Short Fiction · Chapter
The Lock explained
At a bachelor's dinner, the narrator recounts his first affair with a married woman of society, which culminates in a comedic and humiliating interruption when his landlord, concierge, and chimney-sweep burst into his rented room to fix the
What happens
At a bachelor's dinner, the narrator recounts his first affair with a married woman of society, which culminates in a comedic and humiliating interruption when his landlord, concierge, and chimney-sweep burst into his rented room to fix the chimney, finding the couple in flagrante delicto.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
The narrator's first affair is driven by desire and the thrill of seduction, though it ends in farce.
Illusion vs. Reality
The narrator's romantic ideals clash with the awkward, unpoetic reality of the interrupted tryst.
Gender and Power
The woman is portrayed as both seducer and victim, while the narrator's youthful inexperience and the eventual intrusion underscore the power dynamics at play.
Characters to notice
- Guy de Maupassant
The narrator of the story, recalling his first amorous adventure as a young man.
- Duc de Servigny
One of the four confirmed bachelors at the dinner, who speaks first and listens to the others' tall tales before telling his own first adventure.
Key passages
“The four glasses which were standing in front of the diners were still nearly half full, which is a sign, as a general rule, that the guests are quite so.”
The half-full glasses indicated the diners were still sober enough to converse coherently.
Sets the scene of the bachelor dinner before the drinking and storytelling intensify.
“They had sworn, hand-in-hand, to turn aside every woman they could from the right path, and their friends' wives for choice, and more especially those of their most intimate friends.”
The bachelors had pledged to seduce as many women as possible, especially the wives of their closest friends.
Reveals the cynical and misogynistic code of the celibates' club.
“I rushed to the window; I closed the outside shutters, drew the curtains, and hung a coat over a ray of light that peeped in, and then, stretching out my hands so as not to fall over the chairs, with my heart beating, I groped for her, and found her.”
The narrator quickly darkened the room by shutting the shutters and draping a coat over a crack of light, then fumbled his way to his lover in the dark.
Highlights the narrator's eagerness and the farcical lengths he goes to for privacy.
“Ever since that time I never draw the curtains, but I am always very careful to lock the door first.”
After that embarrassing interruption, the narrator now always locks the door before any romantic encounter.
The punchline of the story, emphasizing the lesson learned from the mishap.