The Executioner/El Verdugo

La Comédie Humaine #79

by Honoré de Balzac

pubOne.info present you this new edition. The clock of the little town of Menda had just struck midnight. At that moment a young French officer, leaning on the parapet of a long terrace which bordered the gardens of the chateau de Menda, seemed buried in thoughts that were deeper than comported with the light-hearted carelessness of military life; though it must be said that never were hour, scene, or night more propitious for meditation. The beautiful sky of Spain spread its dome of azure above his head. The scintillation of the stars and the soft light of the moon illumined the delightful valley that lay at his feet. Resting partly against an orange-tree in bloom, the young major could see, three hundred feet below him, the town of Menda, at the base of the rock on which the castle is built. Turning his head, he looked down upon the sea, the sparkling waters of which encircled the landscape with a sheet of silver.

Genres: Short Stories, French Literature, Fiction, France, Classics, War, 19th Century

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1830

About the author

French writer Honoré de Balzac (born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as La comédie humaine .

Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.

Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.

Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.

Reviews

[Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Διαβάζοντας αυτήν την σύντομη ιστορία, ένα διήγημα 20 σελίδων με τίτλο "El Verdugo" (Ο εκτελεστής) παραξενεύτηκα αρκετά, όχι τόσο για το περιεχόμενό του αλλά για την επιλογή του συγγραφέα να το εντάξει στις Études philosophiques. Αυτό το έργο δεν έχει κανένα (προφανές) φιλοσοφικό υπόβαθρο, και όταν κυκλοφόρησε τον Ιανουάριο του 1830, στο περιοδικό κυριών "La Mode", έφερε τον τίτλο: "Στρατιωτικές αναμνήσεις, El Verdugo, πόλεμος της Ισπανίας 1809".

Στα 1830 ο Balzac (31 ετών) καταφεύγει στη δημοσιογραφία για να επιβιώσει, και εγκαινιάζει με αυτό το διήγημα την συνεργασία του με τον εκδότη Émile de Girardin. Σίγουρα θα ταίριαζε καλύτερα στις Scènes de la vie militaire, έχει κάτι από τη τραχύτητα και την κτηνωδία που αποτυπώνεται στους Σουάνους (Les Chouans) και διηγείται το περιστατικό μιας ιδιότυπης εκτέλεσης μιας οικογένειας ευγενών στα χρόνια του πολέμου της Ιβηρικής Χερσονήσου (έναν ισπανό-γαλλικό πόλεμο, κομμάτι των ευρύτερων συγκρούσεων των ναπολεόντειων χρόνων).

Σαν υπόθεση έχει κάτι το συγκινητικό, καίτοι σύντομη καταφέρνει να μεταδώσει ένα ρίγος στον αναγνώστη. Ίσως επειδή δημιουργεί έναν στοχασμό γύρω από το ζήτημα του ποιοι τελικά είναι οι πραγματικοί πεθαμένοι. Οι νεκροί που ζουν μέσα από τη μνήμη και τις ενοχές των ζωντανών ή οι ζωντανοί που έχουν χάσει κάθε νόημα και λόγο ύπαρξης;

Μου άρεσε αλλά όλα ετούτα τα διηγήματα και τις νουβέλες θα προτιμούσα να τα έβλεπα σε μια ξεχωριστή συλλογή. Ακόμα δεν έχω καταλάβει πώς δημιούργησε τον λογοτεχνικό του κανόνα αυτός ο αλλόκοτος συγγραφέας...

[Carlo Mascellani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storia cruda, crudissima, che porta a riflettere sulle atrocità commesse in occasione dei conflitti e, alla luce della storia recente o passata, non lascia dubbi sull'eventualità del loro ripetersi.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I heard this short story for a second time portrayed by OTR (old time radio), the Weird Circle, November 19, 1944, after seeing it was a short story by Honroe de Balzac I had to read and compare. The director keeps it very close to the original story but like always it is better when read but very enjoyable as it is adaptive to the radio meduim. What can I say without telling too much? It is war time between Spain and Napoleonic forces who occupy Menda. A Marquis and his family are part of a plot to rid the French forces with the help of England but all does not go well and a choice must be made but such a horrific one. How can the eldest son do what he must do? Extremely tragic and heart breaking.

