Clochette (Maupassant): Difference between revisions

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| Literary form = short story
| Literary form = short story
| Year of publication = 1886
| Year of publication = 1886
| Microsummary = An elderly seamstress's tragic past was revealed after her death. In her youth, she had a secret affair with a teacher. When caught, she jumped from a hayloft to protect him, living alone thereafter.
| Microsummary = Child remembered old, lame seamstress. Found her dead. Doctor revealed past: affair with teacher, jumped from hayloft when caught. Became lame, kept secret. Child learned truth, cried as body removed.
| Emoji = 🧵
| Emoji = 🧵
}}
}}
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== Short Summary ==
== Short Summary ==


France, late 19th century. A man recalled his childhood memories of Mother Clochette, an old seamstress who visited his family's country house weekly to mend linen.
France, late 19th century. The narrator recalled his childhood memories of Mother Clochette, an old seamstress who visited his family's country house weekly to mend linen.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = The Narrator
| Name = The Narrator
| Description = narrator, male, recalling events from when he was 10-12 years old, lived in a country house with his parents, curious and observant
| Description = narrator, man recalling childhood memories, around 10-12 years old at the time of the main events, curious and observant
| Emoji = 👦🏼
| Emoji = 👦🏻
}}
}}


The narrator, as a child, adored Mother Clochette and her stories. One day, he found her dead in the linen room.
Mother Clochette was a peculiar-looking, hairy woman who limped and told fascinating stories. One day, the narrator found her dead in the linen room.


{{Quote|
{{Character
On opening the door of the linen-room, I saw the old seamstress lying on the ground by the side of her chair, with her face to the ground and her arms stretched out, but still holding her needle in one hand and one of my shirts in the other.
| Name = Mother Clochette (Hortense)
| Description = old seamstress, tall, thin, hairy woman with a beard, limping, wears a white cap, kind-hearted, storyteller, tragic past
| Emoji = 👵🏻
}}
}}


Later, the narrator overheard a doctor revealing Mother Clochette's tragic past. As a young woman, she had a secret affair with an assistant teacher. When caught by the schoolmaster, she jumped from a hayloft to protect her lover, breaking her leg in three places.
Later, the narrator overheard a doctor revealing Mother Clochette's tragic past. As a young woman named Hortense, she had a secret affair with an assistant teacher. When caught by the schoolmaster, she jumped from a hayloft to protect her lover.


{{Character
{{Quote|
| Name = Mother Clochette (Hortense)
'You will come and pick me up when he is gone,' and she jumped out... Old Grabu found nobody, and went down again in great surprise, and a quarter of an hour later, Monsieur Sigisbert came to me and related his adventure.
| Description = elderly seamstress, tall, thin, hairy face with beard-like growth, limping, wore large white cap, kind-hearted, storyteller, tragic past
| Emoji = 👵🏼
}}
}}


The doctor, who treated her injury, kept her secret. Mother Clochette lived the rest of her life with a limp, never marrying or having another love affair. The narrator, deeply moved by this revelation, realized the depth of Mother Clochette's character and the sacrifice she had made in her youth.
The fall broke her leg in three places, leaving her permanently lamed. The doctor admired her heroism and sacrifice, keeping her secret until her death. The story concluded with the narrator, still a child, sobbing in an armchair as Mother Clochette's body was carried away.


== Detailed Summary ==
== Detailed Summary ==
Line 44: Line 44:
''The division of the summary into chapters is conditional.''
''The division of the summary into chapters is conditional.''


=== Childhood Memories of Mother Clochette ===
=== The Narrator's Childhood Memories ===


The narrator began by reflecting on the persistence of certain memories.
The story began with the narrator reflecting on the persistence of old memories.


{{Quote|
{{Quote|
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}}
}}


He recalled Mother Clochette, an old seamstress who visited his parents' country house every Thursday to mend linen. The narrator described her distinctive appearance, particularly her facial hair.
The narrator recalled his childhood, when he was ten or twelve years old, living in a country house with his parents. Every Thursday, an old seamstress named Mother Clochette came to mend the linen.
 
Mother Clochette was described as a tall, thin woman with an unusual beard growing all over her face. She had a distinctive limp and wore a large white cap. The narrator adored her and often sat with her in the linen room, listening to her stories.


