''Une passion dans le désert'' ( English "A Passion in the Desert") is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in

1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...

and is one of the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' 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 told in the

first person First person or first-person may refer to: * First person (ethnic), indigenous peoples, usually used in the plural * First person, a grammatical person * First person, a gender-neutral, marital-neutral term for titles such as first lady and first ...

by an unnamed narrator. In the frame story, the narrator tells his companion, after attending a show in a menagerie, a story he heard from a former French soldier. The soldier had been captured during

Napoleon's Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

campaign in Egypt. He escaped from his captors with a horse, food and weapons. After the horse dies he finds refuge in a cave and manages to tame a panther with which he is somehow in love. He calls her "Mignonne", in memory of his former lover, and projects a number of feminine qualities on the beast. He sets off walking through the desert towards the Nile to be rescued, and is followed by the panther. He stabs the animal to death when he mistakenly thinks she is attacking him. He is rescued by soldiers who find him in tears. The story finishes with the soldier telling the narrator of his regrets and of his experience of the desert.

Adaptation

The story was the basis for an American film version in 1997, called '' Passion in the Desert''.

Themes

Balzac had planned to write a number of stories in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of ''La Comedie Humaine'', but ''Une passion dans le désert'' was one of only two that were completed, the other being ''

Les Chouans ''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...

''. However a number of works from other parts of ''La Comedie Humaine'' such as ''

Le Médecin de campagne ''Le Médecin de campagne'' (''The Country Doctor'') is an 1833 novel by Honoré de Balzac. The second in his ''Scène de la vie de campagne'' series, it addresses the author's preoccupations with social organisation, political power and religion ...

'', '' Adieu'', ''

El Verdugo ''The Executioner'' ( es, El Verdugo) is a 1963 Spanish black comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. It was filmed in black and white, and is widely considered a classic of Spanish cinema. The film won several awards, both in Spain and i ...

'' and others depict military scenes from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

References

External links

"A Passion in the Desert", translation (by Ernest Dowson) at Project Gutenberg (full text)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passion Dans Le Désert 1830 short stories French short stories Books of La Comédie humaine Short stories by Honoré de Balzac Short stories adapted into films