Short Fiction · Chapter
A Madman explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Delusion
The judge's diary reveals his obsessive compulsion to kill and his delusional justification of murder as a natural law.
Cruelty and Suffering
The judge derives pleasure from killing and witnessing executions, highlighting his cruelty and the suffering he inflicts.
Illusion vs. Reality
The judge's public reputation as an upright magistrate contrasts sharply with his private reality as a murderer, illustrating the theme of illusion versus reality.
Characters to notice
- Guy de Maupassant
Author of the story, presenting the judge's diary as a discovered document.
Key passages
“I have condemned Blondel to death. Why did this man kill his five children? Why?”
The judge sentences a man to death and questions the motive behind his crime.
Opening of the diary, establishing the judge's role and his philosophical inquiry into killing.
“I took it, I came back; I lifted it like a club and, cutting through it with a single blow, I split the fisherman's head right open.”
The judge murders a sleeping fisherman with a spade.
First-person account of the judge's first murder, showing his method and lack of remorse.
“I have condemned him to death. Ah! Ah! The solicitor-general spoke like an angel. Ah! Ah! Yet another. I shall go to see him executed.”
The judge sentences the innocent nephew to death and looks forward to witnessing the execution.
The judge's delight in condemning an innocent man, revealing his sadistic nature.