# The Little Soldier explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

Two Breton soldiers, Jean Kerderen and Luc Le Ganidec, take weekly walks to a spot that reminds them of their homeland. Their routine is disrupted when Luc begins a secret romance with a local milkmaid, leading to Jean's heartbreak and eventual suicide by jumping off a bridge.

## Themes in this chapter

### Isolation and Loneliness

The soldiers' weekly ritual is driven by a shared nostalgia for their homeland, but Jean's isolation deepens after Luc's betrayal, culminating in his solitary act of suicide.

### Love and Desire

Luc's romantic pursuit of the milkmaid disrupts the bond between the two soldiers, leading to jealousy and tragedy.

### Cruelty and Suffering

Jean's emotional suffering from Luc's betrayal is portrayed as a profound, silent anguish that drives him to take his own life.

## Character check-ins

### Luc Le Ganidec

One of the two little Breton soldiers; he initiates a romance with the milkmaid, causing a rift with his comrade Jean.

### Jeanne Cordier

The milkmaid who becomes romantically involved with Luc, leading to Jean's despair.

## Key lines

> They were small, thin, lost in army coats that were too large and too long, with sleeves falling over their hands, and embarrassed by red trousers so uncomfortably baggy that they were compelled to stretch their legs wide apart in order to walk at a good pace.

The two soldiers were small and thin, their oversized uniforms making them look awkward and uncomfortable as they walked.

_Describes the physical appearance and ill-fitting uniforms of the soldiers._

> And by slow degrees their country, their beloved far-off country, took them back to herself, filled their thoughts and senses, sent them across the space between, her shapes, her sounds, her known horizons, her scents, the scent of green plains swept by the salt sea air.

Gradually, their distant homeland consumed their thoughts, evoking vivid memories of its sights, sounds, and smells.

_Highlights the soldiers' deep nostalgia and longing for Brittany._

> Jean leaned over, leaned farther and farther over the iron railing, as if he had seen something in the rushing stream that fascinated him. Luc said to him: “Do you want to drink a mouthful?” As the last word left his mouth, the rest of Jean followed his head, his lifted legs described a circle in the air, and the little blue and red soldier dropped like a stone, struck the water, and disappeared in it.

Jean leaned over the bridge railing, then deliberately let himself fall into the river, drowning as Luc watched in horror.

_Depicts Jean's suicide after being betrayed by his friend._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/the-little-soldier
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters