Short Fiction · Chapter
In the Country explained
Two peasant families, the Tuvaches and the Vallins, live side by side in poverty.
What happens
Two peasant families, the Tuvaches and the Vallins, live side by side in poverty. A wealthy couple, the d'Hubières, offer to adopt one of their children. The Tuvaches refuse indignantly, while the Vallins accept, selling their son Jean for a monthly pension. Years later, Jean returns as a wealthy young man, causing Charlot Tuvache to bitterly resent his parents for not selling him.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Money
The stark contrast between the wealthy d'Hubières and the impoverished Tuvaches and Vallins drives the plot, with money determining the fate of the children.
Cruelty and Suffering
Both families suffer: the Tuvaches from poverty and their son's resentment, the Vallins from the moral condemnation of selling their child.
Illusion vs. Reality
The Tuvaches believe they made the virtuous choice, but the reality of their son's bitterness shatters that illusion.
Characters to notice
- Madame d'Hubières
A wealthy, childless woman who desperately wants to adopt a peasant child, first approaching the Tuvaches and then the Vallins.
- Monsieur d'Hubières
Madame d'Hubières' husband, who negotiates the adoption terms with the Vallins.
- Jean Vallin
The Vallins' son who is sold to the d'Hubières and returns years later as a wealthy young man.
- Charlot Tuvache
The Tuvaches' son who was not sold; he grows up poor and bitterly resents his parents for not accepting the offer.
- Mother Tuvache
The Tuvache mother who refuses to sell her child and prides herself on being a 'real mother,' but later faces her son's resentment.
- Father Tuvache
The Tuvache father who remains silent during the conflict with his son.
Key passages
“You want me to sell you Charlot? Oh, no, that’s not the sort of thing to ask of a mother! Oh, no! That would be an abomination!”
Mother Tuvache refuses the offer to adopt her son, calling it an abomination.
Highlights the moral outrage of the mother at the idea of selling her child.
“I say that it’s not to be despised.”
Father Vallin considers the adoption offer seriously, seeing it as a financial opportunity.
Shows the pragmatic, if cold, calculation of the Vallins.
“You silly yokels!”
Charlot insults his parents for not selling him, calling them foolish peasants.
Climactic moment of resentment and bitterness from the son who feels cheated of a better life.