The Desire to Be a Man (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Auguste Villiers del’Isle-Adam
- First Published: 1883
- Type of Plot: Horror
- Time of Work: Fall, 1871
- Setting: Paris and the Brittany coast of France
- Principal Characters: Esprit Chaudval
- Genres: Short fiction, Horror literature
- Subjects: Acting or actors, France or French people, Nineteenth century, Ghosts or apparitions, Paris, Emotions, Theater, Disasters, Fire, Retirement, Aging
- Locales: Paris, France, Brittany, France
The Story
It is midnight in Paris's Grand Boulevard district on a windy Sunday in October, 1871. Because the city is still under martial law, the cafés and restaurants of that quarter are bustling to meet the curfew, ushering out their few remaining patrons and preparing to close their doors. The menacing gaze of two police officers encourages their haste. The surrounding streets are rapidly emptying of coaches and pedestrians for the same reason. Into this scene of hasty departures, there wanders a tall, sad-faced arrival, dressed in the style of the previous century and...
[The entire page is 1404 words long]
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