I read this story before reading the Human Comedy in the whole and now read it once again, with more of an understanding of Balzac after almost finishing all his stories.

I didn’t read this edition but from a Delphi collection of his works that included the synopsis below.

“THIS TRAGIC SHORT story was written in 1829 and published in 1830 in La Mode, followed by another edition in the Gosselin magazine in 1831. The tale also appeared in 1846 in volume II of Études Philosophiques of the Furne edition. Set during the time of the French army’s occupation of Spain under Napoleon, the tale opens with an idyllic moonlit scene in the castle gardens of the coastal town of Menda. The local French commandant, Victor Marchand, stands lost in thought, meditating on the beautiful Clara, the daughter of the local grandee. Thoughts of romance are soon dissipated as he becomes aware that a fleet of ships is approaching the coast.“

November 19, 1944
https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com...

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Marquis de Leganes and his family live in a castle in Menda. The Napoleonic forces are in control but the Spaniards look for a chance to oust the family. Victor Marchand has eyes for the marquis' daughter Clara. He is in command of this area and is told by a French sentry that something is happening. He is shot and Victor is told to run by Clara, whose brothers are trying to kill him. Victor had dreamed of this noble creature would marry him a grocer's son but flees. He tells the general who orders executions by hanging of the Marquis' family after a bargain is made to kill the men responsible but not burn down the village. Victor requests that the marquis is allowed a death by guillotine fashion but saving a son of his. It is agreed but the son saved must be executioner and that would be the eldest 30 year old Juanito. Juanito refuses but his family talks him into this and his mother says he will. Victor comes back right before Clara is beheaded but she refuses his offer to marry him which would save her. She had saved Victor but he had told all which killed her family, how could she. She refuses and is dead as well as all but when Juanito is to do his mother's beheading he can not and she sees this a jumps of the parapet to her death. Juanito awaits death after his second son is born. He lives with limited contact and quite gloomy to What he did. The cruelty of war and lack of compassion. The villagers and all thought that the English had arrived but it was only a weapons ship and the men were not aboard but another so it was a false security to start the plan.

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During the whole evening, the eldest daughter had looked at the young officer with an interest expressing extreme sadness, and such implied compassion on the part of a Spaniard might well have caused the reverie of the Frenchman. Clara was beautiful; and though she had three brothers and one sister, the wealth of the Marquis de Leganes seemed sufficient to justify Victor Marchand in believing that the young lady would be richly dowered. But could he dare to believe that the daughter of the proudest
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noble in Spain would be given to the son of a Parisian grocer? Besides, Frenchmen were hated. The marquis having been suspected by General G — t — r, who governed the province, of preparing an insurrection in favor of Ferdinand VII., the battalion commanded by Victor Marchand was quartered in the little town of Menda, to hold in check the neighboring districts, which were under the control of the Marquis de Leganes. A recent despatch from Marechal Ney made it seem probable that the Highlight (Yellow) | Location 178105
English would soon land a force upon the coast; and he mentioned the marquis as the man who was believed to be in communication with the cabinet of London. Thus, in spite of the cordial welcome which that Spaniard had given to Victor Marchand and his soldiers, the young officer held himself perpetually on his guard.
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With the impetuosity of youth, he was about to spring through an opening in the terrace wall, and descend by the rocks more rapidly than by the usual road to a little outpost which he had placed at the entrance of the town, on the side toward the chateau, when a slight noise arrested him. He fancied he heard the light step of a woman on the gravelled path behind him. He turned his head and saw no one, but his eyes were caught by an extraordinary light upon the ocean. Suddenly he beheld a sight so alarming that he stood for a moment motionless with surprise, fancying that his senses were mistaken. The white rays of the moonlight enabled him to distinguish sails at some distance. He tried to convince himself that this vision was an optical delusion caused by the caprices of the waves and the moon. At that moment, a hoarse voice uttered his name. He looked toward the opening in the wall, and saw the head of the orderly who had accompanied
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him to the chateau rising cautiously through it.
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“I have just followed from the chateau a man with a lantern who is coming this way. A lantern is
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mightily suspicious! I don’t believe that Christian has any call to go and light the church tapers at this time of night. They want to murder us! said I to myself, so I followed his heels; and I’ve discovered, commander, close by here, on a pile of rock, a great heap of fagots — he’s after lighting a beacon of some kind up here, I’ll be bound — ” A terrible cry echoing suddenly through the town stopped the soldier’s speech. A brilliant light illuminated the young officer. The poor orderly was shot in the head
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and fell. A fire of straw and dry wood blazed up like a conflagration not thirty feet distant from the young commander. The music and the laughter ceased in the ballroom. The silence of death, broken only by moans, succeeded to the joyous sounds of a festival. A single cannon-shot echoed along the plain of the ocean. A cold sweat rolled from the officer’s brow. He wore no sword. He was confident that his soldiers were murdered, and that the English were about to disembark. He saw
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himself dishonored if he lived, summoned before a council of war to explain his want of vigilance; then he measured with his eye the depths of the descent, and was springing towards it when Clara’s hand seized his. “Fly!” she said; “my brothers are following me to kill you. Your soldiers are killed. Escape yourself. At the foot of the rock, over there, see! you will find Juanito’s barb — Go, go!”

