The Apparition by Guy de Maupassant

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""I was wounded at that remark and told him so somewhat sharply."

What do we owe others, especially our friends from long ago? Whether the willingness to help comes from kindness, sympathy, or obligation, the impact of the decision to assist can have a lifelong impact. In this Guy de Maupassant tale, narrator Rae Wilson invites us to explore that very question.

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What is Echoes in the Dark with Rae Wilson?

In the oral tradition of storytelling, Echoes in the Dark, delivers classic works of gothic fiction weekly. Hosted and curated by Ms. Rae (an award-winning educator, actor, and literary analyst) the collection of stories spans popular works by authors like Edgar Allan Poe  as well as lesser known works by authors such as Guy de Maupassant. Each story is followed by a literary analysis. 

If you’re looking to enjoy more classic literature, struggle to find the time to read, hate reading, or just love listening to stories, then this podcast is for you. 

A Note on Content: While these stories are generally appropriate for listeners aged 12 and up, classic Gothic literature frequently explores themes of murder, romantic affairs, and "tortured souls." Stories are performed exactly as written in their original historical context. 

If you are looking to learn more ways to boost your literary analysis visit:

Speaker: [00:00-00:36]
Welcome to
Echoes in the Dark, a podcast
dedicated to the oral tradition of
storytelling. If you're looking to
enjoy more classic literature,
struggle to find the time to read,
hate reading, or just love listening
to stories, then this podcast is for
you. At the end of each story, I'll
share my analysis on the story's
deeper meanings. La Apparition, The
Apparition, by Guy de Maupassant, is
a short story that was originally
published in the French newspaper Le
Galois.
[00:36-01:05]
Monsieur
Maupassant wrote some three hundred
contes or short stories. The entire
story is told in first-person
subjective. Heads up, there are some
accents in this one, and You may
want to listen closely. It
definitely was not the easiest for
me to honor all the requirements for
this piece, but I certainly had fun
doing it.
[01:05-01:31]
And
actually, in our bonus episode, I'll
be discussing some of the
difficulties and joys of doing
accents in stories like Luella
Miller and like La Apparition. So if
you want to follow along, read with
me, you can get a copy on my
website,
betteressaywriting.com.
[01:32-02:19]
La
Apparition, The Apparition by Guy de
Maupassant. The subject of
sequestration of the person came up
in speaking of a recent lawsuit, and
each of us had a story to tell. A
true story, he said. We had been
spending the evening together at an
old family mansion in the Rue de
Grenelle, just a party of intimate
friends. The old Marquis de la Tour
Samuel, who was 82, rose and,
leaning his elbow on the
mantelpiece, said in his somewhat
shaky voice, I've also known of
something strange, so strange that
it has haunted me all my
life.
[02:19-02:53]
It is now 56
years since the incident occurred,
and yet not a month passes that I do
not see it again in a dream. So
great is the impression of fear it
has left on my mind. For ten minutes
I experienced such horrible fright
that ever since then a sort of
constant terror has remained with
me. Sudden noises startle me
violently, and objects imperfectly
distinguished at night inspire me
with a mad desire to flee from
them.
[02:53-03:21]
In short, I am
afraid of the dark. I would not have
acknowledged that before I reach my
present age. Now I can say anything.
I have never receded before real
danger, ladies. It is, therefore,
permissible at 82 years of age not
to be brave in presence of imaginary
danger.
[03:21-03:48]
That affair
so completely upset me, caused me
such deep and mysterious and
terrible distress that I never spoke
of it to anyone. I will now tell it
to you exactly as it happened,
without any attempt at explanation.
On July, I was stationed at
ruin.
[03:48-04:11]
One day, I was
walking along the quay. I met a man
whom I thought I recognized without
being able to recall exactly who he
was. Instinctively, I made a
movement to stop. The stranger
perceived it and at once extended
his hand. He was a friend to whom I
had been deeply attached at a
youth.
