Summary : Rose-d'Amour

The narrator reflects on her childhood, growing up in a humble household with a carpenter father and a laundress mother. Her father was a remarkably quiet, gentle, and hardworking man whom locals called old Sans Souci because nothing could ever disturb his peaceful demeanor. In contrast, her mother was loud, talkative, and quick to discipline her daughters with heavy hands, though she possessed a deeply compassionate heart. Following the sudden death of her mother from drinking cold water when overheated, her father retreated into absolute silence, sitting by the fireplace with his head in his hands while the older sisters eventually married and moved away. Despite their sparse living conditions and the father few spoken words, the narrator maintained a cheerful disposition, earning the affectionate local nickname Rose dAmour for her joyful spirit and kind nature. During the spring when she was around ten years old, she joined a group of children for an evening walk in the nearby chestnut woods under the supervision of a respected neighbor, mother Bernard. While playing and running about, she became separated from the others just as a large, exhausted wolf entered the wood to escape a hunting party. When the fierce beast charged directly toward her, she screamed in terror and attempted to flee. A young boy three years her senior, known as Bernard le Eveveille, bravely intervened to save her life. Lacking any conventional weapons, he removed his jacket, threw it over the charging wolf head to blind and confuse it, and engaged the animal in a desperate struggle while the narrator stood paralyzed and screaming in fright. Fortunately, the hunting party and their hounds arrived shortly afterward, dispatching the wolf with a hunting knife and praising Bernard for his extraordinary courage. This dramatic rescue profoundly altered the course of the narrator life, as Bernard was warmly welcomed into her home by her grateful father. He soon became their closest companion, acquired the new nickname Vire Loup in honor of his heroic deed, and remained constantly by the narrator side from that day forward.

The narrator contrasts the constrained and heavily monitored lives of wealthy city demoiselles with her own freedom as a working class girl. Free from constant surveillance and strict parental oversight, she began an innocent and joyful romance with Bernard by the time she was fourteen and he was seventeen. Their courtship consisted of simple pleasures, such as walking together on Sundays, picking wild flowers, eating hot milk in nearby villages, and sharing lighthearted playful disputes. Supported by their understanding parents and the local community, the young couple grew deeply attached to each other, fully anticipating a lifetime of shared happiness. As the years passed and Bernard reached the age of twenty while the narrator turned seventeen, their families began discussing marriage plans. However, these prospects were abruptly threatened by the impending military conscription of eighteen forty. Although Bernard parents possessed some property, the soaring cost of hiring a military substitute—estimated at three thousand francs—proved to be far too expensive for them to afford. Consequently, the families resolved to leave Bernard fate entirely to the random draw of the ballot, forcing the young couple to face the agonizing prospect of a seven year separation. On the day of the drawing, Bernard drew an unfortunate number nineteen, plunging the narrator and her family into deep despair. As the pale and shaken Bernard prepared to leave, the narrator nearly collapsed from grief before her father gently supported her and instructed Bernard to escort her home. Despite attempts by the old Sans Souci to maintain a lighthearted facade and offer comforting words, both families recognized the severity of the situation and gathered that evening to deliberate on what course of action to take next.