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He sat down and related the horrible occurrence. An awful silence followed his tale. “I think you were more unfortunate than criminal,” replied the terrible general, when at last he spoke. “You are not responsible for the crime of those Spaniards; and, unless the marshal should think otherwise, I absolve you.” These words gave but a feeble consolation to the unhappy officer. “But when the emperor hears of it!” he cried. “He will want to have you shot,” said the general; “but we will see about that. Now,” he added in a stern tone, “not another word of this, except to turn it into a vengeance which shall impress with salutary terror a people who make war like savages.”
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An hour later a whole regiment, a detachment of cavalry, and a battery of artillery were on their way to Menda. The general and Victor marched at the head of the column. The soldiers, informed of the massacre of their comrades, were possessed by fury. The distance which separated the town of Menda from general headquarters, was marched with marvellous rapidity. On the way, the general found all the villages under arms. Each of the wretched hamlets was surrounded, and the inhabitants decimated.
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By one of those fatalities which are inexplicable, the British ships lay to without advancing. It was known later that these vessels carried the artillery, and had outsailed the rest of the transports. Thus the town of Menda, deprived of the support it expected, and which the appearance of the British fleet in the offing had led the inhabitants to suppose was at hand, was surrounded by French troops almost without a blow being struck. The people of the town, seized with terror, offered to surrender at discretion.
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With a spirit of devotion not rare in the Peninsula, the slayers of the French soldiery, fearing, from the cruelty of their commander, that Menda would be given to the flames, and the whole population put to the sword, proposed to the general to denounce themselves. He accepted their offer, making a condition that the inhabitants of the chateau, from the marquis to the lowest valet, should be delivered into his hands. This condition being agreed to, the general proceeded to pardon the rest of the population,
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and to prevent his soldiers from pillaging the town or setting fire to it. An enormous tribute was levied, and the wealthiest inhabitants held prisoner to secure payment of it, which payment was to be made within twenty-four hours.

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The members of the Leganes family and their servants were bound and kept under guard in the great hall where the ball had taken place.
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Two hundred Spaniards who had delivered themselves up were immediately shot. After this military execution, the general ordered as many gibbets planted on the terrace as there were members of the family of Leganes, and he sent for the executioner of the town.
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“Alas!” replied Victor, “it is only a sad mercy. The marquis, who has seen those gibbets set up, hopes that you will change that mode of execution. He asks you to behead his family, as befits nobility.”
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“The marquis offers you his whole fortune, if you will consent to pardon one of his sons.” “Really!” exclaimed the general. “His property belongs already to King Joseph.”
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“I will surpass his wishes. I comprehend the importance of his last request. Well, he shall buy the continuance of his name and lineage,
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but Spain shall forever connect with it the memory of his treachery and his punishment. I will give life and his whole fortune to whichever of his sons will perform the office of executioner on the rest. Go; not another word to me on the subject.”
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An expression of inquiry came upon the faces of all when Victor appeared. He gave the order to unbind the prisoners, and went himself to unfasten the cords that held Clara in her chair. She smiled sadly. The officer could not help touching softly the arms of the young girl as he looked with sad admiration at her beautiful hair and her supple figure. She was a true Spaniard, having the Spanish complexion, the Spanish eyes with their curved lashes, and their large pupils blacker than a raven’s wing.

