.
Chapter 190
Practical Jokes
The narrator reflects on the lost art of practical jokes, recounting two personal anecdotes: one where he is the victim of a prank involving a moved mattress and a falling footman, and another where he exacts revenge on an elderly, unpleasant woman named Mme. Dufour by placing phosphide of lime in her chamber pot, causing a terrifying explosion and her subsequent fear of internal fire.
Chapter 191
The Hand
Examining magistrate Monsieur Bermutier recounts a mysterious case from his time in Corsica involving an Englishman, Sir John Rowell, who lived in seclusion and kept a flayed, chained hand in his home. After a year, Rowell is found murdered, strangled with marks resembling a skeleton's grip, and the hand disappears. The crime remains unsolved, with Bermutier suggesting a vendetta by the hand's original owner.
Chapter 192
Waiter, a Bock
The narrator recounts encountering an old college friend, the Comte Jean des Barrets, in a beer hall. Des Barrets has become a permanent fixture of the café, drinking bocks from morning until closing. He explains that his life was derailed by a traumatic childhood event—witnessing his father beating his mother in the park. Since then, he has abandoned all ambition, relationships, and purpose, spending his days in the beer hall until it closes.
Chapter 193
The Old Man
A peasant couple, Maître Chicot and his wife Phémie, await the death of Phémie's elderly father, who lingers on despite their expectations. Anxious not to miss the good weather for transplanting colza, they decide to proceed with funeral preparations and invite guests early. When the old man finally dies during the funeral feast, they are relieved but annoyed at the extra expense and trouble his prolonged dying has caused.
Chapter 194
Letter Found on a Drowned Man
A man writes to a woman explaining that he has never been in love, attributing it to his overly critical nature and a high ideal of harmony between body and soul. He recounts a single night on a river with a woman that almost made him fall in love, but the spell was broken by a trivial remark. The letter is discovered on the body of a young man pulled from the Seine.
Chapter 195
The Christening
A naval doctor recounts a tragic story from his time in Brittany, where a christening ceremony in bitter cold leads to the death of an infant. The parents and nurse, following local customs, strip the baby naked in the snow and then celebrate with drink, neglecting the child. The doctor's attempts to intervene fail, and the baby dies, while the adults drink lamp oil in their drunkenness, causing the mother's death.
Chapter 196
Coco
A young farmhand, Zidore, is tasked with caring for an old, retired horse named Coco. Resentful of feeding a useless animal, he gradually starves it to death by moving its tether less and less until it dies of hunger. The horse is buried on the spot, and the grass grows lush from its body.
Chapter 197
Misti
A bachelor recounts his affair with a married woman, Emma, and their shared adventures, including a visit to a fortune teller whose story about a jealous cat leads Emma to give away her own cat, Misti, out of fear for her lover's eyes.
Chapter 198
A Coward
Viscount Gontran-Joseph de Signoles, a confident and socially admired man, finds his composure shattered after he challenges a stranger to a duel for staring at a female companion. As he prepares for the duel, he is consumed by an overwhelming fear of death and cowardice, leading to a psychological crisis that undermines his former bravado.
Chapter 199
Rose
Two young women, Marguerite and Simone, enjoy the battle of flowers at Cannes and later discuss love and servants. Marguerite recounts a disturbing story about her maid Rose, who was actually a male convict named Jean Nicolas Lecapet, sentenced for murder and rape. The revelation leaves Marguerite feeling deeply humiliated.
Chapter 200
A Traveller's Notes
The narrator describes a train journey along the French Riviera, observing fellow passengers and their behaviors, including a sleeping hunchback, a hostile stout lady, and a young couple. He reflects on the vulgarity of eating in public and the grotesque nature of sleep. The journey passes through Cannes, Nice, and Monaco, where he visits an unfinished exhibition and witnesses a balloon accident. A fellow traveler recounts a gruesome story of a decapitated Corsican youth, causing a lady to faint.
Chapter 201
The Patron
Jean Marin, a provincial sheriff's son who becomes a State Councillor, develops an obsessive need to patronize everyone he meets, writing countless letters of introduction. One rainy day, he offers shelter and recommendations to an old priest, Abbé Ceinture, only to discover the next morning that the priest is a conspirator and criminal, leading to public scandal and Marin's frantic attempts to distance himself.
Chapter 202
The Umbrella
Madame Oreille, a frugal and domineering wife, is forced to buy her husband a new silk umbrella after his cheap one is ruined by office jokes. When the new umbrella quickly becomes riddled with burn holes, she accuses him of carelessness and refuses to replace it. At a friend's suggestion, she decides to file a fraudulent claim with their fire insurance company, and after a tense interview, she succeeds in getting the company to agree to pay for a new cover.
Chapter 203
An Idyll
On a train from Genoa to Marseilles, a young Italian laborer and a peasant woman traveling to work as a nurse share a carriage. The woman, suffering from engorgement due to not nursing, accepts the man's offer to suckle her milk. Afterward, he reveals he had not eaten for two days, and she thanks him for the relief.
Chapter 204
A Sale
In a courtroom, two peasants, Brument and Cornu, are tried for attempting to drown Brument's wife in a barrel. The trial reveals a drunken scheme where Brument agrees to sell his wife to Cornu by the cubic meter, leading to a farcical measurement attempt that ends with the wife being dunked in water. The jury acquits the men but issues strictures on the sanctity of marriage.
Chapter 205
Mother Savage
During the Franco-Prussian War, an old woman named Mother Savage lives alone in a remote house after her son's death in battle. She is forced to quarter four Prussian soldiers, whom she treats with cold civility. When she learns of her son's death, she coldly sets fire to her house, killing the soldiers, and is later executed by the Prussians.
Chapter 206
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 207
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 208
The Tramp
Jacques Raudel, a carpenter's mate, wanders the countryside for forty days in search of work, reduced to begging and manual labor for scraps. Starving and desperate, he assaults a servant girl, then is captured by police and condemned by the village.
Chapter 209
A Meeting
Baron d'Étraille, separated from his wife Berthe for six years after catching her in an affair, accidentally shares a train compartment with her. He is struck by how much she has improved and matured, while she remains indifferent. They engage in a tense, polite conversation, with the Baron attempting to rekindle a connection and Berthe coolly rebuffing him.
Chapter 210
The Legacy
Monsieur and Madame Serbois learn that their friend Vaudrec has left his entire fortune to Madame Serbois. Monsieur Serbois, initially shocked and suspicious, accuses his wife of being Vaudrec's mistress. After her calm denial and a pragmatic discussion, he proposes that she sign half the legacy over to him to avoid scandal. She reluctantly agrees, and he leaves for the notary, while she weeps.
Chapter 211
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 212
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 213
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 214
IV
After the opera, the Comte and Comtesse de Mascaret confront the long-standing doubt about the paternity of their children. The Comte, tormented for six years, demands to know which child is not his. The Comtesse reveals she lied about infidelity to avoid further pregnancies, insisting she never actually deceived him. The Comte struggles to believe her, but ultimately accepts her truth, leading to a fragile reconciliation and a new, complex emotion.
Chapter 215
V
Lesable and his wife Cora, along with her father Cachelin, are consumed by their failure to produce an heir and secure Aunt Charlotte's fortune. Cora and Cachelin constantly reproach and humiliate Lesable, blaming him for their misfortune. In desperation, Lesable falsely claims to have an illegitimate child, leading Cora to insist they visit a doctor. The consultation reveals Lesable's poor health, and he becomes obsessed with his own mortality, abandoning all hope of the inheritance. Cachelin's hatred intensifies as the deadline approaches.
Chapter 216
VI
Cora's pregnancy is announced, bringing joy and hope for a fortune. The tension between Lesable and Maze eases into a cautious friendship, culminating in Maze's acceptance of a dinner invitation. Cachelin's delight over the pregnancy leads to plans for a country house and a brighter future.
Chapter 217
VII
After the discovery of Cora's pregnancy, the three relatives live in perfect accord, but the presence of Maze becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Cora eventually asks Maze to stop visiting when her husband is not home, and later tells her husband she has dismissed him entirely, which fills Lesable with grateful joy.
Chapter 218
VIII