[04:11-05:24]
For 5 years I
had not seen him. He seemed to have
aged half a century. His hair was
quite white and he walked bent over
as though completely exhausted. He
apparently understood my surprise
and he told me of his misfortune
which had shattered his life. having
fallen madly in love with a young
girl he had married her but after a
year of more than earthly happiness
she died suddenly of an infection of
the heart he left his country home
on the very day of her burial and
came to this town house in ruin
where he lived alone and unhappy so
sad and wretched that he thought
constantly of suicide since i have
found you again in this manner he
said i will ask you to render me an
important service It is to go and
get me out of the desk in my
bedroom, our bedroom, some papers of
which I have urgent
need.
[05:24-05:49]
I cannot send
a servant or a business clerk as
discretion and absolute silence are
necessary. As for myself, nothing on
earth would induce me to re-enter
that house. I will give you the key
of the room, which I myself locked
on leaving, and the key of my
desk.
[05:49-06:20]
Also a few
words from my gardener telling him
to open the chateau for you. But
come and breakfast with me tomorrow,
and we'll arrange all that. I
promised to do him the slight favor
he asked. It was, for that matter,
only a ride which I could make in an
hour on horseback, his property
being only a few miles distant from
Rouen. At ten o'clock the following
day, I breakfasted tête-à-tête with
my friend, but he scarcely
spoke.
[06:20-06:39]
He begged me
to pardon him. The thought of the
visit I was about to make to that
room, the scene of his dead
happiness, overcame him. He indeed
seemed singularly agitated and
preoccupied, as though undergoing
some mysterious mental
struggle.
[06:40-06:57]
Alain, he
explained to me exactly what I had
to do. It was very simple. I must
take 2 packages of letters and a
roll of papers from the first
right-hand drawer of the disk, of
which I had the key, he
added.
[06:57-07:17]
I need not
beg you to refrain from glancing at
him. I was wounded at the remark and
told him so somewhat sharply. He
stammered, forgive me, I suffer so,
and tears came to his eyes. At about
one o'clock, I took leave of him to
accomplish my
mission.
[07:17-07:55]
The weather
was glorious and I trotted across
the fields, listening to the song of
the larks and the rhythmical clang
of my sword against my boot. then i
entered the forest and walked my
horse branches of trees caressed my
face as i passed and now and then i
caught a leaf with my teeth adjuded
from sheer gladness of heart at
being alive and vigorous on such a
radiant day As I approached the
chateau, I took from my pocket the
letter I had for the gardener and
was astonished at finding it
sealed.
[07:55-08:15]
I was so
irritated that I was about to turn
back without having fulfilled my
promise, but reflected that I should
thereby display undue
susceptibility. My friend, in his
troubled condition, might easily
have fastened the envelope without
noticing that he did
so.
[08:16-08:53]
the manor looked
as if it had been abandoned for 20
years the open gate was falling from
its hinges the walks were overgrown
with grass and flower-beds were no
longer distinguishable the noise i
made by kicking out a shutter
brought an old man from a side door
he seemed stunned with astonishment
at seeing me on receiving my letter
he read it re-read it turned it over
and over looked me up and down put
the paper in his pocket and finally
said Well, what is it you
wish?
[08:54-09:11]
I replied
shortly. You ought to know since you
have just read your master's orders,
I wish to enter the chateau. He
seemed overcome. Then you were going
into her room? I began to lose my
patience.
[09:11-09:30]
Damn it!
Are you presuming to question me? He
stammered in confusion. No, no, sir,
but it has not been open since the
death. If you will be kind enough to
wait 5 minutes, I will go and see
it. I interrupted him
angrily.
[09:31-09:52]
See here.
What do you mean by your tricks? You
know very well you cannot enter the
room since here is Vicky. He no
longer objected. Then, sir, I will
show you the way. Show me the
staircase and leave me. I'll find my
way without
you.
[09:52-10:15]
But, sir,
indeed, this time I lost my patience
and, pushing him aside, went into
the house. I first went to the
kitchen, then 2 rooms occupied by
this man and his wife. I then
crossed the large hall, mounted a
staircase, and recognized the door
described by my friend. I easily
opened it and entered the
apartment.
[10:15-10:50]
It was so
dark that at first I could
distinguish nothing. I stopped
short, disagreeably affected by the
visit. pillows, on one of which was
a deep impression as though an elbow
or a head had recently rested
there.
