Short Fiction · Chapter
I: Preparing for Excursions explained
Monsieur Patissot, a Parisian clerk who has spent his life indoors and advanced slowly through imitation of Napoleon III, is suddenly spurred to take up walking excursions after a doctor warns him of apoplexy.
What happens
Monsieur Patissot, a Parisian clerk who has spent his life indoors and advanced slowly through imitation of Napoleon III, is suddenly spurred to take up walking excursions after a doctor warns him of apoplexy. He spends a week preparing his outfit, buying heavy boots, corduroy trousers, gaiters, a knapsack, a field glass, an ordnance map, and an alpaca coat, all with characteristic hesitation and eventual satisfaction.
Themes in this chapter
Illusion vs. Reality
Patissot's entire career advancement is built on the illusion of resembling Napoleon III, and his later attempts to adapt to the Republic show the gap between appearance and substance.
Social Class and Money
Patissot's modest salary, his careful budgeting for the walking outfit, and his interactions with the salesman all underscore his lower-middle-class status and the economic constraints on his leisure.
Isolation and Loneliness
Patissot has remained single for love of tranquillity, spends Sundays alone reading, and his sudden decision to take walks suggests a desire to break out of his isolated routine.
Characters to notice
- Monsieur Patissot
The protagonist, a fifty-two-year-old clerk who decides to take up walking excursions after a health scare.
Key passages
“He advanced very slowly and would perhaps have died a fourth-class clerk, had it not been for the benevolent Providence that watches over us all.”
His career progressed so slowly that he might have remained a low-level clerk forever, if not for a stroke of good luck.
Ironically introduces the 'Providence' that saves Patissot—his resemblance to the Emperor.
“From that time, he was promoted regularly, thanks to his simian faculty of imitation.”
Thereafter, he received steady promotions because of his monkey-like ability to copy others.
Highlights the absurdity of his career advancement based on mimicry.
“He was full of that common sense which borders on stupidity.”
His practical wisdom was so extreme that it verged on foolishness.
Characterizes Patissot's limited, literal-minded nature.