The chapter covers the period leading up to Cora's confinement and the christening of her daughter Désirée. The family buys a country house at Asnières, and Cachelin retires to pursue scroll-saw crafts. The christening is a grand affair with gifts for the guests, followed by a walk along the Seine where they encounter rowdy holiday crowds. The evening ends with a playful, slightly obscene joke at the expense of old Savon, who is teased about a young woman.
Chapter 219
Happiness
During a twilight conversation about love and its endurance, a group of friends witnesses the rare appearance of Corsica on the horizon. An old gentleman recounts his journey to the island, where he discovered a woman who had eloped fifty years earlier with a non-commissioned officer, sacrificing her aristocratic life for a simple existence in a remote valley. Despite the loss of luxury and society, she declares she has been very happy, prompting the group to reflect on the nature of happiness and love.
Chapter 220
Farewell
Pierre Carnier recounts to his friend Henri Simon the painful moment he realized he had grown old. He describes a passionate love affair from twelve years ago with a beautiful young woman at Étretat. Years later, he accidentally meets her again on a train, only to find she has become a stout, ordinary mother of four, unrecognizable from the enchanting figure he once adored. The encounter forces him to confront the ravages of time and his own aging.
Chapter 221
Solitude
After a male dinner-party, the narrator walks with a friend along the Champs-Élysées. The friend delivers a long, anguished monologue about the fundamental and inescapable loneliness of every human being. He argues that all human efforts—love, friendship, conversation—are futile attempts to escape this isolation, and that no one can ever truly understand another's soul. He compares human isolation to the distance between stars and concludes that we are all as solitary as the Egyptian obelisk in the Place de la Concorde.
Chapter 222
My Landlady
George Kervelen recounts his time as a law student in Paris, living under the strict but increasingly fond eye of his landlady, Mme. Kergaran. After negotiating a latchkey for late-night freedom, he begins an affair with a shopgirl named Emma. He sneaks her into his room one night, but their tryst is interrupted when the landlady bursts in, similarly undressed, leading to a tense confrontation between the two women.
Chapter 223
The Little Cask
Maître Chicot, the innkeeper, covets Mother Magloire's farm and proposes a life annuity of fifty crowns per month in exchange for the property after her death. She hesitates but eventually agrees after consulting a notary. Over three years, she remains healthy, frustrating Chicot, who begins plotting to hasten her death. He invites her for dinners and plies her with fine brandy, leading her to become a drunkard. She dies after falling in the snow, and Chicot inherits the farm.
Chapter 224
Châli
Admiral de la Valle recounts a singular love adventure from his past, speaking from his armchair with a dry, Voltairian smile.
Chapter 225
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 226
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 227
The Drunkard
A story about a man whose life is consumed by alcoholism, leading to his downfall and the suffering of those around him.
Chapter 228
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 229
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 230
A Woman’s Hair
A man becomes obsessed with a lock of blond hair he discovers hidden in an antique cabinet, leading to a descent into madness as he begins to believe the dead woman whose hair it was returns to him each night. The story is framed by a doctor in an asylum who presents the hair as evidence of the man's delusion.
Chapter 231
The Horrible
General de G—— recounts two harrowing stories to illustrate the true meaning of 'horror': the mistaken execution of a woman as a spy during the Franco-Prussian War, and the cannibalistic survival of the Flatters Mission in the desert.
Chapter 232
A Memory
The narrator recalls a youthful Sunday adventure in the woods near Paris, where he encounters a quarreling couple. The husband, a glove-shop keeper, has lost his dog and his wallet, while his wife openly berates him. After the husband leaves to search for his wallet, the narrator escorts the woman to Bougival, where they dine and she becomes intoxicated, leading to the narrator's first adulterous encounter.
Chapter 233
A Walk
Old Levas, a bookkeeper who has spent forty years in a dark, monotonous office, takes a rare evening walk on a warm spring night. He observes the vibrant life of Paris—lovers in carriages, women of the night—and is overwhelmed by a stark realization of his own empty, loveless, and solitary existence. The walk culminates in his suicide by hanging in the Bois de Boulogne.
Chapter 234
The Sisters Rondoli
A man recounts his travels in Italy, focusing on his encounter with the Rondoli sisters, particularly Francesca, and the complexities of love and desire that arise during his journey.
Chapter 235
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 236
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 237
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 238
What the Colonel Thought
Colonel Laporte, an old veteran, recounts a story from the Franco-Prussian War where his exhausted detachment, facing certain death in a snowstorm, is reinvigorated after rescuing a young girl and her father. The soldiers carry her on a litter, and their morale is restored. They later ambush and kill a dozen Prussian Uhlans, and the girl's presence inspires a patriotic fervor, leading one soldier to shout 'Vive la France!' The Colonel argues that the love of women is a uniquely French trait that can inspire courage and heroism.
Chapter 239
Bed No. 29
Captain Épivent, a handsome and celebrated officer in Rouen, enjoys a public affair with the beautiful Irma before being sent to war. Upon returning, he learns Irma is in a hospital's syphilis ward, bed 29. She reveals she was infected by Prussian soldiers and deliberately spread the disease to avenge herself. The Captain, horrified and disgusted, visits her briefly but is eager to leave.
Chapter 240
Nerves
The narrator describes the social dynamics of a hotel dining room at a watering-place, where new arrivals are scrutinized. A father and daughter arrive; the father has a nervous twitch in his hand, and the daughter appears frail and pale. The narrator joins them for a walk, and the father reveals a horrifying story: his daughter was once declared dead and buried alive, but later returned home, having been mutilated by a trusted servant who attempted to steal her jewelry. The trauma caused the father's permanent hand spasm.
Chapter 241
Confessing
Céleste Malivoire confesses to her mother that she is pregnant by Polyte, the coachman, after a long period of exchanging free rides for sexual favors. Her mother beats her in fury, then they calculate the financial cost and decide to keep the pregnancy secret to continue exploiting Polyte for free transport.
Chapter 242
Fear
A traveler on a midnight train witnesses a strange vision of two men around a fire in a forest, prompting a conversation with an elderly fellow passenger about the nature of fear. The old man argues that true fear comes only from the unknown and the supernatural, lamenting that science has stripped the world of its mysteries. He recounts a story by Ivan Turgenev about a terrifying encounter with a madwoman in a Russian forest, and then shares his own harrowing experience in Brittany where he was terrified by a wheelbarrow rolling by itself, illustrating that fear arises from incomprehensible phenomena.
Chapter 243
The Return
A fisherman's wife, Madame Martin-Lévesque, becomes alarmed when a strange, ragged man begins loitering near her home. The man is revealed to be her first husband, Martin, long believed lost at sea. His return throws the household into emotional turmoil as he, his wife, and her second husband Lévesque must decide how to proceed.
Chapter 244
The Tomb
In the early hours of July 17, 1883, the cemetery caretaker Vincent discovers a young lawyer, Courbataille, exhuming the corpse of his recently deceased mistress. At his trial, Courbataille delivers a passionate defense, explaining that his act was driven by an obsessive, all-consuming love and the unbearable agony of losing her forever. Despite the horror of the desecration, the jury acquits him, moved by the depth of his grief.
Chapter 245
The Confession
After the funeral of the highly respected Monsieur Badon-Leremincé, his children and son-in-law open his will, which contains a posthumous confession. He reveals that as a young man in Paris, he took a mistress who became pregnant. Terrified that the child would ruin his future and his chance to marry the woman he loved, he was overcome by a criminal desire to cause the child's death. One freezing night, he opened the window to expose the infant to the cold, but was seized by remorse and love for the child. The baby fell ill, and the confession ends with his agonizing guilt.
Chapter 246
The Castaway
Madame de Cadour, an elderly woman, persuades her old friend Monsieur d'Apreval to accompany her on a walk in the countryside despite her husband's objections. During their journey, she reveals her long-suppressed desire to see the son she bore out of wedlock forty years ago, whom she has never seen since his birth. D'Apreval, who is the child's father, reluctantly accompanies her, fearing exposure. They arrive at a farm where the son, now a peasant, lives, but encounter only his wife and daughter, leaving Madame de Cadour's longing unfulfilled.
