The Wolf-Leader · Chapter
XXII: Thibault’s Last Wish explained
Agnelette, fleeing in terror after her encounter with Thibault, is reunited with her husband Etienne, who insists on reporting Thibault's whereabouts to the Lord of Vez.
What happens
Agnelette, fleeing in terror after her encounter with Thibault, is reunited with her husband Etienne, who insists on reporting Thibault's whereabouts to the Lord of Vez. As they argue, a sentinel mistakes them for a threat and shoots Etienne, killing him. Agnelette falls into a delirium, and Thibault, unable to resist seeing her, bursts into her hut, embracing her before fleeing from the villagers. Agnelette's condition worsens, and the priest is summoned as she nears death.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
Agnelette's love for Etienne and her grief over his death, as well as Thibault's desperate love for Agnelette, drive the chapter's emotional core.
Fate and Free Will
The accidental shooting of Etienne and Agnelette's subsequent decline suggest a tragic fate that overrides the characters' choices.
Supernatural and Folklore
Thibault's appearance as a wolf-leader and the villagers' belief in his supernatural powers shape the events.
Characters to notice
- Agnelette
Flees in terror after her encounter with Thibault, is reunited with Etienne, and later falls into a fatal delirium after his accidental death.
- Etienne
Agnelette's husband, who is accidentally shot by a sentinel while protecting her, leading to his death.
- Thibault
Rescues Agnelette from a wolf, later risks capture to see her one last time, and is pursued by villagers.
- Grandmother
Agnelette's grandmother, whose voice alone seems to calm Agnelette's fever.
- The Priest
Summoned to Agnelette's bedside as she nears death, he hears her final prayers.
Key passages
“Urged in her flight by a hideous terror, and anxious to reach the village where she had left her husband with all speed possible, Agnelette, for the very reason that she was running so hastily, was forced by her failing breath, to pause at intervals along the way.”
Agnelette ran in panic, desperate to return to her husband, but had to stop frequently to catch her breath.
Highlights Agnelette's fear and urgency.
“The bullet had pierced his heart.”
The shot killed Etienne instantly.
The tragic accidental death of Etienne.
“She accused herself of her husband’s death, called him by name, begged the invisible spirits, which seemed to haunt her, even in the short intervals of slumber which her excited state of brain made possible, to have mercy upon him.”
Agnelette blamed herself for Etienne's death and pleaded with unseen spirits to spare him.
Agnelette's guilt and delirium.