VII explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love and Marriage

  Both Placide and Offdean are driven by their love for Euphrasie, with Placide preparing a home for their marriage and Offdean deciding to pursue her as his wife.

• Desire and Temptation

  Offdean abandons himself to his passion for Euphrasie, recalling intimate moments and dreaming of her day and night.

Characters to notice

• Euphrasie

  Placide prepares his home for her coming; she has grown more womanly and thoughtful, with a tender manner toward her lover.

• Placide Santien

  Eagerly prepares his home for Euphrasie, painting and gardening, and visits her frequently.

• Wallace Offdean

  Struggles with his love for Euphrasie, initially trying to forget her but ultimately deciding to pursue her as his wife.

Key passages

• “The spring came early in Orville, and so subtly that no one could tell exactly when it began. But one morning the roses were so luscious in Placide’s sunny parterres, the peas and bean-vines and borders of strawberries so rank in his trim vegetable patches, that he called out lustily, “No mo’ winta, Judge!””

  Spring arrived so gradually in Orville that its start was imperceptible, until Placide's garden burst into lush growth, prompting him to joyfully announce the end of winter to Judge Blount.

  Sets the scene of spring and Placide's industrious preparations.

• “In his eagerness to have his home sweet and attractive for Euphrasie’s coming, Placide had gone less frequently than ever before up to Natchitoches. He worked and whistled and sang until the yearning for the girl’s presence became a driving need; then he would put away his tools and mount his horse as the day was closing, and away he would go across bayous and hills and fields until he was with her again.”

  Placide was so focused on making his home perfect for Euphrasie that he rarely visited Natchitoches, but when his longing for her became overwhelming, he would set aside his work and ride through the countryside to be with her.

  Highlights Placide's devotion and the emotional drive behind his preparations.

• “He abandoned himself completely to his passion, and dreamed of the girl by day and thought of her by night. How delicious had been the scent of her hair, the warmth of her breath, the nearness of her body, that rainy day when they stood close together upon the veranda!”

  Offdean surrendered entirely to his love for Euphrasie, obsessively recalling the sensory details of their intimate moment on the veranda during a rainy day.

  Illustrates Offdean's intense desire and romantic fixation.

• “In the space of a moment he saw the whole delicious future which a kind fate had mapped out for him: those rich acres upon the Red River his own, bought and embellished with his inheritance; and Euphrasie, whom he loved, his wife and companion throughout a life such as he knew now he had craved for—a life that, imposing bodily activity, admits the intellectual repose in which thought unfolds.”

  Offdean suddenly envisioned a future where he would use his inheritance to buy and improve land on the Red River, with Euphrasie as his wife, enjoying a life that balanced physical work with intellectual calm.

  Reveals Offdean's resolution to marry Euphrasie and his idealized vision of their life together.