Chapter 247
Yvette
The chapter introduces Yvette, a young woman navigating her relationships and social standing, revealing themes of love, desire, and the illusions of her world.
Chapter 248
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 249
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 250
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 251
IV
After the opera, the Comte and Comtesse de Mascaret confront the long-standing doubt about the paternity of their children. The Comte, tormented for six years, demands to know which child is not his. The Comtesse reveals she lied about infidelity to avoid further pregnancies, insisting she never actually deceived him. The Comte struggles to believe her, but ultimately accepts her truth, leading to a fragile reconciliation and a new, complex emotion.
Chapter 252
Mad?
The narrator recounts his acquaintance with Jacques Parent, a man who died mad in an asylum. Jacques reveals his terrifying power of magnetism, which allows him to control animals and even objects through his will and gaze. He demonstrates this by hypnotizing the narrator's dog, Mirza, and making a paper-knife slide into his hand. The narrator is left horrified and shaken by the revelation.
Chapter 253
Unmasked
The narrator encounters his old friend Henri Sidoine on a boat to Trouville, who expresses intense frustration with the English passengers. Sidoine reveals he married an Englishwoman and explains how his infatuation with her charming, broken French turned to disgust once she learned to speak properly, exposing her mundane thoughts and opinions.
Chapter 254
The Dowry
Maître Simon Lebrument marries Mlle. Jeanne Cordier, who brings a dowry of three hundred thousand francs. After a week of marital bliss, they travel to Paris, where Lebrument convinces his wife to ride inside an omnibus while he rides on top to smoke. He disembarks at the Madeleine with her dowry, abandoning her. Jeanne, realizing she has been swindled, seeks help from her cousin Barral, who confirms that her husband has likely fled with her money.
Chapter 255
Mohammed-Fripouille
Captain Marret recounts a brutal early adventure in Algeria, where as a young spahi he joined a rogue sergeant named Mohammed-Fripouille in a punitive expedition against the Ould-Berghi tribe. After executing the chief, they capture dozens of Arabs and bind them in a grotesque 'necklace' of prisoners, then fend off a desperate attack by the tribe's women. The story is told on a tranquil Algiers rooftop, contrasting the violence with the serene beauty of the African night.
Chapter 256
The Legacy
Monsieur and Madame Serbois learn that their friend Vaudrec has left his entire fortune to Madame Serbois. Monsieur Serbois, initially shocked and suspicious, accuses his wife of being Vaudrec's mistress. After her calm denial and a pragmatic discussion, he proposes that she sign half the legacy over to him to avoid scandal. She reluctantly agrees, and he leaves for the notary, while she weeps.
Chapter 257
The Keeper
An old friend, Monsieur Boniface, recounts a shooting story from his past. In 1854, he arrives at his hunting lodge to find his keeper, Cavalier, troubled by his nephew Marius's poaching. After punishing the boy, a fire breaks out, killing the cook Céleste. Marius flees, and Cavalier, in a rage, shoots him dead. Cavalier is acquitted but disappears.
Chapter 258
Berthe
A doctor recounts the story of Berthe, a beautiful but severely intellectually disabled young woman. Through a series of experiments, he teaches her to associate sounds and sights with mealtimes, awakening a limited awareness. She is married off to a dissolute nobleman, Gaston du Boys de Lucelles, who initially charms her but soon neglects her. Berthe develops a passionate, animal-like love for him, and his neglect drives her to madness, fixated on clocks as she waits for him.
Chapter 259
Bombard
Simon Bombard, a lazy Norman with a desire for wealth and leisure, marries the Englishwoman Kate Robertson for her fortune. He soon finds himself under her firm control and resorts to cunning schemes to pursue his pleasures, including seducing the maid Victorine. His wife eventually discovers and subtly exposes his infidelity.
Chapter 260
The Confession
After the funeral of the highly respected Monsieur Badon-Leremincé, his children and son-in-law open his will, which contains a posthumous confession. He reveals that as a young man in Paris, he took a mistress who became pregnant. Terrified that the child would ruin his future and his chance to marry the woman he loved, he was overcome by a criminal desire to cause the child's death. One freezing night, he opened the window to expose the infant to the cold, but was seized by remorse and love for the child. The baby fell ill, and the confession ends with his agonizing guilt.
Chapter 261
Scene I
M. de Garelle, a divorced bachelor, reflects on his past marriage, his suspicions of infidelity, and the thrashing he gave his ex-wife. He muses on the pleasures of anticipation and the hunt for a new love, only to unexpectedly encounter his former wife in the hotel corridor.
Chapter 262
Scene II
De Garelle confronts his ex-wife, Mathilde, now married to Chantever, and argues that her infidelity justified his past violence. He proposes they become lovers, framing it as restitution for her betrayal. After a tense exchange, she initially refuses but eventually agrees to meet him that evening.
Chapter 263
Country Courts
In a provincial courthouse, the Justice of the Peace presides over a case brought by Madame Bascule against Isidore Paturon, a young peasant she raised and supported for fifteen years. She claims he promised never to leave her and gave him a piece of land, but now he plans to marry another woman. Isidore counters that he stayed only because she promised him the land, and he no longer wishes to remain with her. The Justice rules in favor of Isidore, stating the land is legally his, and advises Madame Bascule to find another 'pupil.'
Chapter 264
Room No. Eleven
The narrator recounts the scandalous story of President Amandon's transfer, revealing his wife's secret double life. For eight years, Madame Amandon, a respected provincial woman, maintained a rented room at the Hôtel du Cheval d'Or under the alias Mademoiselle Clarisse to conduct discreet affairs with army officers. Her careful system unravels when, during her husband's absence, she arranges a rendezvous with her lover Major Varangelles. Unbeknownst to her, the innkeeper had rented her room to a traveler who died of a suspected congestion. When she arrives and slips into bed, she embraces the cold corpse, leading to a hysterical flight that exposes her secret.
Chapter 265
The Closet
A man recounts a night spent with a prostitute, during which he discovers she has a young son hidden in a closet because she cannot afford separate lodging. The revelation exposes the harsh realities of poverty and the compromises forced upon the woman.
Chapter 266
Military Honors
In the Aveline forest, a young forester's daughter named Berthine and her mother are left alone while her father, Nicholas 'Longlegs' Pichon, is away. A detachment of Prussian soldiers, lost and starving, arrives at their door. Berthine feeds them, then tricks them into the cellar and locks them in. She sends her father to fetch the local militia led by Monsieur Lavigne, who surrounds the house and demands the Prussians' surrender.
Chapter 267
For Sale
The narrator describes a blissful morning walk along the Brittany coast, where he encounters a charming seaside house with a 'For Sale' sign. He feels an inexplicable familiarity and love for the place. Inside, he sees a photograph of a woman he feels he has always known. The servant reveals that the woman was the mistress of the owner, Monsieur Tournelle, but she disappeared one day, leaving him heartbroken. The narrator, now obsessed, steals the photograph and sets off in pursuit, convinced he will find her and share the house with her.
Chapter 268
Toine
The story of Toine, a lazy and obese innkeeper who is bedridden after a stroke, and his wife who exploits his condition by using him to hatch eggs for profit.
Chapter 269
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 270
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 271
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 272
The Christening
A naval doctor recounts a tragic story from his time in Brittany, where a christening ceremony in bitter cold leads to the death of an infant. The parents and nurse, following local customs, strip the baby naked in the snow and then celebrate with drink, neglecting the child. The doctor's attempts to intervene fail, and the baby dies, while the adults drink lamp oil in their drunkenness, causing the mother's death.
Chapter 273
The Unknown
Roger des Annettes recounts his obsessive pursuit of a mysterious, alluring woman he repeatedly encounters in Paris, whose identity remains unknown and who ultimately refuses to acknowledge him, leaving him tormented by unfulfilled desire.
Chapter 274
Blue and White
