# Hydrophobia? explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

A newlywed woman writes to her friend Geneviève, recounting the disastrous start of her honeymoon. Her innocence about marital intimacy leads to a public scene in a hotel, after which she becomes consumed by the fear that she has contracted rabies from a playful bite from her dog Bijou. Her terror is amplified by news of a woman who died mad from a similar bite, plunging her into a spiral of anxiety and despair.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Desire

The narrator's romantic expectations clash with the reality of marital intimacy, leading to fear and revulsion.

### Obsession and Delusion

The narrator's irrational fear of rabies after a minor dog bite dominates her thoughts, distorting her perception of reality.

### Gender and Power

The husband's impatience and lack of gentle explanation reflect the power imbalance in marriage, where the wife's ignorance is exploited.

## Character check-ins

### Guy de Maupassant

Author of the story, writing in the voice of the female narrator.

## Key lines

> I knew nothing at all, and mamma, poor mamma who is frightened of the least thing, had not even dared to approach this delicate subject.

The narrator was completely uninformed about marital intimacy, as her timid mother avoided the topic entirely.

_Highlights the theme of female ignorance about sex in the 19th century._

> I felt desperate, so sad I wanted to die, disgusted with everything, tormented by longing to return to my poor parents.

The narrator was overwhelmed with despair and homesickness after the traumatic events.

_Captures her emotional breakdown following the honeymoon disaster._

> All the visitors were in a state of great excitement: a young woman, bitten by a little dog, had just died—mad.

The hotel guests were buzzing with news of a woman who died of rabies after a dog bite.

_Triggers the narrator's obsessive fear of hydrophobia._

## Links

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