[10:50-11:05]
The chairs
all seemed out of place. I noticed
that the door, doubtless that of a
closet, had remained half open. I
first went to the window, which I
opened to let in the
light.
[11:05-11:38]
but the
fastenings of the shutters had grown
so rusty that i could not move them
i even tried to break them with my
sword but without success As I was
growing irritated over my useless
efforts and could now see fairly
well in the semi-darkness, I gave up
the hope of getting more light and
went over to the writing desk. I
seated myself in an armchair and,
letting down the lid of the desk, I
opened the drawer
designated.
[11:38-12:08]
It was
full to the top. I needed but 3
packages, which I knew how to
recognize, and began searching for
them. I was straining my eyes in the
effort to read the superscriptions
when I seemed to hear, or rather
feel, something rustle back of me. I
paid no attention, believing that a
drought from the window was moving
some drapery.
[12:08-12:41]
But in
a minute, oh, so another movement.
Almost imperceptible, sent a
strangely disagreeable little shiver
over my skin. It was so stupid to be
affected, even slightly. That
self-respect prevented my turning
around. I had just found the second
package I needed and was about to
lay my hand on the third when a long
and painful sigh uttered just
that.
[12:41-13:11]
My shoulder
made me bound like a madman from my
seat and land several feet off. as i
jumped i had turned round my head on
the hilt of my sword and truly if i
had not felt it at my side i should
have taken to my heels like a coward
A tall woman, dressed in white,
stood gazing at me from the back of
the chair where I had been sitting
at an instant
before.
[13:11-13:38]
Such a
shudder ran through all my limbs
that I nearly fell backwards. No one
who has not experienced it can
understand that frightful,
unreasoning terror. The mind becomes
vague. The heart ceases to beat. The
entire body grows as limp as a
sponge.
[13:38-14:03]
I do not
believe in ghosts. Nevertheless, I
collapsed from a hideous dread of
the dead. And I suffered so. Oh! I
suffered in a few moments where,
then in all the rest of my life,
from the irresistibility of the
supernatural, if she had not spoken,
I should have died, perhaps. But she
spoke.
[14:03-14:32]
She spoke in
a sweet, sad voice that set my
nerves vibrating. I dare not say
that I became master of myself and
recovered my reason, no. I was
terrified and scarcely knew what I
was doing. But a certain innate
pride, a remnant of soldierly
instinct, made me, almost in spite
of myself, maintain a bold front,
she said.
[14:32-14:50]
Oh, sir,
you can run down me a great service.
I wanted to reply, but it was
impossible for me to pronounce a
word. Only a vague sound came from
my throat. She continued. Will
you?
[14:50-15:05]
You can save
me. Cure me. I suffer frightfully. I
suffer. Oh, how I suffer. And she
slowly seated herself in my
armchair, still looking at
me.
[15:05-15:51]
will you she
said i nodded innocent my voice
still being paralyzed then she held
out to me a tortoise shell comb in
murmur comb my hair oh comb my hair
that will kill me it must be combed
look at my hair how i have suffered
and my hair pulled so her hair
unbound very long and very black it
seemed to me hung over the back of
your chair and touched the floor Why
did I promise?
[15:51-16:13]
Why
did I take that comb with a shudder?
And why did I hold it in my hand?
Her long black hair that gave my
skin a frightful cold sensation as
though I was handling snakes. I
cannot tell. That sensation has
remained in my fingers and I still
tremble in recalling
it.
[16:14-16:37]
I combed her
hair. I handled. I know not how
those icy locks. twisted, knotted,
and unknotted and braided them. She
sighed, bowed her head, seemed
happy. Suddenly she said, Thank
you.
[16:38-17:02]
Snatched the
comb from my hands and fled by the
door that I had noticed her job.
Left alone, I experienced for
several seconds the horrible
agitation of one who awakens from a
nightmare. At length, I regained my
senses. I ran to the window and with
a mighty effort burst open the
shutter, letting a flood of light
into the room.
