The Accursed Bread (Maupassant)
Old Taille, a widower and foreman in a button factory, had three daughters: Anna, Rose, and Clara. Anna had run away with a man named Monsieur Dubois, a judge of the Tribunal of Commerce, and was living a comfortable life with him.
But one morning, just as the old man was going home to breakfast with his two daughters, the door opened suddenly and Anna appeared.
But one morning, just as the old man was going home to breakfast with his two daughters, the door opened suddenly and Anna appeared.
Then when he was told by various people that she was keeping very steady and investing money in government securities, that she was no gadabout, but was kept by a Monsieur Dubois, who was a judge of the Tribunal of Commerce, the father was appeased.
Then when he was told by various people that she was keeping very steady and investing money in government securities, that she was no gadabout, but was kept by a Monsieur Dubois, who was a judge of the Tribunal of Commerce, the father was appeased.
When Rose became engaged to Philip Touchard, the son of a wealthy cooper, the family planned a grand wedding dinner at a restaurant in Sainte-Adresse.
However, Anna returned home and insisted that the wedding dinner should be held at her house, which was well-furnished and filled with expensive items. The Touchards agreed, and the wedding party gathered at Anna's house for the celebration. Among the guests were M. Sauvetanin, a philosophical cousin, and Mme. Lamondois, an old aunt.
During the wedding feast, Philip was asked to sing a song. He chose "The Accursed Bread," a song about the virtues of hard work and the evils of vice. The guests applauded the first two verses, but the third verse, which warned against the "bread of dishonor" and leaving one's family for a life of luxury, struck a nerve with Anna. She became visibly upset, and the atmosphere at the table grew tense.
Le pain du déshonneur se pétrit dans les larmes. Chers enfants, gardez-vous de toucher ce pain-là.
To lighten the mood, Anna ordered champagne to be served. The guests' spirits lifted, and they resumed singing the refrain of the song, seemingly oblivious to the earlier discomfort.