"Martin Paz" is a long short story (

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

) by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

, written in 1851. It appeared in the ''

Musée des familles ''Musée des familles'' (''"Museum of Families"'') was an illustrated French literary magazine that was published in Paris from 1833 to 1900. It was founded by Émile de Girardin. Contributors of the magazine included Alexandre Dumas, Théophile ...

'' from July 10 through August 11, 1852. The text was later revised and enlarged for publication in book form.

Plot

The story is set in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

. A Jewish businessman named Samuel has promised to give his daughter Sarah as a wife to the rich

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

, André Certa. But Sarah - who is very attracted to the Catholic religion - is in love with the young Indian chief Martin Paz. Following a

knife fight A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants is armed with a knife.MacYoung, Marc, ''Winning A Street Knife Fight'', (Digital format, 70 min.), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, (J ...

at Samuel's house, in which Certa is hurt, Paz has to flee. He jumps in a raging river and everyone believes him dead, but he finds refuge with the Spanish nobleman Don Végal who takes a liking to him and places him under his protection. Later, Paz secretly encounters Certa with Samuel and, listening in on their conversation, he learns that Sarah is not Samuel's daughter but, rather, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman that Samuel rescued following a shipwreck. Before the wedding can take place, an Indian rebellion begins. The rebels attack Samuel's home, killing him, and Paz is able to escape with Sarah to Végal's house. Once there, Végal discovers that Sarah is his daughter, who he thought was dead. Certa attempts to get his revenge. Paz and Végal get away, but the Indians kidnap Sarah. Végal and Paz set off in pursuit, and discover that the Indians have condemned Sarah to death for taking Paz away from his tribal duties. She is to be executed by going over a waterfall while tied to a canoe. Paz arrives just in time, but he is unable to save her and they die together.

Themes

Among the subjects covered are

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

(see also: ''

Off on a Comet ''Off on a Comet'' (french: Hector Servadac) is an 1877 science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne. Plot The story starts with a comet called Gallia, that touches the Earth in its flight and collects a few small chunks of it. The disas ...

''), the struggle for independence,

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

and the role of aristocracy in public affairs.

English edition

* ''Survivors of the Chancellor and Martin Paz'', James R. Osgood, Boston, 1876. Translated by Ellen Frewer
Text
@ Google Books
Martin Paz
@

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

External links

Full text of revised version
@ French Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin Paz Short stories by Jules Verne Works originally published in Musée des familles 1852 short stories