''La Grande Bretèche'' is a short story by

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 ...

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 ...

. It is one of the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' 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

Dr. Horace Bianchon discovers near the town of

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of th ...

an abandoned manor: La Grande Bretèche. Intrigued by the

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

, the doctor tries unsuccessfully to enter the house night after night. Upon returning to the inn where he is staying, he questions the locals about the house. Finally several locals, including a lawyer and the innkeeper, explain the story of the manor. Madame de Merret, the late owner of the manor, forbade anyone from entering the house upon her death, be it workmen, visitors, or government officials, for 50 years. The lawyer was given the task, as well as funds, to ensure that her dying wish be accomplished. Dr. Bianchon learned that Madame de Merret had a Spanish lover for a short period of her life. One day, Madame de Merret's husband returned early from a business trip when her lover was at the house. The lover hid himself in the closet, but the husband, hearing a sound, confronted his wife about the noise. Pressured by her suspicious husband, Madame de Merret swore upon a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

that there was no one in the closet, but threatened in turn to leave her husband if he were ever to open the closet out of suspicion. In response, Monsieur de Merret sent for a mason to wall up the closet, trapping the lover inside. Terrified, Madame de Merret passed along a message to the mason asking him to break a hole in the door when her husband was not looking before completely walling the closet off. The mason does that, and Madame de Merret catches a final glimpse of the maddened eyes of her lover through the hole. Once the closet was walled up completely, Madame and Monsieur de Merret stay in the bedroom for several days, listening to the muffled noise coming from the closet. Because of this traumatic experience, Madame de Merret declared her house off-limits upon her death.

Adaptations

* 1901 : ''The Duchess at Prayer'', by

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

, contained in her short story collection '' Crucial Instances''. * 1909 : '' La Grande Bretèche'', ''Film d'Art'', directed by

André Calmettes André Calmettes (1861–1942) was a French actor and film director. Biography After being a theatre actor for twenty years, he joined the society ', founded in 1908 by the novelist and editor, at the urging of the Sociétaires of the Comédie- ...

, with Véra Sergine,

, and Henri Pouctal, produced by

Pathé Frères Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

. * 1913 : '' Le Chateau de la Breteche'',

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, based on the story by Honoré de Balzac, by

Albert Dupuis Albert Dupuis (1 March 1877 – 19 September 1967) was a Belgian composer. Biography Albert Dupuis was born in Verviers on 1 March 1877. The son of a music teacher, Dupuis studied the finesses of the violin, the piano and the flute from the age ...

, published in 1913 by Eschig, Paris. * 1943 : ', film directed by

Pierre Blanchar Pierre Blanchar (; 30 June 1892 – 21 November 1963) was a French actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1922 and 1961. Blanchar was married to actress Marthe Vinot, with whom he had a daughter, actress Dominique Blanchar. He pl ...

, with

Micheline Presle Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922 – 21 February 2024) was a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting her career in 1937, she starred or appeared in over 150 films ...

. *1944 : ''The Niche of Doom'', episode of The Weird Circle radio show. * 1947 : ''La Grande Bretéche'',

by Avery Claflin, libretto by George R. Mills based on the story by Honoré de Balzac. The opera was recorded in 1956 and is commercially available for purchase. * 1973 : '' La Grande Bretèche'', episode of ''

Orson Welles' Great Mysteries ''Orson Welles Great Mysteries'' is a British television series originally transmitted between 1973 and 1974, produced by ITV Anglia, Anglia Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series is an anthology series, anthology of mys ...

'' directed by

Peter Sasdy Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in Budapest, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the Nigel Kneale-scripted '' The Stone Tape'' (1972), he directed several horror film ...

, with

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

, and

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

. * 1993 : ''The Mysterious Mansion'', radio play, first broadcast 7 October 1993 on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, adapted by Peter Mackie and directed by David Hunter, starring David Calder.

Bibliography

* Pierrick Brient, « L’amant muré, à propos de ''la Grande Bretèche'' de Balzac », ''Savoirs et Clinique n° 9'', Ramonville Ste Agne, Eres, 2008 . * Nicole Célestin, « ''La Grande Bretèche'' : Tradition orale, souvenirs livresques, cadre tourangeau », '' L'Année balzacienne'', Paris, Garnier, 1964, p. 197-203. * Lucienne Frappier-Mazur, « Lecture d’un texte illisible : '' Autre étude de femme'' et le modèle de la conversation », ''MLN'', May 1983, n° 98 (4), p. 712-27. * Henri Godin, « Le Cadran solaire de ''La Grande Bretèche'' », ''L’Année balzacienne'', Paris, Garnier Frères, 1967, p. 346-9. * Peter Lock, « Text Crypt », ''MLN'', May 1982, n° 97 (4), p. 872-89. * Chantal Massol-Bedoin, « Transfert d’écriture : le réemploi de ''La Grande Bretèche'' dans '' Autre étude de femme'' », ''Balzac, Œuvres complètes : Le Moment de La Comédie humaine'', Saint-Denis, PU de Vincennes, 1993 p. 203-16. * A.-W. Raitt, « Notes sur la genèse de ''La Grande Bretèche'' », ''L’Année balzacienne'', Paris, Garnier, 1964, p. 187-96. * Marie-Laure Ryan, « Narration, génération, transformation : ''La Grande Bretèche'' de Balzac », ''L’Esprit Créateur'', 1977, n° 17, p. 195-210. * Scott Sprenger, "Balzac's La Grande Breteche"

Originally published in Masterplots II: Short Story, Pasadena, Salem Press, 1996, 3313–15. * Mario Lavagetto, ''La macchina dell'errore. Storia di una lettura'', Torino, Einaudi, 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grande breteche, La 1831 short stories Short stories by Honoré de Balzac Books of La Comédie humaine French short stories adapted into films