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As he looked at them, the young officer shook his head, despairing that any one of those four beings would accept the dreadful bargain of the general. Nevertheless, he found courage to reveal it to Clara. The girl

shuddered for a moment; then she recovered her calmness, and went to her father, kneeling at his feet. “Oh!” she said to him, “make Juanito swear that he will obey, faithfully, the orders that you will give him, and our wishes will be fulfilled.” The marquise quivered with hope. But when, leaning against her husband, she heard the horrible confidence that Clara now made to him, the mother fainted. Juanito, on hearing the offer, bounded like a lion in his cage.
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“Juanito!” he said. Juanito answered only with a motion of his head that signified refusal, falling back into his chair, and looking at his parents with dry and awful eyes. Clara went up to him with a cheerful air and sat upon his knee. “Dear Juanito,” she said, passing her arm around his neck and kissing his eyelids, “if you knew how sweet death would seem to me if given by you! Think! I should be spared the odious touch of an executioner. You would save me from all the woes that await me — and, oh! dear Juanito! you would not have me belong to any one — therefore — ”
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Suddenly Clara rose, the group that had formed about Juanito separated, and the son, rebellious with good reason, saw before him his old father standing erect, who said in solemn tones, — “Juanito, I command you to obey.” The young count remained immovable. Then his father knelt at his feet. Involuntarily Clara, Felipe, and Manuelo imitated his action. They all stretched out their hands to him, who was to save the family
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from extinction, and each seemed to echo the words of the father. “My son, can it be that you would fail in Spanish energy and true feeling? Will you leave me longer on my knees? Why do you consider your life, your sufferings only? Is this my son?” he added, turning to his wife. “He consents!” cried the mother, in despair, seeing a motion of Juanito’s eyelids, the meaning of which was known to her alone.
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Clara was the first to come forward. “Juanito,” she said, “have pity on my want of courage; begin with me.” At this instant the hurried steps of a man were heard, and Victor
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Marchand appeared on the terrace. Clara was already on her knees, her white neck bared for the scimitar. The officer turned pale, but he ran with all his might. “The general grants your life if you will marry me,” he said to her in a low voice. The Spanish girl cast upon the officer a look of pride and contempt. “Go on, Juanito!” she said, in a deep voice, and her head rolled at Victor’s feet. The Marquise de Leganes made one convulsive movement as she

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heard that sound; it was the only sign she gave of sorrow. “Am I placed right this way, my good Juanito?” asked the little Manuelo of his brother. “Ah! you are weeping, Mariquita!” said Juanito to his sister. “Yes,” she said, “I think of you, my poor Juanito; how lonely you will be without us.” Soon the grand figure of the marquis came forward. He looked at the blood of his children; he turned to the mute and motionless spectators, and said in a strong voice,
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stretching his hands toward Juanito, — “Spaniards! I give my son my fatherly blessing! Now, Marquis, strike, without fear — you are without reproach.” But when Juanito saw his mother approach him, supported by the priest, he cried out: “She bore me!” A cry of horror broke from all present. The noise of the feast and the jovial laughter of the officers ceased at that terrible clamor. The marquise comprehended that Juanito’s courage was exhausted, and springing with one bound over the parapet, she was dashed to pieces on the rocks below. A sound of admiration rose. Juanito had fallen senseless.