[17:02-17:37]
it
immediately i sprang to the door by
which that being had come i found it
closed and immovable The mad desire
to flee overcame me like a panic,
the panic which soldiers know in
battle. I seized the 3 packets of
letters on the open desk, ran from
the room dash down the stairs 4
steps at a time, found myself
outside, I know not how, and
perceiving my horse a few steps off,
leaped into the saddle and galloped
away.
[17:37-18:39]
i stopped only
when i reached rouen and alighted at
my lodgings throwing my reins to my
orderly i fled to my room and shut
myself in to reflect for an hour i
anxiously asked myself if i were not
the victim of a hallucination
undoubtedly i had had one of those
incomprehensible nervous attacks
those exaltations of mind that give
rise to visions and are the
stronghold of the supernatural and i
was about to believe i had seen a
vision had a hallucination when as i
approached the window my eyes fell
by a champ upon my breast my
military cape was covered with long
black hairs one by one with
trembling fingers i plucked them off
and threw them away I then called my
orderly.
[18:39-19:03]
I was too
disturbed, too upset to go and see
my friend that day, and I also
wished to reflect more fully upon
what I ought to tell him. I sent him
his letters, for which he gave the
soldier a receipt. He asked after me
most particularly, and on being told
I was ill, had had a son strong,
appeared exceedingly
anxious.
[19:03-19:40]
next
morning i went to him determined to
tell him the truth he had gone out
the evening before and had not yet
returned i called again during the
day my friend was still absent after
waiting a week longer without news
of him i notified the authorities
and a judicious search was
instituted not the slightest trace
of his whereabouts or manner of
disappearance was discovered A
minute of inspection of the
abandoned chateau revealed nothing
of a suspicious
nature.
[19:40-20:15]
clapped. A
minute's inspection of the abandoned
chanteur revealed nothing of a
suspicious character. There was no
indication that a woman had been
concealed there. After fruitless
researches, all further efforts were
abandoned, and for 46 years I have
heard of it. I know no more than So
that was The Apparition by Guy de
Maupassant.
[20:15-20:46]
He wrote
over three hundred short stories and
lived in France. Now this author-
this is the second story that I've
explored- by him. I was originally
going to record The Hand and And I,
just while it was all very
interesting, I felt like, well, that
was an unsatisfying ending, I
guess.
[20:46-21:14]
And so the
apparition intrigued me And I gotta
say I still have that feeling of
well, that was an unsatisfying
ending. Okay, so one thing about
Warcraft, French works of art. I'm
specifically thinking of French
cinema.
[21:14-21:49]
I have found
that a lot of French films, they
will tell these great stories and
then they just end. In American
films you get some sort of
resolution. Maybe there's a happy
ending, Maybe there's not a happy
ending, But things generally finish,
Even if you're looking at some movie
that there's going to be 3 other
installments- we can look at Peter
Jackson's, Lord of the Rings- to
learn about that trend of wait a
minute.
[21:50-22:26]
let's think
ahead and record, you know, all 3
movies pretty much at the same time.
let's just record them all, because
we know we're going to have movie
two and movie three, and this is
still very popular in the industry
today where, um, instead of putting
out one movie, seeing how it
responds and then telling the
writers: go make magic, write
something for movie two and movie 3,
a lot of times everything is kind of
filmed at once, which financially is
a big risk.
[22:27-22:49]
however,
you are making sure that your actors
stay the same age, the story is
fresh in the minds of everyone, and
so um for the whole production team,
you don't have to like, leave
character and then come back in. so
there is this advantage to filming
in that way.
[22:49-23:17]
but
even in those films, things are cut,
designed, edited to give you some
sort of ending, some sort of
conclusion, and And I just feel like
Monsieur Maupassant kind of shies
away from giving us any kind of
conclusion. I mean I really like
that.
[23:17-23:41]
the soldier is
careful when telling his story in
the sense that he's like: look, i
did, i have been in war, i am not a
coward, but there's some things that
are just creepy. and uh, look at me,
i mean at my age i just don't care
anymore, I just don't care,
right.
[23:41-24:00]
You can think
whatever you want, I'm not worried
about it. And I will say that that
sentiment is very true. today. A lot
of people of various cultures feel
that once you reach a certain age,
you just don't care what people
think. You don't care about putting
on airs And you're just like
whatever. You could think I'm a
coward, but you weren't
there.
