Short Fiction · Chapter
Queen Hortense explained
Queen Hortense, an imperious old maid in Argenteuil, lives a solitary life ruling over her animals and servants with authority.
What happens
Queen Hortense, an imperious old maid in Argenteuil, lives a solitary life ruling over her animals and servants with authority. When she falls fatally ill, her estranged relatives gather, and in her final moments, she deliriously speaks of a family and children she never had, revealing a deep, hidden longing for the domestic life she denied herself.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Loneliness
Queen Hortense's life is marked by solitude and a lack of emotional bonds, which her final delirium starkly contrasts.
Illusion vs. Reality
In her dying moments, Hortense lives out an imagined domestic life, revealing the illusion she maintained versus the reality of her barren existence.
Gender and Power
Hortense's masculine authority over her household and animals subverts traditional gender roles, yet her final fantasy conforms to conventional female domesticity.
Characters to notice
- Queen Hortense
The dying old maid who, in her final delirium, reveals a hidden desire for a family and children.
- Coco
The dog that jumps onto the dying woman's bed, holding a slipper, and is chased by little Joseph.
- Polyte
Mentioned as a cat that stretches and jumps onto Madame Cimme's lap.
Key passages
“She governed her beasts with authority. She ruled.”
She commanded her animals with firm control, acting as their sovereign.
Highlights Hortense's domineering nature over her pets.
“No, no, I do not wish to die! I don't want to! Who will bring up my children? Who will care for them? Who will love them?”
She cried out in refusal of death, asking who would raise and love the children she never had.
Reveals her hidden maternal longing in her final moments.