The Wolf-Leader · Chapter
II: The Seigneur Jean and the Sabot-Maker explained
Thibault, hiding in an oak tree after a failed attempt to kill a buck, witnesses the Baron de Vauparfond's hunt come to a mysterious standstill.
What happens
Thibault, hiding in an oak tree after a failed attempt to kill a buck, witnesses the Baron de Vauparfond's hunt come to a mysterious standstill. The Baron, enraged, accuses Thibault of killing the deer, but Thibault denies it. Engoulevent finds Thibault's boar-spear, incriminating him. The Baron shoots Thibault out of the tree, and Thibault falls, but survives.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Power
The Baron's absolute authority over the hunt and his treatment of Thibault as a peasant subject illustrate the power imbalance between the nobility and the commoners.
Fate and Free Will
Thibault's attempt to hide and his subsequent discovery by Engoulevent suggest a lack of control over his own fate, as if the Devil is orchestrating events.
Characters to notice
- Thibault
Hides in an oak tree, is accused of killing the Baron's deer, and is shot out of the tree by the Baron.
- Baron de Vauparfond
Leads the hunt, becomes enraged at the check, and shoots Thibault out of the tree.
- Mocquet
The pricker, defends his dogs, and accuses Thibault of killing the deer.
- Engoulevent
Finds Thibault's boar-spear, incriminating him.
Key passages
“By Heaven!” exclaimed Thibault, “God Almighty is assuredly deaf, it seems. Let the Devil then open his ears and hear me! In the name of God or of the Devil, I want you and I will have you, cursed animal!””
Thibault, frustrated, blasphemously calls on both God and the Devil to help him catch the buck.
Shows Thibault's desperation and his willingness to invoke the Devil, foreshadowing his later pact.
“He stormed at his men, he whipped his dogs, and had so ploughed his horse’s sides with his spurs, that the thick coating of mud which covered his gaiters was reddened with blood.”
The Baron, in a rage, abuses his men, dogs, and horse, showing his violent temper and cruelty.
Highlights the Baron's brutal nature and the harsh realities of feudal power.