Short Fiction · Chapter
Timbuktu explained
In the golden dusk of a Parisian boulevard, two officers encounter a jubilant, wealthy Negro named Timbuktu, who greets his former lieutenant with delight.
What happens
In the golden dusk of a Parisian boulevard, two officers encounter a jubilant, wealthy Negro named Timbuktu, who greets his former lieutenant with delight. The major recounts Timbuktu's service during the Siege of Bézières in the Franco-Prussian War, where the resourceful and loyal soldier led a daring raid, amassed a fortune by looting, and later opened a successful restaurant, embodying a peculiar form of revenge.
Themes in this chapter
Obsession and Delusion
Timbuktu's obsessive looting of shiny objects and his delusional triumph in a defeated nation.
Cruelty and Suffering
The grim realities of war, including starvation, decapitation, and reprisal executions.
Social Class and Money
Timbuktu's rise from soldier to wealthy restaurateur, challenging social hierarchies.
Characters to notice
- Guy de Maupassant
Narrator of the story, framing the encounter and the major's tale.
- Duc de Servigny
The colonel who inquires about Timbuktu's identity.
- Walter Schnaffs
Not present; no matching character for the major. Omitted.
Key passages
“The boulevard, that river of life, swarmed with people in the golden dust of the setting sun.”
The bustling boulevard was crowded with people in the golden light of sunset.
Sets the vibrant Parisian scene.
“Mawnin’, Lieutenant.”
Good morning, Lieutenant.
Timbuktu's cheerful greeting to his former commander.
“Me like you much, Lieutenant Védié, siege of Bézi, we hunt much grapes.”
I like you a lot, Lieutenant Védié, from the siege of Bézières, where we hunted grapes.
Timbuktu recalls their shared war experience.
“Make much money, very much, big rest’rant, good eat, Prussians, me, steal much, very much, F’ench cooking, me get hund’ed thousand f’ancs.”
I made a lot of money, a big restaurant with good food, I stole a lot from the Prussians, French cooking, I got a hundred thousand francs.
Timbuktu boasts of his wartime profiteering.
“If you not keep coat, me cut; nobody have coat.”
If you don't keep the coat, I'll cut it so nobody has it.
Timbuktu's dramatic insistence on giving his coat to the lieutenant.