The narrator rows out onto the Mediterranean with his friend Pol, who reads aloud news of devastating avalanches in Piedmont. As they drift away from the white town and toward the towering snow-covered Alps, the conversation turns to the fragility of human life in the face of nature's power. Pol recounts a humorous anecdote about Jules Radier washing his feet in snow after a romantic conquest, contrasting the trivial with the catastrophic. The chapter juxtaposes the serene beauty of the sea and coast with the terror of the mountains, ending with the narrator's return to shore.
Chapter 275
Our Friends the English
The narrator finds a traveler's diary in a railway carriage and copies out its last three pages. The diary recounts the author's stay at a hotel in Mentone, where he is surrounded by a group of stiff, religious English tourists. He satirizes their customs, their piety, and their insularity, culminating in a confrontation over the use of the piano for hymns versus dancing, which leads to his expulsion from the hotel.
Chapter 276
Letter from a Madman
A man writes to a doctor, confessing his descent into madness after a philosophical realization about the limitations of human senses. He describes how a quote from Montesquieu led him to understand that our organs determine our perception of reality, making all knowledge uncertain. He becomes obsessed with perceiving the invisible, eventually experiencing a terrifying encounter with an unseen being that hides his reflection in a mirror. Now he waits endlessly before the mirror, haunted by mad visions.
Chapter 277
Old Mongilet
Old Mongilet, an eccentric office clerk who has never left Paris, recounts his one and only disastrous trip to the countryside twenty years ago. Invited by his friend Boivin to Colombes, he endures a miserable day: a tiny, sunless garden, a hostile wife, a meager lunch, a drunken brawl, and getting lost in a vineyard at night. The experience convinced him never to leave Paris again, preferring instead his imaginary journeys by omnibus.
Chapter 278
Roger's Method
Roger confides to a friend the embarrassing story of his wedding night, when his new wife's teasing and his own nervousness led to a humiliating failure. To regain his confidence and exact revenge, he left the house and visited a prostitute, returning home with renewed assurance. His wife, unaware of the truth, has since referred to his unexplained success as 'Roger's method.'
Chapter 279
In a Railway Carriage
A group of aristocratic mothers in Royat worry about the moral dangers their sons might face traveling alone by train from Paris. They arrange for Father Lecuir, a young priest and tutor, to escort the three boys home. During the journey, a fellow female passenger goes into labor. The priest, with no medical knowledge, delivers the baby and baptizes it, while ordering the boys to look out the window. The story ends with the boys' curiosity and the mothers' discomfort at the unexpected addition to their party.
Chapter 280
The Little Soldier
Two Breton soldiers, Jean Kerderen and Luc Le Ganidec, take weekly walks to a spot that reminds them of their homeland. Their routine is disrupted when Luc begins a secret romance with a local milkmaid, leading to Jean's heartbreak and eventual suicide by jumping off a bridge.
Chapter 281
Checkmate
The narrator encounters a young married woman on a ship to Corsica, engages her in conversation, and attempts to seduce her during the journey. Despite his efforts, she ultimately reunites with her husband with apparent affection, leaving the narrator feeling foolish.
Chapter 282
Joseph
Two intoxicated young noblewomen, the Baroness Andrée de Fraisières and the Comtesse Noëmi de Gardens, share intimate confidences about their romantic exploits. The Baroness describes her method of seducing men, including a detailed account of how she deliberately inflamed and seduced her footman, Joseph, during a summer at Bougrolles. The chapter ends with the Baroness summoning Joseph, who remains devoted to her.
Chapter 283
Finis
The Count of Lormerin receives a letter from an old lover, Lise de Vance, whom he has not seen for twenty-five years. He recalls their brief, intense romance and agrees to dine with her. Upon arriving, he finds her aged and changed, but is stunned to see her daughter Renée, who is the spitting image of the young Lise he once loved. The encounter reawakens his old passion, but later, looking in the mirror, he confronts his own aged reflection and murmurs 'Finis, Lormerin!'
Chapter 284
The Hairpin
The narrator visits a reclusive Frenchman living on a distant, fertile coast. The man, who has amassed a fortune through relentless labor, reveals his consuming obsession with a woman named Jeanne de Limours, who ruined him financially and emotionally. He keeps a hairpin of hers enshrined in his room, a symbol of his torment and undying love, and plans to return to her once he has saved a million francs.
Chapter 285
The Secret
The Marquise de Rennedon visits the Baroness de Grangerie and confesses that she has taken revenge on her husband, Simon, by deliberately seducing a man named Baubiguac. She describes her husband's jealousy and oppressive behavior, and recounts how she orchestrated the affair to humiliate him. The two women laugh hysterically at the thought of Simon's reaction, and the chapter ends with Simon's arrival.
Chapter 286
My Twenty-Five Days
The narrator discovers a diary left behind by a previous hotel guest, chronicling a 25-day stay at a health resort in Châtel-Guyon. The diary details the monotonous treatment routine, observations of other guests, and the diarist's growing friendship with two mysterious widows. It includes excursions to local sights, reflections on social norms and the value of beauty, and ends with the widows' departure and the diarist's continued solitary treatment.
Chapter 287
A Madman
The posthumous diary of a revered high-court judge reveals his secret identity as a cunning, undetected madman who murders for pleasure and frames an innocent man for his crime.
Chapter 288
Indiscretion
A married couple, Paul and Henrietta, attempt to rekindle their waning passion by dining in a private room at a fashionable café, where Henrietta asks Paul to pretend she is his mistress. During the meal, she questions him about his past mistresses, leading to a candid and provocative conversation about love, lust, and the differences between women.
Chapter 289
Mister Belhomme's Beast
On a stagecoach journey from Criquetot to Havre, passengers including a priest, schoolmaster, and peasants discuss Mister Belhomme's severe ear pain. He believes a beast is inside his ear, and after attempts to remove it with vinegar, they discover it is merely a flea. Belhomme, relieved but angry, refuses to pay full fare and is forced to pay by the driver and a fellow passenger before returning home.
Chapter 290
The Woodcocks
The narrator writes to a friend in Paris, explaining his absence during woodcock season. He describes his rustic life in Normandy with the d'Orgemol brothers, their hunting rituals, and the anticipation of the first frost. The chapter culminates in a story told by Farmer Picot about a deaf-mute shepherd named Gargan, who killed his unfaithful wife and was acquitted on grounds of honor.
Chapter 291
Monsieur Parent
Monsieur Parent's servant Julie reveals to him that his wife Henriette has been unfaithful with his friend Paul Limousin and that his son Georges may not be his own. Parent is thrown into a crisis of doubt and anguish, examining his child's features for a resemblance to Limousin.
Chapter 292
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 293
Ça Ira
The narrator recounts a chance encounter with a former acquaintance, a woman once known as 'Ça Ira' among a group of boating enthusiasts at Chatou. She is now a tobacco shopkeeper in Barvilles. The story delves into her past life as a seamstress in Paris, her involvement with a group of workgirls, and a scheme orchestrated by the beautiful Irma to trick wealthy men at the Opera ball. The narrative reflects on the passage of time, the transformation of the woman, and the narrator's curiosity about her life.
Chapter 294
Saved
A woman, after a passionate encounter, believes she has been saved from a life of sin and despair by the man she loves, only to realize that he views their relationship as a mere dalliance, leaving her to confront the painful gap between her romantic ideals and his indifference.
Chapter 295
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 296
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 297
Little Roque
The postman Médéric discovers the naked body of a young girl in the copse belonging to Mayor Renardet. The doctor confirms rape and murder, and the mother, Madame Roque, arrives in hysterical grief. The mayor and examining magistrate begin investigating local suspects, while the mother fixates on retrieving her daughter's clothes. The next morning, the child's wooden shoes and other items are found on the mother's doorstep, suggesting the murderer is local and remorseful.
Chapter 298
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 299
The Wreck
The narrator, an agent for a shipping company, travels to the island of Ré to inspect the wreck of the Marie-Joseph. After meeting the captain of the Jean-Guiton, he learns the story of the ship's loss and is guided to the wreck at low tide. While examining the stranded vessel, he encounters an English family—a father and his three daughters—who have come to sketch the wreck. As the tide unexpectedly rises, they become trapped on the hulk as night falls. The narrator and the eldest daughter share a tense, intimate vigil through the darkness, culminating in the family singing 'God Save the King' at midnight.
