Short Fiction · Chapter
Mad? explained
A man tormented by obsessive jealousy and hatred for his wife recounts his descent into madness.
What happens
A man tormented by obsessive jealousy and hatred for his wife recounts his descent into madness. He describes his initial infatuation, his growing suspicion that she has tired of him, and his eventual conviction that she finds pleasure in her horse rides. In a fit of jealous rage, he sets a trap, shoots the horse, and then kills her when she attacks him. He ends by questioning his own sanity.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Delusion
The narrator's obsessive jealousy and delusional belief that his wife is unfaithful, even with her horse, drive the entire narrative.
Love and Desire
The narrator's conflicting feelings of intense desire and hatred for his wife illustrate the destructive power of possessive love.
Cruelty and Suffering
The narrator's psychological torment and the violent acts he commits—killing the horse and his wife—highlight the cruelty born from jealousy.
Characters to notice
- Comte de Mascaret
The narrator and protagonist, consumed by jealousy and hatred for his wife.
Key passages
“I have loved this woman to madness—and yet, is it true? Did I love her? No, no! She owned me body and soul, I was, and am, her plaything, she ruled me by her smile, her look, the divine form of her body.”
The narrator questions whether his intense feelings were love or obsession, admitting he felt enslaved by her physical presence.
Reveals the narrator's internal conflict and the theme of obsession versus genuine love.
“It was of the horse I was jealous—of the wind which caressed her face, of the drooping leaves and of the sunbeams which touched her forehead through the branches, of the saddle which carried her and felt the clasp of her thighs!”
The narrator's jealousy extends beyond any human rival to the very elements and objects that touch his wife during her rides.
Illustrates the extreme and irrational nature of his jealousy, a key aspect of his delusion.
“Tell me, Am I insane?”
The narrator directly asks the reader to judge his sanity after recounting his actions.
The final line encapsulates the story's central question and leaves the reader to decide.