[24:00-24:21]
You know,
shut up. Okay. so I really liked the
portrayal of the soldier. I thought
he was great, But in terms of the
way the story ends, okay. so my
friend learned that I was sick and
then my friend
disappears.
[24:21-24:54]
And then
I told the police: go look for my
friend And they can't find him. They
can't find any evidence that there
was ever a woman there. I just felt
like the end was very rushed. I
would be fine. if you know, the
friend disappears. We don't learn
that the friend died or that the
wife never died or something That
the house never existed. We don't
get any of those kinds of
conclusions that you often see in
American
literature.
[24:54-25:16]
But I
feel like it was literally wrapped
up in 2 or 3 sentences. I went to go
see my friend but couldn't find him.
So then I told the police they
couldn't find him and they searched.
But you know, no word, That's it
What?
[25:16-25:37]
And there's
this line which I felt like you just
missed an opportunity to give us
more information. A minute
inspection, Minute or minute, but I
think it's going to be minute A
minute. inspection of the abandoned
chateau revealed nothing of a
suspicious
character.
[25:37-26:04]
There was
no indication that a woman had been
concealed there. OK, so you went to
the police and said: my friend
disappeared. And did you also say:
and there was this woman with long
black hair that lived there? Did the
caretaker of the property, that
gardener, did he ever acknowledge
meeting you?
[26:05-26:31]
Did he
acknowledge seeing his master? I
just feel like there was a missed
opportunity to say a little more
here. So that's me, That's my
thoughts. After fruitless
researches, all further efforts were
abandoned. Okay, so I'm curious
about these fruitless
researchers.
[26:31-26:56]
Okay,
so the police looked around. How
long did the police look around?
What were they looking for? Were
they looking for your friend? Were
they looking for your friend's wife?
I'm assuming they were looking for
your friend. In that regard, Didn't
the friend have like a servant of
some sort?
[26:56-27:19]
So What
became of that guy? Was that guy
just like oops out of a job? I don't
know. Yeah, Okay, So yeah, What are
we going to learn from this? Well,
we learned that I'm picky about my
endings, But that's probably not
what we learned the
most.
[27:19-27:44]
Okay, So I'm
going to say with this story, if we
have to dive deep, I mean one thing
is: Be careful of letting your
emotions guide you to help those you
don't know. Okay, so you might be
like what. Hear me
out.
[27:44-28:11]
The narrator
goes to what's this guy's name? Let
me see his name. Okay, so all the
the Marquis de la Tour, Samuel.
okay, The Marquis he sees, an old
friend in the street barely
recognizes the dude, And this guy's
just like: hey, can you do me a
favor?
[28:11-28:29]
Now, that to
me is just a little strange. i
haven't seen you in years and all of
a sudden you're asking me a favor,
but i get it. it's like: oh well,
sure, no big deal, it's not gonna be
much out of my way, it's not far. i
could do you this favor. um, and you
don't look so great anyway. so i
guess i'll help you
out.
[28:29-28:44]
I don't know. I
don't know, though, I mean how
often- Maybe it is often- I'm just
trying to think of myself. If I were
in that time period, would I be
quick to help someone that I had not
seen in forever and who was just
like: yeah, can you go into the town
and get something for
me.
[28:45-29:17]
Hee, hee, hee,
There's a key, um, and i can tell
you anything about it. and i like
the insult, though, like he, he told
me not to read the letters. i was
insulted and i told him strongly,
like. i feel like that's very
french, how dare you? okay? So he
agrees to help his friend he hasn't
seen in forever, And then he agrees
to help this ghost woman that he
doesn't even
know.
[29:17-29:37]
And what's her
issue? She's like: oh my hair. Can
you comb it Because my head hurts,
which i'm a little puzzled by. i
mean, okay, i'm thinking french
fashion, and i just was waiting for
some kind of tie-in to how she died.
maybe that would have been really
nice.
[29:38-29:58]
but no, was
there gonna be a gaping wound? did
her head fall off? um, but she just
wanted somebody to do her hair. And
I'm thinking the gardener and his
wife live there, Did they not know
about? Well, I guess the guy locked
up the room right after the
funeral.
