Short Fiction · Chapter
Boitelle explained
Antoine Boitelle, a scavenger who blames his parents for thwarting his youthful ambitions, recounts how he fell in love with a Black waitress while serving in the military.
What happens
Antoine Boitelle, a scavenger who blames his parents for thwarting his youthful ambitions, recounts how he fell in love with a Black waitress while serving in the military. He brings her home to meet his parents, who are shocked by her skin color. Despite her virtues and a small dowry, the parents ultimately reject her, and Boitelle, respecting their wishes, abandons the marriage, a decision he later regrets as the cause of his lowly life.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when Leuillet receives news of Souris’s sudden death and experienc…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Obsession and Delusion
Boitelle's infatuation with the Negress and his later conviction that his parents' opposition ruined his life illustrate a delusional fixation on a lost love.
- Social Class and Money
The story contrasts Boitelle's lowly scavenger work with the Negress's small dowry, and the parents' concern over her race overrides practical considerations of thrift and cleanliness.
- Cruelty and Suffering
The parents' rejection of the Negress based solely on her skin color, and Boitelle's subsequent lifelong regret, highlight the cruelty of social prejudice.
Characters to notice
- Boitelle
The protagonist, a scavenger who blames his parents for opposing his marriage to a Black woman, which he believes led to his miserable life.
- Old Amable
Boitelle's father, who is initially hesitant and ultimately rejects the idea of his son marrying a Black woman.
- Mother Magloire
Boitelle's mother, who is shocked by the Negress's appearance and voices concerns about her suitability.
Key passages
“If I am a scavenger, it is because my parents were opposed to my inclinations. Otherwise I would have been a workman like the others.”
Boitelle believes his parents' opposition to his marriage forced him into a life of menial labor.
This quote encapsulates the story's central theme of thwarted love and its consequences.
“She is black but not black enough to be repulsive. The curé’s cassock is black enough but it is no uglier than a white surplice.”
Boitelle tries to downplay his fiancée's skin color by comparing it to a priest's black cassock.
This shows Boitelle's attempt to rationalize his parents' prejudice.