{{Quote|
{{Quote|
She had them on her nose, under her nose, round her nose, on her chin, on her cheeks; and her eyebrows, which were extraordinarily thick and long, and quite gray, bushy and bristling, looked exactly like a pair of mustaches...
She had, as far as I can remember the things which she told me and by which my childish heart was moved, the large heart of a poor woman. She told me what had happened in the village...
}}
}}


The narrator, as a child, was fond of Mother Clochette and enjoyed her company and stories.
=== The Tragic Discovery ===


{{Quote|
One Tuesday, after spending the morning listening to Mother Clochette's stories, the narrator went to pick hazelnuts with the manservant. Later, he returned to the linen room and found Mother Clochette lying on the ground, motionless. The narrator ran away, screaming, and soon learned that Mother Clochette had died.
I adored Mother Clochette. As soon as I was up I went into the linen- room where I found her installed at work, with a foot-warmer under her feet. As soon as I arrived, she made me take the foot-warmer and sit upon it...
 
{{Character
| Name = The Manservant
| Description = male, servant at the narrator's family house, accompanies the narrator to pick hazelnuts
| Emoji = 👨🏻‍🔧
}}
}}
== The Tragic Discovery ==
One Tuesday, after spending the morning listening to Mother Clochette's stories, the narrator found her lying dead on the floor of the linen room. The sight deeply affected the young boy.


{{Quote|
{{Quote|
Line 72: Line 74:
}}
}}


Later that evening, the narrator overheard a conversation between his parents and the doctor, who began to reveal the tragic story of Mother Clochette's past.
That evening, the narrator overheard a conversation between his parents and the doctor who had been called to attend to Mother Clochette's death.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = The Doctor
| Name = The Doctor
| Description = male, middle-aged or older, knowledgeable about Mother Clochette's past, compassionate, discreet
| Description = male, middle-aged or older, medical professional, knowledgeable about Clochette's past, compassionate
| Emoji = 👨🏼‍⚕️
| Emoji = 👨🏻‍⚕️
}}
}}


=== The Secret Past of Mother Clochette ===
=== The Doctor's Revelation ===
 
The doctor began to recount a story from Mother Clochette's past, which he had never shared before.
 
{{Quote|
'She was seventeen, and a pretty girl, very pretty! Would any one believe it? I have never told her story before, and nobody except myself and one other person who is no longer living in this part of the country ever knew it.'
}}


The doctor recounted how, many years ago, a young and pretty seventeen-year-old Hortense (later known as Mother Clochette) had fallen in love with a handsome assistant teacher named Sigisbert. They arranged a secret meeting in the hay-loft, but were discovered by the strict schoolmaster, old Grabu.
The doctor revealed that when Mother Clochette was young, she had fallen in love with a handsome assistant teacher named Sigisbert. They had arranged a secret meeting in the school's hay-loft, but were interrupted by the schoolmaster, old Grabu.


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Sigisbert
| Name = Sigisbert
| Description = young assistant teacher, handsome, well-built, cowardly, seduced young Hortense
| Description = young assistant-teacher, handsome, well-made, resembles a non-commissioned officer, cowardly
| Emoji = 👨🏼‍🏫
| Emoji = 👨🏻‍🏫
}}
}}


{{Character
{{Character
| Name = Old Grabu
| Name = Old Grabu
| Description = male, elderly, schoolmaster, strict, intimidating to his assistant
| Description = male, elderly, schoolmaster, strict, occasionally bad-tempered
| Emoji = 👴🏼
| Emoji = 👴🏻
}}
}}


In a moment of panic, Sigisbert hid, and Hortense, fearing discovery, jumped from the second-story window. The fall broke her leg in three places. The doctor, newly arrived in town, treated her injuries and kept her secret, inventing a story about a runaway carriage to explain her condition.
In a panic, Sigisbert hid Hortense (Mother Clochette's real name) and lied to the schoolmaster. When Grabu went to fetch a light, Sigisbert urged Hortense to hide better. In desperation, she jumped out of the second-story window, breaking her leg in three places.
 
The doctor found her and took her to his home. He fabricated a story about a runaway carriage to explain her injuries. Hortense never revealed the truth about what happened, protecting Sigisbert's reputation and career.
 
{{Quote|
'I am punished, well punished!'... That is all! And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to the race of those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history. That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin.
}}


The doctor concluded his story, praising Hortense's bravery and sacrifice.
The doctor concluded his story, deeply moved by Mother Clochette's sacrifice and nobility. The narrator's parents left the room, and the child remained hidden, sobbing in the armchair.


{{Quote|
{{Quote|
'I am punished, well punished!' ... That is all! And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to the race of those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history. That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin.
They were carrying away Clochette's body.
}}
}}


As the story ended, the narrator, still hidden, heard the sound of Mother Clochette's body being carried away, forever changed by the revelation of her tragic past.
The story ended with this poignant image, leaving a lasting impression of Mother Clochette's tragic life and heroic character.