Chapter 300
Mademoiselle Pearl
The narrator recounts a New Year's Day dinner at the home of his friend Monsieur Chantal, where the family tradition includes a peculiar ritual of presenting a gift to Mademoiselle Pearl, an elderly spinster who lives with them. Through the evening's conversation and a sudden revelation, the narrator learns the tragic and secret history of Mademoiselle Pearl, who was discovered as a foundling and raised by the family, forever marked by her mysterious origins and unspoken love.
Chapter 301
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 302
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 303
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 304
IV
After the opera, the Comte and Comtesse de Mascaret confront the long-standing doubt about the paternity of their children. The Comte, tormented for six years, demands to know which child is not his. The Comtesse reveals she lied about infidelity to avoid further pregnancies, insisting she never actually deceived him. The Comte struggles to believe her, but ultimately accepts her truth, leading to a fragile reconciliation and a new, complex emotion.
Chapter 305
The Hermit
A narrator recounts visiting a hermit living atop the Hill of Serpents near Cannes. The hermit, once a Parisian bachelor, reveals he fled society after discovering that a young woman he casually picked up on his fortieth birthday was his own daughter, a child he had abandoned years before.
Chapter 306
On Cats
The narrator reflects on the dual nature of cats—their charm and treachery—and draws parallels to certain women. He recounts a dreamlike stay at a castle in Thorence, where a cat mysteriously enters his locked room through hidden passages, and later describes a childhood memory of watching a cat die in a snare with cruel fascination.
Chapter 307
Rosalie Prudent
Rosalie Prudent, a servant girl, is on trial for infanticide. She initially remains silent but eventually confesses that the father is Monsieur Joseph Varambot, her employers' nephew. She describes her seduction, pregnancy, and the birth of twins. Overwhelmed by the impossibility of raising two children on her meager wages, she smothers them and buries them in the garden. The court, moved by her story, acquits her.
Chapter 308
Madame Parisse
Madame Parisse, a lonely and neglected wife, finds a brief but intense romantic escape with a young naval officer during her husband's absence. Their affair is discovered, leading to scandal and her husband's violent reaction, ultimately leaving her isolated once more.
Chapter 309
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 310
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 311
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 312
IV
After the opera, the Comte and Comtesse de Mascaret confront the long-standing doubt about the paternity of their children. The Comte, tormented for six years, demands to know which child is not his. The Comtesse reveals she lied about infidelity to avoid further pregnancies, insisting she never actually deceived him. The Comte struggles to believe her, but ultimately accepts her truth, leading to a fragile reconciliation and a new, complex emotion.
Chapter 313
Julie Romain
The narrator, while walking along the Mediterranean coast, discovers a charming villa named 'Villa d'Antan' and learns it belongs to the aging former actress Julie Romain. He visits her, and she reflects on her past triumphs, her famous lovers—a poet and a musician—and the bittersweet nature of memory and aging. She confesses that true happiness came from love and art, not the stage, and reveals her lonely evenings spent dreaming of the past.
Chapter 314
The Sign
The little Baroness de Grangerie visits her friend, the little Marquise de Rennedon, early in the morning, distraught over an incident that occurred the previous day. While sitting at her window overlooking the Rue Saint-Lazare, she became fascinated by a woman in a red dress across the street who was signaling to men. Impulsively, the Baroness imitated the gesture, and a handsome young man entered her building, mistaking her for a prostitute. Despite her protests, he forced his way into her apartment, and she ultimately succumbed to the situation. Now he plans to return, and she seeks her friend's advice on how to handle the predicament.
Chapter 315
Old Amable
The story of Old Amable, a stubborn and impoverished peasant who refuses to adapt to changing times, leading to conflict with his son and eventual tragedy.
Chapter 316
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 317
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 318
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 319
A Family
The narrator visits his old friend Simon Radevin after fifteen years, only to find him transformed into a stout, complacent provincial family man. The visit reveals a household centered on mundane domesticity and the cruel, mocking treatment of the elderly grandfather, whose only remaining pleasure is food. The narrator is left with a profound sense of sadness and disillusionment.
Chapter 320
The Devil
Honoré Bontemps, a peasant, must decide whether to leave his dying ninety-two-year-old mother to harvest his corn. The doctor insists he hire the Rapet woman to nurse her. Honoré negotiates a lump sum of six francs with the Rapet woman, who then frightens the old woman to death by pretending to be the devil, ensuring she dies quickly so Honoré can return to his fields.
Chapter 321
A Divorce Case
In a courtroom, the defense counsel for Mme. Chassel argues that her husband's behavior is not criminal but pathological, comparing him to the mad King of Bavaria. He reads from the husband's diary, which reveals a deep disgust with reality and an obsessive, idealistic love that cannot survive physical intimacy. The husband describes his wife as a dream that turned to disgust upon marriage, and he recoils from the physicality of love, preferring the ideal. The counsel concludes that the husband is a madman and that his client deserves a divorce.
Chapter 322
The Inn
The Schwarenbach Inn, high in the Alps, closes for winter as the Hauser family descends to Loëche, leaving the old guide Gaspard Hari and young guide Ulrich Kunsi alone with the dog Sam. The two men settle into a monotonous routine of chores and games, isolated by snow. One day, Hari goes hunting and fails to return, leaving Ulrich increasingly anxious and alone.
Chapter 323
Are We to Teach Latin?
The narrator recounts his youth at the Institution Robineau, a boarding school famous for its Latin instruction under the usher M. Piquedent. Piquedent, a lonely and passionate Latinist, confides his misery to the narrator. The narrator playfully convinces Piquedent that a young laundress is in love with him, leading to a boat outing where the pair impulsively decide to marry. Piquedent is dismissed after the escapade, and years later the narrator finds him happily running a grocery store, having abandoned Latin entirely.
Chapter 324
The Hole
At the Assizes, upholsterer Léopold Renard is tried for causing the death of a man during a quarrel over a fishing spot. He recounts how a dispute with another couple escalated into a physical fight, resulting in the man falling into the river and drowning. The court acquits him after witnesses corroborate his account.
Chapter 325
The Marquis of Fumerol
The Vicomte Roger de Tourneville recounts the family's attempt to secure a deathbed conversion for his freethinking uncle, the Marquis de Fumerol, against the backdrop of political and religious tensions. His mother, the devout Comtesse, enlists a priest to administer last rites, but the Marquis rejects both Catholic and Protestant clergy, dying defiantly in the company of his two mistresses.
Chapter 326
The Farmer
Baron René de Treilles invites a friend to his farm at Marinville for shooting. Upon arrival, they are greeted by the farmer, Master Lebrument, an old and devoted servant. After dinner, the Baron recounts the tragic story of Lebrument's marriage to Louise, a former chambermaid. Louise, who was in love with the Baron, reluctantly married John but pined away from grief, eventually dying of a broken heart. On her deathbed, she made John promise to tell the Baron the truth, which he faithfully does years later.
Chapter 327
A Cry of Alarm
A bachelor recounts a letter he received from a naive man who, after getting his married mistress drunk, learns that women often manipulate and deceive their husbands and lovers. The drunken woman confesses that many women accept advances from bold men, and that shy lovers are foolish for taking appearances at face value. The letter writer, feeling a sudden kinship with betrayed husbands, asks the author to sound an alarm about this hidden reality.
Chapter 328
Love
The narrator reflects on a news story about a passionate crime, which triggers a memory of a duck hunt with his cousin Karl de Rauville in a frozen marsh. After a night of bitter cold, they shoot a pair of teal; the male returns to his dead mate and is also killed. The narrator, moved by the bird's devotion, buries them together and leaves for Paris that day.
Chapter 329
Clochette
The narrator recalls his childhood memory of Mother Clochette, an old, bearded, limping dressmaker who visited his family's home every Tuesday. He adored her and listened to her simple, dramatic stories. One day, he finds her dead on the floor of the linen room. Later, he overhears the doctor reveal that Clochette, as a beautiful young woman named Hortense, had a secret love affair with a school assistant, was discovered, and jumped from a loft to hide him, breaking her leg in three places. She lived the rest of her life as a crippled, unmarried dressmaker, never revealing the truth.
