''Jésus-Christ en Flandre'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

"Christ in Flanders") is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

. 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 estab ...

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

La Comédie humaine (; English: ''The Human Comedy'') is Honoré de Balzac's 1829–48 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48). ''La Com� ...

''.

Plot summary

The story is told in the first person by an unnamed narrator. In the first half he tells the story of a miracle that occurred in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

at some unspecified time in the past. A small boat is about to make a voyage from the island of Cadzand to

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. The wealthy passengers sit in the stern, and the poorer ones at the front. The crew are rowing in the middle. At the last minute a stranger boards the boat. The rich passengers will not make room for him so he has to sit with the poorer passengers. It then sets off to Ostend. During the journey, there is a storm, and the boat is soon in danger. The stranger gives a message of reassurance to the poorer passengers, whilst the wealthier passengers view him with disdain or skepticism. The boat capsizes a short distance from Ostend. The stranger walks on the water to the shore, and poorer passengers walk with him to safety at a house on shore. The wealthy passengers drown. The stranger then goes back to the water to rescue the boat's captain and takes him back to the house. It is realised afterwards that the stranger was Jesus Christ. A convent was built on the spot of the miracle. In the second half of the story, the narrator visits the convent's church in Flanders in 1830 just after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

. When he is there he has a vision of meeting an old woman in the church. He follows her to her home, and there she briefly transforms into a young woman who shows him a vision of churches. He then is woken up by an attendant in the convent church and realises he was dreaming. The narrator sees the dream as a message to defend the church.

References

External links

"Christ in Flanders", translation (by Ellen Marriage) at Project Gutenberg (full text)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jésus-Christ en Flandre 1831 short stories French short stories Books of La Comédie humaine Short stories by Honoré de Balzac