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In spite of the respect with which he is surrounded, in spite of the title El Verdugo (the executioner) which the King of Spain bestowed as a title of nobility on the Marquis de Leganes, he is a prey to sorrow; he lives in solitude, and is seldom seen. Overwhelmed with the burden of his noble crime, he seems to await with impatience the birth of a second son, which will give him
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the right to rejoin the Shades who ceaselessly accompany him.
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LEGANES (Marquis de), Spanish grandee, married, father of two daughters, Clara and Mariquita, and of three sons, Juanito, Philippe and Manuel. He manifested a spirit of patriotism in the war carried on against the French during the Empire and died then under the most tragic circumstances, in which Mariquita was an unwilling abettor. The Marquis de Leganes died by the hand of his eldest son, who had been condemned to be his executioner. El Verdugo. LEGANES (Marquise de), wife of the preceding and condemned to die with the
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other members of the family by the hand of her eldest son. She spared him the necessity of doing this terrible deed of war by committing suicide. El Verdugo. LEGANES (Clara de), daughter of the preceding couple; also shared the condemnation of the Marquis de Leganes and died by the hand of Juanito. El Verdugo. LEGANES (Mariquita de), sister of the preceding, had rescued Major Victor Marchand of the French infantry from danger in 1808. In testimony of his gratitude he was able to obtain pardon for one member of
the Leganes family, but with the horribly cruel provision that the one spared should become executioner of the rest of the family. El Verdugo. LEGANES (Juanito de), brother of the last-named, born in 1778. Small and of poor physique, of gentlemanly manners, yet proud and scornful, he was gifted with that delicacy of feeling which in olden times caused Spanish gallantry to be so well known. Upon the earnest request of his proud- spirited family he consented to execute his father, his two sisters and his two brothers. Juanito only was saved from
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death, that his family might not become extinct. El Verdugo. LEGANES (Philippe de), younger brother of the preceding, born in 1788, a noble Spaniard condemned

[Davide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breve e soprattutto veloce racconto, pubblicato su «La Mode» nel 1830 e in volume nel 1831, sarà inserito nella Comédie humaine tra gli Études philosophiques.
Mi sembra di capire che tra i testi più antichi poi inseriti nel gigantesco progetto ritorni più volte l’ambientazione non contemporanea (il punto di partenza dichiarato, d'altra parte, era Walter Scott), ma nel combattuto passato recente della storia francese; e che in particolare ritorni il contrasto tra le esigenze collettive imposte dalle logiche della guerra e dalla fedeltà agli schieramenti e i sentimenti personali, d’amore.

Qui siamo nella piccola città di Menda, nella Spagna occupata dai francesi durante l’Impero napoleonico, sotto il comando del maresciallo Ney (quindi 1808-1811). Il protagonista è un giovane ufficiale francese, Victor Marchand, che è ospitato con i suoi uomini da un orgoglioso Grande di Spagna, il marchese di Léganès. E il rapporto contrastato è quello con Clara, la bella figlia del marchese. Sembrerebbe quasi una versione condensata della vicenda degli Chouans: ma qui tutto è rapidissimo, inesorabile, crudele, onorevole e fatale.

A parte una breve descrizione iniziale del castello, illuminato nella notte per una festa, e della bella donna, qui ci sono solo azioni, senza indugi, senza schermaglie psicologiche, con un senso di inesorabile necessità.
Per questo è uno "studio filosofico" e non una "scena della vita militare"?

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Balzac's earliest stories. The setting is that of Napoleon's occupation in Spain in the town of Menda. When the Spaniards rise up and kill the occupying soldiers, one man escapes to report to the General. What follows is a tale of revenge - and sorrow.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"پس از این سخن،دیگر هیچکس در آنجا نماند. حتی هیچ یک از افسران دون‌پایه هم جرئت سر کشیدن گیلاس‌های خود را نداشتند."

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Publicado em 1829 faz parte dos Estudos Filosóficos.
Uma cidade espanhola é tomada pelos franceses e uma família nobre é capturada em seu castelo e condenada à morte. Um jovem oficial francês apaixona-se pela primogênita e terá que assisti-la morrer enquanto o filho mais velho terá que sobreviver a fim de continuar o nome da família.
Mais um dramalhão horrendo e sangrento.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC radio 4 - Classic Stories:
Balzac’s tale of French troops taking over a Spanish town during the Napoleonic war.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07...