Chapter 330
In the Wood
A married couple in their sixties is caught by the village constable in a compromising act in the woods. Brought before the mayor, the husband is mortified while the wife explains her longing for romance and regret over a life spent working, leading her to persuade her husband to revisit the site of their courtship.
Chapter 331
The Tramp
Jacques Raudel, a carpenter's mate, wanders the countryside for forty days in search of work, reduced to begging and manual labor for scraps. Starving and desperate, he assaults a servant girl, then is captured by police and condemned by the village.
Chapter 332
A New Year's Gift
Jacques de Rayndal, alone on New Year's Eve, prepares to write letters and reflects on his love affair with Irène. His mistress unexpectedly arrives, claiming her husband struck her and that she cannot return home. After a tense debate, Jacques initially advises caution but ultimately declares his commitment to her. Irène then reveals the entire story was a test to prove his love, and she is overjoyed by his devotion.
Chapter 333
Madame Hermet
The narrator reflects on the fascination of madness, describing how the insane live in a world freed from reason and reality. He visits an asylum where a doctor shows him a patient, Madame Hermet, who believes her face is covered with pockmarks, though it is perfectly clear. The doctor pretends to treat her with a brush. The story then reveals her past: she was a beautiful, coquettish widow who obsessively feared aging. When her son contracted smallpox, her terror of infection prevented her from visiting him on his deathbed. She later convinced herself that she contracted the disease from nursing him and was disfigured, though she was not. Her guilt and fear of losing her beauty transformed into a fixed delusion.
Chapter 334
Epiphany
Captain the Comte de Garens recounts a Twelfth Night during the war when he and his men, led by the resourceful Pierre de Marchas, occupy the ruined village of Porterin. They set up quarters in an intact villa, and Marchas devises a plan to find a woman to complete their feast, persuading Garens to seek out the local priest for help.
Chapter 335
One Night's Entertainment
Sergeant-Major Varajou visits his sister and brother-in-law in the dreary town of Vannes, but finds their pious, dull household unbearable. Seeking amusement, he goes to a café and is directed to a house of ill repute. Mistaking a private party at the home of President de Mortemain for a brothel, he bursts in and causes a scandal, horrifying his brother-in-law Padoie who is present as a guest.
Chapter 336
The Door
Karl Massouligny recounts a tale of a husband who cleverly exposes his wife's lack of physical allure to discourage a suitor. The narrator, initially attracted to the wife, becomes intrigued by the husband's apparent complaisance and jealousy. After being invited to their country estate, he witnesses the husband deliberately open a door to reveal his wife in an unflattering state, effectively ending the narrator's romantic interest.
Chapter 337
The Baroness
A dealer of rare art recounts to the narrator and his friend Boisrené the story of Baroness Samoris, a woman of discreet reputation who uses a Renaissance Christ as a pretext to attract wealthy clients, ultimately buying it herself at a profit to continue her scheme.
Chapter 338
The Horla
The narrator records his growing unease and eventual terror as he becomes convinced that an invisible, malevolent being—the Horla—is haunting him, controlling his actions, and threatening his very existence. The story culminates in his desperate attempt to destroy the entity by burning down his house, followed by the realization that the Horla may be immortal, leading him to contemplate suicide.
Chapter 339
Night
The narrator expresses a passionate love for the night, describing how it rejuvenates him while daylight drains him. He recounts a nocturnal walk through Paris that begins with joy and wonder but gradually descends into a terrifying nightmare as the city becomes eerily deserted, lights go out, and he finds himself utterly alone, lost, and unable to find any sign of life or time. The story culminates in his despair at the edge of the Seine, feeling that he is dying.
Chapter 340
The Dead Woman
A man recounts his obsessive love for a woman who died after catching a cold in the rain. Overwhelmed by grief, he visits her grave and, in a hallucinatory episode, witnesses the dead rising to rewrite their tombstones with the truth of their lives, revealing that his beloved died while going to deceive her lover.
Chapter 341
Madame Husson's May King
Doctor Marambot recounts the story of Madame Husson, a virtuous old woman who decides to crown a May King in Gisors after failing to find a girl of impeccable virtue. She selects Isidore, a notoriously chaste young man, but after the ceremony he disappears, only to be found days later drunk and debauched in Paris. Despite attempts to reform him, he becomes a hopeless drunkard and dies of delirium tremens.
Chapter 342
The Father
The narrator visits his friend Jean de Valnoix, who recounts how seven years ago he discovered a caravan in the forest with a woman in labor. He helped deliver the child and brought the family to his home. Since then, the woman, a fortune-teller named Mademoiselle Elmire, returns each year with the child and a new man, each claiming to be the father. The real father is a gendarme who cannot care for the child because he has a family.
Chapter 343
The Rabbit
Old Lecacheur, the mayor of Pavigny-le-Gras, discovers that a prized grey rabbit has been stolen from his farm. Suspecting the former laborer Polyte, he calls the police. Inspector Sénateur and Constable Lenient investigate and eventually find Polyte hiding under a bed in a peasant woman's home, along with the stewed rabbit and its skin. Polyte is arrested. Later, the shepherd Severin consults Lecacheur about his wife's infidelity with Polyte, seeking clarification on his rights.
Chapter 344
The Orderly
Colonel Limousin's wife drowns herself and leaves a letter confessing her affair and the blackmail by the orderly Philip, leading the Colonel to kill Philip.
Chapter 345
Moiron
M. Maloureau recounts the infamous case of schoolmaster Moiron, who was convicted of poisoning children with ground glass and needles. Despite a last-minute pardon from the Emperor, Moiron later confesses on his deathbed that he killed the children out of vengeance against God for the deaths of his own children.
Chapter 346
The Assassin
A young defense attorney argues that Jean-Nicolas Lougère, who murdered his employer M. Langlais, is not a common criminal but a man driven by a deep, almost religious reverence for honor and integrity. Lougère, a model employee and devoted husband, was shattered by his first wife's death. Lonely, he married a café cashier who deceived him shamelessly, even seducing his employer's son. When Langlais confronted Lougère about his wife's infidelity, Lougère, in a blind rage, killed him with a pair of scissors. The attorney pleads that Lougère's reverence, not malice, led to the crime, and the jury acquits him.
Chapter 347
Duchoux
Baron Mordiane, feeling the weight of loneliness and old age, decides to travel to Marseilles to secretly observe the son he fathered years ago. He finds the son, now a provincial architect named Duchoux, living in a messy, garlic-scented home with his wife and children. The encounter fills Mordiane with horror and revulsion at the vulgarity of his offspring, and he flees in panic, haunted by memories of the boy's mother.
Chapter 348
The Rival Pins
Two young men discuss romantic entanglements over drinks. One recounts how his two mistresses discovered each other through a series of pins left in his apartment, leading to their alliance and his dismissal.
Chapter 349
Divorce
A retired notary recounts to his lawyer the bizarre circumstances of his marriage to a woman he met through a personal ad, only to discover that her substantial dowry was accumulated through bearing children for multiple fathers.
Chapter 350
Our Letters
The narrator, staying at the estate of Abelle, is given Aunt Rose's room. Unable to sleep, he discovers a secret compartment in a desk containing two packages of love letters. Reading them, he finds a correspondence between a woman named Rose and her lover, in which she insists on the return of her letters out of fear that they might be discovered after her death. The letters reveal a pragmatic yet passionate defense of keeping love letters as relics of womanhood, and a reflection on how husbands burn such proofs after their wives' deaths, avoiding scandal.
Chapter 351
The Mother Superior's Twenty-Five Francs
Old Pavilly, a comical peasant known for his pranks, breaks his leg during a harvest celebration and is taken to a hospital. There, he amuses the nuns with his antics and is eventually given twenty-five francs by the Mother Superior upon his recovery. With the money, he gets drunk and visits a brothel, where a scuffle with a prostitute results in him breaking his other leg. He is returned to the hospital, and the Mother Superior never learns that her gift caused the relapse.
Chapter 352
The Drowned Man
