Dec 29, 2009

The Tender Shoot | The Tender Shoot

At a glance:

Author: Colette
First Published: 1943
Type of Plot: Psychological
Time of Work: May, 1940, and 1923
Setting: Paris and a region of Doubs in Franche-Comte
Principal Characters: The narrator, Albin Chaveriat, Louisette, The Mother
Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
Subjects: Betrayal, Alienation, Friendship, Loneliness
Locales: Paris, France

The Story

The opening dialogue of “The Tender Shoot” introduces the reader to an unidentified woman and an old friend of hers to whom she gives the name Albin Chaveriat. Evidently this name is chosen to hide the real identity of the storyteller. The setting is Paris, in May of 1940. Over dinner, the woman persuades her seventy-year-old bachelor friend to tell her a story of his love life, a secret life that limited, for the woman at least, a deeper sense of their friendship.

The woman has just encouraged Chaveriat to spend his time in the country, while the war...

[The entire page is 1615 words long]

The Tender Shoot | The Tender Shoot

At a glance:

The Story

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