{{End of text}}
{{End of text}}

Latest revision as of 14:29, 22 October 2024

Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI, so it may contain errors.
🧵
Clochette
Clochette · 1886
Summary of the Short Story
Microsummary: Child remembered old, lame seamstress. Found her dead. Doctor revealed past: affair with teacher, jumped from hayloft when caught. Became lame, kept secret. Child learned truth, cried as body removed.

Short Summary

France, late 19th century. The narrator recalled his childhood memories of Mother Clochette, an old seamstress who visited his family's country house weekly to mend linen.

👦🏻
The Narrator — narrator, man recalling childhood memories, around 10-12 years old at the time of the main events, curious and observant.

Mother Clochette was a peculiar-looking, hairy woman who limped and told fascinating stories. One day, the narrator found her dead in the linen room.

👵🏻
Mother Clochette (Hortense) — old seamstress, tall, thin, hairy woman with a beard, limping, wears a white cap, kind-hearted, storyteller, tragic past.

Later, the narrator overheard a doctor revealing Mother Clochette's tragic past. As a young woman named Hortense, she had a secret affair with an assistant teacher. When caught by the schoolmaster, she jumped from a hayloft to protect her lover.

'You will come and pick me up when he is gone,' and she jumped out... Old Grabu found nobody, and went down again in great surprise, and a quarter of an hour later, Monsieur Sigisbert came to me and related his adventure.

The fall broke her leg in three places, leaving her permanently lamed. The doctor admired her heroism and sacrifice, keeping her secret until her death. The story concluded with the narrator, still a child, sobbing in an armchair as Mother Clochette's body was carried away.

Detailed Summary

The division of the summary into chapters is conditional.

The Narrator's Childhood Memories

The story began with the narrator reflecting on the persistence of old memories.

How strange those old recollections are which haunt us, without our being able to get rid of them. This one is so very old that I cannot understand how it has clung so vividly and tenaciously to my memory.

The narrator recalled his childhood, when he was ten or twelve years old, living in a country house with his parents. Every Thursday, an old seamstress named Mother Clochette came to mend the linen.

Mother Clochette was described as a tall, thin woman with an unusual beard growing all over her face. She had a distinctive limp and wore a large white cap. The narrator adored her and often sat with her in the linen room, listening to her stories.

She had, as far as I can remember the things which she told me and by which my childish heart was moved, the large heart of a poor woman. She told me what had happened in the village...

The Tragic Discovery

One Tuesday, after spending the morning listening to Mother Clochette's stories, the narrator went to pick hazelnuts with the manservant. Later, he returned to the linen room and found Mother Clochette lying on the ground, motionless. The narrator ran away, screaming, and soon learned that Mother Clochette had died.

👨🏻‍🔧
The Manservant — male, servant at the narrator's family house, accompanies the narrator to pick hazelnuts.

I cannot describe the profound, poignant, terrible emotion which stirred my childish heart. I went slowly down into the drawing-room and hid myself in a dark corner, in the depths of an immense old armchair, where I knelt down and wept.

That evening, the narrator overheard a conversation between his parents and the doctor who had been called to attend to Mother Clochette's death.

👨🏻‍⚕️
The Doctor — male, middle-aged or older, medical professional, knowledgeable about Clochette's past, compassionate.

The Doctor's Revelation

The doctor began to recount a story from Mother Clochette's past, which he had never shared before.

'She was seventeen, and a pretty girl, very pretty! Would any one believe it? I have never told her story before, and nobody except myself and one other person who is no longer living in this part of the country ever knew it.'

The doctor revealed that when Mother Clochette was young, she had fallen in love with a handsome assistant teacher named Sigisbert. They had arranged a secret meeting in the school's hay-loft, but were interrupted by the schoolmaster, old Grabu.

👨🏻‍🏫
Sigisbert — young assistant-teacher, handsome, well-made, resembles a non-commissioned officer, cowardly.
👴🏻
Old Grabu — male, elderly, schoolmaster, strict, occasionally bad-tempered.

In a panic, Sigisbert hid Hortense (Mother Clochette's real name) and lied to the schoolmaster. When Grabu went to fetch a light, Sigisbert urged Hortense to hide better. In desperation, she jumped out of the second-story window, breaking her leg in three places.

The doctor found her and took her to his home. He fabricated a story about a runaway carriage to explain her injuries. Hortense never revealed the truth about what happened, protecting Sigisbert's reputation and career.

'I am punished, well punished!'... That is all! And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to the race of those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history. That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin.

The doctor concluded his story, deeply moved by Mother Clochette's sacrifice and nobility. The narrator's parents left the room, and the child remained hidden, sobbing in the armchair.

They were carrying away Clochette's body.

The story ended with this poignant image, leaving a lasting impression of Mother Clochette's tragic life and heroic character.