A man is found drowned, and the circumstances surrounding his death are investigated, revealing tensions and secrets among the local community.
Chapter 353
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 354
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 355
The Cripple
The narrator encounters a crippled former officer, Captain Revalière, on a train. Through conversation, he learns that Revalière was engaged to Mlle. de Mandal before the war, but after losing both legs, he refused to marry her, believing his deformity would condemn her to a life of suffering. Mlle. de Mandal later married M. de Fleurel, and Revalière remains unmarried, though he maintains a friendly relationship with the family. The narrator reflects on the tension between romantic ideals of sacrifice and the harsh realities of daily life.
Chapter 356
A Portrait
The narrator visits the home of M. Milial, a man of mysterious charm, and is captivated by a portrait of Milial's mother. The portrait seems alive, solitary, and deeply affecting, creating an intimate atmosphere. The narrator reflects on Milial's allure, which is not based on conventional handsomeness or wit but on an inexplicable charm that instantly breaks down barriers between people.
Chapter 357
Hautot and His Son
The elder Hautot, a wealthy farmer, dies after a hunting accident, but not before confessing a secret to his son: he has a mistress in Rouen whom he has supported for years. The son, initially shocked, eventually visits the woman and finds himself drawn to her, leading to a complex emotional and moral dilemma.
Chapter 358
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 359
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 360
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 361
One Evening
The narrator recounts a story told by Trémoulin, a bookseller, about his wife's infidelity. Trémoulin describes their happy marriage and his growing jealousy after suspecting she lied about an errand. He eventually sets a trap to catch her with her lover, only to discover she is with the elderly General de Flèche instead of the younger man he expected. His rage turns into a bitter condemnation of women who betray their husbands for status or money.
Chapter 362
Boitelle
Antoine Boitelle, a scavenger who blames his parents for thwarting his youthful ambitions, recounts how he fell in love with a Black waitress while serving in the military. He brings her home to meet his parents, who are shocked by her skin color. Despite her virtues and a small dowry, the parents ultimately reject her, and Boitelle, respecting their wishes, abandons the marriage, a decision he later regrets as the cause of his lowly life.
Chapter 363
Allouma
A French colonist in Algeria recounts his passionate and ultimately disillusioning relationship with an Arab woman named Allouma, exploring themes of cultural difference, desire, and the impossibility of true understanding between them.
Chapter 364
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 365
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 366
The Rendezvous
Madame Haggar delays her weekly rendezvous with her lover, the Viscount de Martelet, by loitering in a square, reflecting on the tedium and anxiety of their two-year affair. She dreads the predictable routine of the meeting and the risk of scandal. While procrastinating, she encounters the Baron de Grimbal, who persuades her to abandon her appointment and visit his Japanese collection instead.
Chapter 367
In Port
The chapter recounts the story of a sailor returning to port after a long voyage, only to discover that his fiancée has married another man during his absence, leading to a confrontation and tragic consequences.
Chapter 368
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 369
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 370
The Mask
At a Mid-Lent ball at the Élysée-Montmartre, an old man wearing a youthful mask dances with frenzied desperation until he collapses. A doctor removes the elaborate disguise to reveal a wrinkled, white-haired face. The doctor accompanies the man home, where his wife explains that he has long pretended to be young to attract women, and that his collapses are a recurring consequence of his delusion.
Chapter 371
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 372
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 373
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 374
Alexander
The chapter depicts the daily routine of Mme. Maramballe and her devoted servant Alexander, who pushes her in a wheelchair. Their conversation reveals the captain's bad temper and Alexander's long, self-sacrificing service, culminating in a confession of his lifelong attachment to his mistress.
Chapter 375
The Putter-to-Sleep
The narrator reflects on suicide statistics, imagining the suffering of those who take their own lives. He dreams of an 'Institute of Voluntary Death' in Paris, a club that offers a painless and dignified death to the desperate, founded by eminent men to mock death and provide a humane alternative to violent suicides.
Chapter 376
Mouche
A boating man recounts his youthful days on the Seine with four friends and their shared mistress, Mouche. When Mouche becomes pregnant, the friends collectively decide to adopt the child, but a tragic accident during a boat outing leads to a premature labor and the loss of the baby.
Chapter 377
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 378
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 379
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 380
Useless Beauty
The chapter explores the theme of beauty and its perceived uselessness, focusing on characters who grapple with societal expectations and personal desires.
Chapter 381
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 382
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 383
III
During an entr'acte at the Opéra, Roger de Salins and Bernard Grandin observe the Comtesse de Mascaret, a strikingly beautiful woman who has had seven children. Their conversation delves into a philosophical critique of nature, reproduction, and the human condition, with Salins arguing that nature is an enemy to be fought and that human thought is a fortuitous accident.
Chapter 384
IV
After the opera, the Comte and Comtesse de Mascaret confront the long-standing doubt about the paternity of their children. The Comte, tormented for six years, demands to know which child is not his. The Comtesse reveals she lied about infidelity to avoid further pregnancies, insisting she never actually deceived him. The Comte struggles to believe her, but ultimately accepts her truth, leading to a fragile reconciliation and a new, complex emotion.
Chapter 385
Who Knows?
The narrator recounts a strange and unsettling experience where his furniture and belongings mysteriously disappear from his home, only to later reappear in an antique shop, leading him to question the nature of reality and his own sanity.
Chapter 386
The Horla (First Chapter)
The narrator describes his love of solitude and his secluded life in a house surrounded by a large garden. After attending a performance of Sigurd, he returns home late at night and experiences an inexplicable unease. He hears strange noises from inside his house, and later, in a state of panic, he flees. The next morning, he learns that all his furniture has been stolen. He chooses to keep his terrifying experience secret and eventually consults doctors, who advise him to travel.
Chapter 387
II
The narrator recounts his travels through Italy, Sicily, and Africa before returning to France and settling in Paris. Bored, he decides to explore Normandy and, while wandering through Rouen, discovers a secondhand shop filled with his own stolen furniture. He reports the theft to the police, but the dealer vanishes overnight, and the furniture mysteriously returns to his house. The narrator, terrified and unable to prove the dealer's guilt, voluntarily commits himself to an asylum to escape the fear of the dealer's return.
Chapter 388
Graveyard Sirens
Joseph de Bardon, a bachelor, recounts to his friends a curious encounter in the Montmartre cemetery. He describes his love for cemeteries and his habit of visiting the grave of an old flame. During one visit, he meets a woman in deep mourning who faints at her husband's grave. He revives her and they leave together, beginning a strange affair. Later, he sees her again in the cemetery with another man, leading him to wonder if she is a 'graveyard siren' who preys on mourners.
Chapter 389
After
Abbé Mauduit confesses to the Countess de Saville that his extreme sensitivity as a child, exacerbated by boarding school, led him to renounce ordinary life and become a priest. He recounts the traumatic death of his beloved dog Sam, which crystallized his fear of suffering and his decision to avoid personal attachments.
Chapter 390
The Pedlar
The narrator reflects on how fleeting associations and chance encounters reveal the desolating truth about life. While wandering in Savoy, he recalls a night from his youth when he met a pedlar on the road between Argenteuil and Paris. The pedlar invited him home for a drink, but the narrator discovered the pedlar's wife had a lover hidden in the bedroom. The scene exposed a domestic betrayal and the eternal drama of infidelity.
Chapter 391
Endnotes
This chapter consists of endnotes and citations from various volumes of Guy de Maupassant's works, including poetic excerpts, translator's notes, and references to other authors such as Baudelaire, Victor Hugo, and Alfred de Musset.