[Romain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une courte nouvelle intéressante qui relate l'histoire d'un homme accablé par un acte qu'il a été contraint d'accomplir envers sa famille.

[Pianobikes · Rating 4 out of 5]

“El confesor puso a las víctimas de forma que no vieran el suplicio. Pero eran verdaderos españoles, que permanecieron de pie y sin flaquear” ~ El verdugo de Honoré de Balzac.

Breve relato leído en #clasicosflash que narra la situación en una villa española ocupada por los franceses. Los españoles, liderados por el marqués de Menda, colaboran para facilitar la llegada del ejército inglés con la colaboración española, pero las naves no arriban a tierra así que los franceses se toman su represalia, sobre todo con la familia del marqués, a la que imponen una pena muy dura.

Complicado al comienzo por el estilo de Balzac pero que permite la relectura (que además es muy cortito) y todo queda más claro. Es una historia que te pone la piel de gallina por su crueldad ya que el castigo impuesto es inimaginable.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing and powerful short story.

[#DÏ4B7Ø Chinnamasta-Bhairav]

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* -} https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VWrl... {- *

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* -} Gestalt Psychology Simplified with Examples and Principles {- *

* -:}|{}|{: = MY SYNTHESISED ( ^ GESTALT ^ ) OF THE * -:}|{}|{:=:}|{}|{:- * ( WAY THE AUTHOR FRAMES = HIS WRITING PERSPECTIVES ) & ( POINTERS & IMPLICATIONS = the conclusion that can be drawn IMPLICITYLY from something although it is not EXPLICITLY stated ) = :}|{}|{:- *

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To SEE a WORLD in a Grain of Sand,
And a HEAVEN in a Wild Flower,
Hold INFINITY in the palm of your hand
And ETERNITY in an Hour"
~ William Blake ~

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“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.” Nisargadatta Maharaj

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Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is form.
Form is not different than Emptiness;
Emptiness is not different than form
~ Heart Sutra ~

Like the ocean and its waves,
inseparable yet distinct

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" I and The Father are one,
I am The Truth,
The Life and The Path.”

Like a river flowing from its source,
connected and continuous

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Thy kingdom come.
Let the reign of divine
Truth, Life, and Love
be established in me,
and rule out of me all sin;
and may Thy Word
enrich the affections of all mankind

A mighty oak tree standing firm against the storm,
As sunlight scatters the shadows of night
A river nourishing the land it flows through

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[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story set in the time when Napoleon invaded the Spanish town of Menda. A French battalion is killed by the Spaniards, and the French take their revenge by attacking and seizing the town. The noble Leganes family is to be executed. They beg for a son to be allowed to live to continue the family name, and the French general allows them to do so in the condition that that son executes the rest of his family. At the last minute, our French soldier and protagonist tells Clara, a daughter of the family, that permission has been granted for her to be saved if she marries him, but she gives him a look of pride and contempt before she is beheaded. The son kills all the members of the family but loses the courage to kill his mother, and she helps him by jumping off a cliff.

This is a scene of the tragedies and horrors of war. The Leganes family starts the story having a ball, and their elegance as well as their calmness and pride during the execution are the hallmarks of their nobility. The story is written in Balzac’s usual melodramatic style, but it is a more interesting story than some of his other works.

[Lloyd Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coastal Spain, big party at the hacienda of the marquis in the town of Menda. The French are there in possession of the area. The English are expected to arrive by the sea and assail the mighty emperor’s troops. The young battalion commander has been flirting with the Marquis’s nubile daughter. She appears to warn him the townspeople murdered his men and were after him. He escapes, reports back to his commanding general, who in turn marches on Menda, seized control and orders the execution of the Marquis and his family. After much pleading the Marquis persuaded his son to act as his family’s executioner, this would allow his lineage and title to survive. 3 stars

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

"El Verdugo" (1830) is a grisly story in the same vein as Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. It deals with themes of war, violence, revenge and regret, while raising important ethical and philosophical questions. Among Balzac's early works, it was published around the same time as Les Chouans, but it's meatier than that work, despite the slimness of the story, bearing some similarities to another story dealing with an executioner, Balzac's "An Episode Under the Terror", which wouldn't follow until 1842.

