Short Fiction · Chapter
A Cock Crowed explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
The Baron's passionate pursuit and Madame d'Avancelles's calculated resistance highlight the tension between desire and control.
Gender and Power
Madame d'Avancelles exercises power over the Baron by setting terms for their encounter and ultimately dismissing him.
Illusion vs. Reality
The romantic chase and promised surrender contrast with the anticlimactic reality of the Baron's exhaustion and the cock's crow.
Characters to notice
- Madame Berthe d'Avancelles
A tall, dark, determined woman who resists the Baron's advances and sets a condition for her surrender.
- Baron Joseph de Croissard
The despairing admirer who organizes hunts and fêtes for Madame d'Avancelles, ultimately falling asleep in her bed.
- Monsieur d'Avancelles
The oblivious husband, described as stout and bald, who lives apart from his wife.
Key passages
“If I do succumb to you, my friend, it will not be before the fall of the leaf.”
She postpones yielding to him until autumn.
Madame d'Avancelles sets a seasonal condition for the Baron's pursuit.
“It is nothing; it is only a cock crowing. Go to sleep again, Monsieur, it has nothing to do with you.”
She dismisses the Baron's confusion with a haughty remark, asserting her control.
The cock's crow symbolizes the end of the romantic illusion and her dominance.