Guy de Maupassant

The Horla (First Chapter)

II

Short Fiction

The Dead Hand

Doctor Heraclius Gloss

I: The Mental Faculties of Doctor Heraclius Gloss

II: The Physical Appearance of Doctor Heraclius Gloss

How Doctor Heraclius Used to Spend His Days

IV: How Doctor Heraclius Spent His Nights

How the Dean Placed His Hopes in Eclecticism, the Doctor in Revelation and the Warden in Digestion

VI: How for the Doctor the Road to Damascus Turned Out to Be the Ruelle des Vieux Pigeons, and How the Truth Was Revealed to Him in the Form of a Metempsychosic Manuscript

VII: How One May Interpret a Couplet by Corneille in Two Ways

VIII: How, Just as One Can Be More Royalist Than the King and More Devout Than the Pope, One Can Equally Be More of a Metempsychosist Than Pythagoras

IX: Obverse and Reverse

X: How a Mountebank Can Be More Cunning Than a Learned Doctor

XI: In Which It Is Shown That Heraclius Gloss Was in No Way Exempt from All the Weaknesses of the Stronger Sex

XII: Which Explains How Doctor and Animal Tamer Are in No Way Synonymous

XIII: How Doctor Heraclius Gloss Found Himself in Exactly the Same Position as Good King Henry IV Who, Having Heard Two Leading Counsel Plead Their Case, Was of Opinion That Both Were Right

XIV: How Heraclius All but Devoured a Dish of Beautiful Ladies of a Past Age

XV: How the Warden Interpreted God’s Commandments

How the Forty-Second Reading of the Manuscript Shed New Light Into the Doctor’s Mind

How Doctor Heraclius Gloss Set About Finding the Author of the Manuscript

XVIII: In Which Doctor Heraclius Recognises with Amazement the Author of the Manuscript

XIX: How the Doctor Was Placed in a Terrible Dilemma

XX: In Which the Doctor Has a Little Talk with His Servant

XXI: In Which It Is Shown That a Dearly-Loved Friend Can Lighten the Heaviest Sorrow

XXII: In Which the Doctor Discovers That His Monkey Resembles Him Even More Than He Thought

XXIII: How the Doctor Realized That His Monkey Had Shamefully Imposed Upon Him

XXIV: Eureka

XXV: “I Am That I Am.”

XXVI: What Was Said at Madame Labotte’s, the Fruiterer’s, 26, Rue de la Maraicherie

How Doctor Heraclius Did Not Agree with the Dauphin, Who, Having Saved a Monkey from Drowning, Threw It Back Again and Went Off to Find a Man to Save Instead

XXVIII: “This Story Will Show You That, if You Want to Save a Fellow Creature from Blows and Believe That It Is Better to Rescue a Cat Than a Man, You Will Excite the Anger of Your Neighbours. All Roads Lead to Rome—But Metempsychosis Leads to the Lunatic Asylum.”—Balançon Star

XXIX: How One Sometimes Exchanges Scylla for Charybdis

XXX: How the Proverb—“The Madder One Is, the More One Laughs”—Is Not Always Quite True

On the River

At the Church Door

Lieutenant Laré’s Marriage

Simon's Father

A Family Affair

Boule de Suif

Les Dimanches d'Un Bourgeois

I: Preparing for Excursions

Patissot's First Outing

A Visit

IV: Fishing

Two Famous Men

Before the Festival

VII: A Sad Story

VIII: A Trial of Love

A Dinner and Some Ideas

X: A Public Meeting

Suicides

A Grandmother's Advice

Story of a Farm Girl

A Country Excursion

In the Spring

Paul's Mistress

Madame Tellier's Establishment

An Adventure in Paris

A Christmas Eve Festival

The Cake

The Log

Words of Love

Marroca

The Shepherd’s Leap

The Bed

Mademoiselle Fifi

Relics of the Past

The Blind Man

Magnetism

Guillemot Rock

A Son

Travelling

A Corsican Bandit

A Dead Woman's Secret

Dreams

A True Story

The Burglar