The Father (Maupassant): Difference between revisions
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| Literary form = short story | | Literary form = short story | ||
| Year of publication = | | Year of publication = | ||
| Microsummary = A man | | Microsummary = A man helped a woman give birth in a caravan and offered her shelter. Every year, she returned with her child and a new partner to express gratitude. | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{Start of text}} | {{Start of text}} | ||
Jean de Valnoix, a friend of the narrator, lived in a small house in the woods by a river after retiring from a wild life in Paris. One evening, while they were sitting by the river, they heard a voice calling for Jean. It was his servant, announcing the arrival of a gipsy woman and her child. | |||
{{Character | {{Character | ||
| Name = | | Name = Jean de Valnoix | ||
| Description = narrator; | | Description = narrator's friend; retired from Paris; lives in a house in the woods; enjoys solitude | ||
| Emoji = | | Emoji = 👨🏻🌾 | ||
}} | }} | ||
Jean then told the narrator the story of how he met the woman. Seven years ago, Jean was walking in the forest when he heard mournful cries. He followed the sound and found a caravan with a woman in labor inside. | |||
{{Quote | |||
| Text = I had never seen a birth; I had never helped a female creature, woman, dog, or cat, in such a circumstance, and I naively said so, as I stupidly watched this thing which was screaming so in the bed. | |||
| Context = This quote is from the narrator when he first encounters Mademoiselle Elmire giving birth in the caravan. He admits his inexperience in assisting with childbirth. | |||
}} | |||
The woman's husband was unable to get help because their horse had broken its leg. Jean helped the couple by harnessing his dog and the couple's dog to the caravan and pulling it to his house. The woman gave birth to a girl, and Jean took care of the family for a week. | |||
{{Character | {{Character | ||
| Name = | | Name = Mademoiselle Elmire | ||
| Description = | | Description = fortune-teller; mother of a girl; grateful to Jean; has different partners each year | ||
| Emoji = | | Emoji = | ||
}} | }} | ||
Every year since then, the woman returned to Jean's house on the same day with her child and a new man, to express her gratitude. The child called each man "Papa," as a sign of respect. | |||
{{Character | |||
| Name = The Child | |||
{{ | | Description = Elmire's daughter; born in the caravan; calls all of Elmire's partners 'Papa' | ||
| | | Emoji = | ||
| | |||
}} | }} | ||
When the woman arrived this time, she was accompanied by a Belgian man. The narrator asked her if this man was the child's father, but she said no, explaining that the real father was a gendarme who had other children with his wife. | |||
{{Quote | {{Quote | ||
| Text = | | Text = Oh! yes, Monsieur, and he loves her very much; but he can't take care of her because he has others by his wife. | ||
| Context = This quote is | | Context = This quote is from Mademoiselle Elmire when she explains to the narrator that the real father of her child is a gendarme who cannot take care of the child because he has other children with his wife. | ||
}} | }} | ||
The child | The gendarme still loved his child and saw her from time to time, but could not take care of her. | ||
{{End of text}} | {{End of text}} | ||
Latest revision as of 12:15, 30 May 2023
Jean de Valnoix, a friend of the narrator, lived in a small house in the woods by a river after retiring from a wild life in Paris. One evening, while they were sitting by the river, they heard a voice calling for Jean. It was his servant, announcing the arrival of a gipsy woman and her child.
Jean then told the narrator the story of how he met the woman. Seven years ago, Jean was walking in the forest when he heard mournful cries. He followed the sound and found a caravan with a woman in labor inside.
I had never seen a birth; I had never helped a female creature, woman, dog, or cat, in such a circumstance, and I naively said so, as I stupidly watched this thing which was screaming so in the bed.
The woman's husband was unable to get help because their horse had broken its leg. Jean helped the couple by harnessing his dog and the couple's dog to the caravan and pulling it to his house. The woman gave birth to a girl, and Jean took care of the family for a week.
Every year since then, the woman returned to Jean's house on the same day with her child and a new man, to express her gratitude. The child called each man "Papa," as a sign of respect.
When the woman arrived this time, she was accompanied by a Belgian man. The narrator asked her if this man was the child's father, but she said no, explaining that the real father was a gendarme who had other children with his wife.
Oh! yes, Monsieur, and he loves her very much; but he can't take care of her because he has others by his wife.
The gendarme still loved his child and saw her from time to time, but could not take care of her.