''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

"The Conscript" or "The Recruit") is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto establ ...

and is one of the ''Études philosophiques'' of ''

La Comédie humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

''.

Plot summary

The story is set in 1793 in

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

, in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. A local aristocrat, Madame de Dey lives at her estate at Carentan to ensure that it is not confiscated by the government. Her son is taking part in a Royalist uprising. She refuses visitors for two days, and buys a hare at the market. This arouses suspicions that she is either sheltering a Royalist priest or hiding a lover. When visited by a local merchant, she admits that she has received a letter from her son. He has written that he was captured during a failed attack on Granville, but that he will escape, and take shelter with her. He mentions a three-day period during which he should be expected. She holds a social gathering at her home on the third night that her son is expected to arrive. She acts calmly, and all but the local prosecutor leave early. The prosecutor warns that he will have her house searched the next day. He hints that he might save her. He politely leaves when there is a knock on the door. In the meantime, a group of conscripts is expected at the city, and one reports to a local official. He is billeted to stay at Madame de Dey's home. The visitor who has knocked at Madame de Dey's door is taken to her son's room. She greets him, and is shocked to discover that it is not her son, but a Parisian conscript who has been billeted to her home. She dies that night, and on the same night her son is shot in

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastli ...

Historical background

The story is set during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. The main character's son is involved in the Vendéen Royalist Uprising. The story takes place in November 1793, shortly after a failed Royalist attack on Granville.Sylvia Raphael, Note from translation of ''The Conscript'', ''Selected Short Stories''

Bibliography

* Raphael, Sylvia. "Introduction". ''Honoré de Balzac: Selected Short Stories''. Penguin Classics, 1977.

References

External links

"The Recruit", translation (by Katharine Prescott Wormeley) at Project Gutenberg (full text)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Requisitionnaire, Le 1831 short stories French short stories Books of La Comédie humaine Short stories by Honoré de Balzac