# Boitelle explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

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.

## Themes in this chapter

### Obsession and Delusion

Boitelle's infatuation with the Negress and his later conviction that his parents' opposition ruined his life illustrate a delusional fixation on a lost love.

### Social Class and Money

The story contrasts Boitelle's lowly scavenger work with the Negress's small dowry, and the parents' concern over her race overrides practical considerations of thrift and cleanliness.

### Cruelty and Suffering

The parents' rejection of the Negress based solely on her skin color, and Boitelle's subsequent lifelong regret, highlight the cruelty of social prejudice.

## Character check-ins

### Boitelle

The protagonist, a scavenger who blames his parents for opposing his marriage to a Black woman, which he believes led to his miserable life.

### Old Amable

Boitelle's father, who is initially hesitant and ultimately rejects the idea of his son marrying a Black woman.

### Mother Magloire

Boitelle's mother, who is shocked by the Negress's appearance and voices concerns about her suitability.

## Key lines

> If I am a scavenger, it is because my parents were opposed to my inclinations. Otherwise I would have been a workman like the others.

Boitelle believes his parents' opposition to his marriage forced him into a life of menial labor.

_This quote encapsulates the story's central theme of thwarted love and its consequences._

> She is black but not black enough to be repulsive. The curé’s cassock is black enough but it is no uglier than a white surplice.

Boitelle tries to downplay his fiancée's skin color by comparing it to a priest's black cassock.

_This shows Boitelle's attempt to rationalize his parents' prejudice._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/boitelle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters