Duchoux Story Summary Class 12 Opt. English (From the book 'Encounters')

Duchoux

-      Guy De Maupassant

Brief Summary:

Duchoux is the story of a self-centred man who always challenges the establised rules and regulation. He pursues the sophistication and modern civilization that has alienated him from his own self. Baron Mordiane, an old bachelor suffers from the burden of isolation in his life although he is living the most extravagant life of a city. It is his fragmented life and loneliness that has drawn him to his son, who has remained unknown to him so far. They story shows how lonely individuals try their best to get released from their loneliness. It also focuses on the issues of family values.

Baron comes out of a club. He feels uncomfortable because of indigestion and loss of money in gambling. More, due to his loneliness and monotony, he is haunted by the memory of his illegitimate son grown up at Marseilles in Southern France. He longs to spend rest of his life with him and his grandchildren. In his young age, he had a short romantic relationship with a governor’s wife in a colony when the woman’s husband was absent. Later, a son was born illegitimately. When the son was born, he was looked after by a lawyer at Marseilles. But the mother died of tuberculosis after three years. Baron himself arranged education and marriage for the boy secretly. Now, the son has got married and has two sons. After many years, he desires to meet his son, his daughter-in-law, play with his grandsons and disclose the long hidden secret that he is his real son. He thinks that his son and his family is tidy, civilized and attractive. But when he reaches his son’s house, he hates him because he doesn’t like the way his son speaks. His voice is metallic, shrill and repellent. Besides, he smells the bad odour of garlic coming out from the mouth of his son as well as grandsons. The daughter-in-law is young but looks like an old woman of fifty. The rooms are messy and dirty for him. Likewise, his servant’s son is in filthy hair and clothes. He mistakes his second grandson for a gardener’s son. After observing and experiencing all these things, he hides his identity and says that he is Mr. Merlin who has come to buy some building land. He fears that his real identity will be exposed. Thus, he runs away from his son’s house promising to meet him tomorrow. The reasons behind his rejection of his son’s family are their rural, uncivilized, uncultured and poor life style. He reaches the club next evening. In the club, one of his friends ask him if he was ill for three days, he replies that he suffered from headache. This shows that modern civilization has led people towards selfishness, indifference, stupidity, cruelty, emptiness of life and over ambition.