Short Fiction · Chapter
Finis explained
The Count of Lormerin receives a letter from an old lover, Lise de Vance, whom he has not seen for twenty-five years.
What happens
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!'
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
Lormerin's reawakened passion for the young Renée, who embodies his lost love Lise, illustrates the enduring power of desire across time.
Illusion vs. Reality
Lormerin's struggle to reconcile the aged Baroness with the memory of his youthful lover, and his eventual confrontation with his own reflection, highlights the clash between romantic illusion and the reality of aging.
Isolation and Loneliness
Despite the reunion, Lormerin feels a profound sense of loss and isolation as he realizes the irrecoverable nature of the past and his own solitude.
Characters to notice
- Lormerin
The handsome Count of Lormerin, now grey but still elegant, receives a letter from an old flame and is haunted by memories of his youth.
- Bertha
Lise de Vance, now the elderly Baroness de Vance, writes to Lormerin after twenty-five years, inviting him to meet her and her daughter.
- Mademoiselle Henriette
Renée, the daughter of Lise de Vance, is a young woman who strikingly resembles her mother as she was in her youth, causing Lormerin to relive his past love.
Key passages
“He murmured: 'Lormerin is still alive!' and entered the big room where his correspondence awaited him.”
He whispered to himself that he was still vibrant, then went into the large room where his letters were waiting.
Lormerin's self-assurance and vanity are evident as he affirms his vitality before facing the day's mail.
“He sat down opposite his reflection, crushed at the sight of his wretched appearance, murmuring: 'Finis, Lormerin!'”
He sat before the mirror, devastated by his aged look, and whispered that it was all over for him.
The climax of the story, where Lormerin confronts the reality of his own aging and the end of his romantic illusions.