[29:58-30:23]
But so
maybe he locked up the room right
after the funeral, knowing that his
dead wife's apparition was there.
Did she come out? She's like honey.
can you do my hair? He's like: oh,
my goodness, No, I'm out of here,
And so he runs and locks the door.
But then why would the gardener and
his be so apprehensive about this
room?
[30:23-30:51]
Like, did the
gardener hear noises? Did he ever
hear like crying My hair, it's so
tangled. I don't know. I feel like
it's I would have liked some more.
And the wife, the gardener's not
even there alone, so We never hear
or see from her. I think that does
us a bit of a disservice as the
reader. We are a fly on the wall
here.
[30:51-31:09]
But yeah, so
he agrees to help her. And he
regrets it. He's like, oh, that was
gross. Ew, her hair's on me. Oh,
this feels so
creepy.
[31:09-32:11]
I am very
impressed that this soldier knew how
to braid hair, by the way, because
he says that he twisted and nodded
and nodded and prayed it and i was
like oh okay so dude were you ever
married okay so he's what 82 when
he's telling the story and for 56
years doing some math and then we're
gonna have okay so what he was in
his mid-twenties when he um came to
have this incident and he never
married was he so like distraught by
all this that he never married or
did he marry and you know his family
is long gone or something and Oh,
yeah, that's a little it's a little
interesting.
[32:11-32:39]
I mean,
he's a Marquis. He would think that
he would have married at some point
and possibly had children. And so
maybe he did. Maybe he married.
Maybe he had children. But then
going back to it, well, how did he
know how to braid hair? How did he
know how to braid hair if he would
have spent a good portion of his
early youth as a
soldier?
[32:39-33:05]
Hmm.
Interesting. Interesting. He would
have, I would think that society
would dictate he would have had to
have been married of some sorts,
when he came upon this dead lady.
Because otherwise it does not make
sense that this man knew how to comb
hair, braid
hair.
[33:05-33:22]
But then he
goes back to his quarters, his
bachelor quarters, where he's
picking off hair from himself. So is
he Yeah. He was stationed in
Rouen.
[33:22-33:45]
Okay, so he
was stationed there. So he's still
in the army. He's still a soldier.
Um And his friend got married
earlier. There's just really no
indication that this guy has a wife
waiting for him
somewhere.
[33:46-34:32]
think
it's a little weird that he knew how
to braid hair. Just saying that.
Okay. So, yeah. I'm careful. Careful
who you help. I do love that he is
also insulted that the gardener,
this gardener, dare to ask me
questions i thought that was pretty
funny um you read the letter you
ought to know since you have just
read your master's orders like i
thought that was pretty funny i'm
like oh okay this guy is he's got
he's got some fire in him he is he
is funny he is funny and uh sassy
eye sassy pants mr sassy pants But
yeah, that's all I got on
this.
[34:33-34:51]
I just don't
feel like there's much else to be
learned from this story. It's a
little spooky. Oh, who's our author?
Yeah, Monsieur
Maupassant.
[34:51-35:10]
He
actually did spend some time as a
soldier before he became a writer.
So I think his strong telling of the
personality of the soldier is very
much informed by his own background.
Yeah. So I hope you like this
story.
[35:10-35:37]
I I think
that the buildup was really strong
for me. The ending was just felt a
bit rushed and anticlimactic. But
it's also a nice little reminder
that writing is not easy. And I can
see I can definitely see someone
being stressed to reach a deadline
or just really wanted to stay true
to a certain
idea.
[35:37-36:02]
And so once
they express the idea, they're like,
OK, that was it. I don't know. I
don't owe you anymore. Mic drop. I'm
out of here. And yeah, careful of
who you help because you may live to
regret it. And our narrator, the
Marquis, definitely does live. He
lives a long time, but he has spent
the rest of his life regretting
it.
[36:02-36:19]
Interesting.
Interesting. And yeah, hooray for
old age, because when you're old,
you can just say whatever you want
and not care about what people
think. I hope you enjoyed this story
and do come back for another Gothic
Tale.