[Bertrand Jost · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short story set during the Napoleonic war in Spain is about the drama of a son condemned to kill his entire family in order to save his life and insure a descendant to his family. The story is too short for the reader to get attached to the characters. The story line is too linear to raise a deep interest in the reader but the story is nevertheless powerful.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. Interesting.
I wrote a review of this here at Goodreads, but now it's no longer here.
Fortunately I printed it out and put it in my reading journal, so I still have it.

But how does this happen??

[Joe Pfeiler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine short story by Balzac, a tragedy, with a strong sense of place and time.

[Kaveh Rezaie · Rating 4 out of 5]

در اسپانیایی به معنی “جلاد” است. روایت اشغال یکی از قصبه‌های اسپانیا به دست فرانسوی‌ها و مجازات عجیب خانواده مشهور و توانگر آن ایالت به سبب خیانتشان است.

[Miles Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balzac's brutal but moving story about a French lieutenant and a French noble family during the Peninsular War.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, gruesome but horribly effective. Because of the subject matter I cannot recommend it.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too lighthearted and frivolous for my taste.

[Maxime N. Georgel · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'amour, la mort, le tragique, le courage, la vertu, la guerre et tout cela en si peu de pages. Chapeau Balzac !

[Virginie Dolléans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un aperçu saisissant de la guerre d’Espagne sous Napoléon 1er : en très peu de pages, Balzac nous plonge dans l’horreur de cette conquête qui a d’ailleurs échoué.

[myriam kisfaludi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quelle tristesse, ces massacres liés aux forces d’occupation

[Émilie Del Toboso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un peu d'Espagne, un peu de violence, un peu bizarre et me voilà un peu perplexe.

[Armin · Rating 3 out of 5]

»Die Kriegsgeschichten und Abenteuer sind für die Phantasie eines Sechzehnjährigen die Ablösung der Indianergeschichten und des Kapitän Cook«. In seinem Balzac-Essay schließt Hugo von Hofmannsthal auch El Verdugo unter die empfohlenen Bücher ein. Ein früher Balzac, der im spanischen Feldzug spielt. Eine Aktion des spanischen Adels soll die Landung der Briten vorbereiten, doch die kommen zu spät. Anschließend wird ein humanitäter Kompromiss vereinbart, der Adel soll büßen, die Zivilbevölkerung bleibt verschont. Weitere Gnade ist das Privileg der standesgemäßen Enthauptung, ein Adeliger muss seine Familie auslöschen, damit er weiter leben kann und der Name nicht ausstirbt. Finale leider zu gehudelt, vorher eine schöne, atmosphärische Erzählung.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

(The Human Comedy #15/98)
This short but gruesome story could have come from the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe, rather than Balzac. During the Napoleonic war in Spain, there's a failed rebellion. The ruling family are given an ultimatum by a sadistic general: one member of the family can live to continue the historic lineage on the condition that the survivor must personally behead, in public, the rest of his family! The 19th century romanticism around death comes to the fore as each family member wistfully thanks the executioner and wishes them love.

I found it an odd, but hypnotising tale. Definitely one of Balzac's best so far.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

'El Verdugo' (The Executioner) takes place in Menda Spain during Napoleonic times. A whole family of Nobles is condemned to die. The terrible deed is done by the eldest son via beheading to save his family from the ignoble death by shooting.

[dekenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

เป็นเรื่องที่ทำให้ขวนขวายหานิยายเล่มอื่นของบัลซัคมาอ่าน ไม่ใช่รหัสคดีเต็มขั้น ออกแนวโศกนาฏกรรม ความรัก และชีวิตของชนชั้นกลาง-สูง เราชอบความสับสนของตัวเอง ในการเข้าข้างตัวละครตอนอ่านเรื่องทำนองนี้ (ณ ตอนนี้) มันทำให้นึกถึงหนังเมโลดราม่า คลาสสิกดี เรื่องสั้นก็เล่าเหมือนนิยายมากๆ