Short Fiction · Chapter
Two Friends explained
During the Siege of Paris, two fishing companions, Monsieur Morissot and Monsieur Sauvage, reunite and decide to go fishing at their old spot despite the danger.
What happens
During the Siege of Paris, two fishing companions, Monsieur Morissot and Monsieur Sauvage, reunite and decide to go fishing at their old spot despite the danger. They are captured by Prussian soldiers, who demand the password to return to Paris. When they refuse to betray their country, they are executed by firing squad and their bodies are thrown into the river. The Prussian officer then orders their catch of fish to be fried and eaten.
Themes in this chapter
Cruelty and Suffering
The Prussian officer's cold-blooded execution of the two friends and his casual order to fry their fish highlights the brutality and dehumanization of war.
Illusion vs. Reality
The friends' nostalgic desire to recapture peaceful fishing days contrasts sharply with the deadly reality of war and their execution.
Characters to notice
- Monsieur Morissot
A watchmaker and avid fisherman who reunites with his friend Sauvage during the siege. He is executed by the Prussians after refusing to give the password.
- Monsieur Sauvage
A draper and fishing companion of Morissot. He is captured and executed alongside Morissot for refusing to betray the password.
Key passages
“Paris was blockaded, famished, at the last gasp. Sparrows were getting scarce on the roofs, and the sewers were depleted of their rats. People were eating anything.”
Paris was under siege, starving and desperate, with even sparrows and rats becoming scarce as people resorted to eating whatever they could find.
Sets the grim context of the Franco-Prussian War siege.
“The Prussian smiled. 'I see—not bad. But we've other fish to fry. Now listen to me, and keep cool. I regard you two as spies sent to watch me. I take you, and I shoot you.'”
The Prussian officer, smiling, tells the fishermen he considers them spies and will execute them, using a pun on 'fish to fry' to mock their situation.
Highlights the officer's casual cruelty and the friends' fatal predicament.
“'Goodbye, Monsieur Sauvage!' he stammered out. Monsieur Sauvage answered: 'Goodbye, Monsieur Morissot.' They grasped each other's hands, shaken from head to foot by a trembling that they could not control.”
Morissot and Sauvage exchange final farewells, trembling uncontrollably as they face their imminent execution together.
Emphasizes the poignant bond and shared fate of the two friends.