Short Fiction · Chapter
Practical Jokes explained
The narrator reflects on the lost art of practical jokes, recounting two personal anecdotes: one where he is the victim of a prank involving a moved mattress and a falling footman, and another where he exacts revenge on an elderly, unpleasa
What happens
The narrator reflects on the lost art of practical jokes, recounting two personal anecdotes: one where he is the victim of a prank involving a moved mattress and a falling footman, and another where he exacts revenge on an elderly, unpleasant woman named Mme. Dufour by placing phosphide of lime in her chamber pot, causing a terrifying explosion and her subsequent fear of internal fire.
Themes in this chapter
Cruelty and Suffering
The narrator's prank on Mme. Dufour causes her extreme terror and lasting psychological distress, illustrating the cruel consequences of practical jokes.
Obsession and Delusion
Mme. Dufour becomes delusional, believing she has an internal fire that needs extinguishing, showing how a prank can lead to obsessive false beliefs.
Characters to notice
- Madame Dufour
The elderly, unpleasant woman from Amiens who is the target of the narrator's revenge prank; she suffers a terrifying explosion from the phosphide of lime and is left with a lasting fear of internal fire.
- Guy de Maupassant
The narrator, who recounts his experiences with practical jokes, both as a victim and as a perpetrator in his youth.
Key passages
“We live in a period when practical jokers have the air of undertakers’ men and are generally known as politicians.”
Nowadays, people who play practical jokes seem as grim as undertakers and are usually called politicians.
The narrator laments the decline of genuine, humorous pranks in favor of dull, political trickery.
“I was on the lookout, and very uneasy. I did not let a word, or a hint, or a gesture go by me. Everything seemed suspicious, even the faces of the servants.”
I was alert and anxious, scrutinizing every word, hint, and gesture, even the servants' expressions, as everything seemed suspicious.
The narrator describes his paranoid vigilance when he suspects his friends are planning a prank on him.
“The very precautions I had taken to close my shutters and sleep in the middle of the bedroom had made me the laughingstock I had dreaded being.”
My careful efforts to avoid being pranked—closing the shutters and sleeping in the middle of the room—actually caused the very humiliation I feared.
The narrator's attempt to outsmart his friends backfires, leading to his embarrassment.
“She remained standing rigid, stupefied with fear, her look fixed on what was happening. Then suddenly she uttered a cry such as I had never heard, and fell on her back.”
She stood frozen in terror, staring at the event, then let out an unprecedented scream and collapsed backward.
Mme. Dufour's extreme reaction to the phosphide of lime explosion highlights the severity of the prank's impact.