Short Fiction · Chapter
Christmas Eve explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
Henri's initial attraction to the woman is purely physical, driven by her plumpness and beauty, but the encounter leads to unexpected emotional and financial entanglements.
Cruelty and Suffering
The woman suffers a painful labor in a strange setting, and Henri's subsequent rejection and the woman's obsessive love cause ongoing distress for both.
Social Class and Money
Henri's ability to hire a doctor, nurse, and pay for the child's care highlights class disparities, while the woman's poverty and desperation drive her to accept his initial proposition.
Characters to notice
- Guy de Maupassant
Narrator of the frame story, introducing Henri Templier's tale.
- Monsieur Parent
Henri Templier, the protagonist who tells the story of his disastrous Christmas Eve.
Key passages
“Christmas Eve! Oh! no, I shall never celebrate that again!”
Henri Templier declares he will never observe Christmas Eve again due to a past traumatic experience.
Opening line that sets the tone for the story.
“I will act the part of Providence to one of them this evening; and I will find one if I have to go into every pleasure resort, and have to question them and hunt for one till I find one to my choice.”
Henri decides to play the benefactor by finding a poor, beautiful woman to share his Christmas Eve supper.
Reveals Henri's initial intentions and his search for a companion.
“I adored her already, kissed her continually, and discovered that she was neither stupid, nor common, nor coarse as ordinary streetwalkers are.”
Henri quickly becomes infatuated with the woman, finding her more refined than typical prostitutes.
Shows Henri's growing attraction and his perception of the woman's character.
“My friends, she was in labour.”
Henri reveals to his listeners that the woman was giving birth.
The pivotal moment of the story, revealing the unexpected crisis.
“I sent the child to some peasants at Poissy to be taken care of, and she still costs me fifty francs a month, for as I had paid at first, I shall be obliged to go on paying as long as I live, and later on, she will believe that I am her father.”
Henri arranged for the child to be raised by peasants and continues to pay monthly support, fearing the child will eventually think he is her father.
Highlights the long-term financial and emotional consequences of the night.