Œuvres complètes de Guy de Maupassant - volume 07

In this early novella, a fervent country priest named Abbé Marignan walks the fields surrounding his modest presbytery, convinced that he can decipher God’s will with absolute certainty. His rigid convictions clash with a deep, almost unconscious resentment toward women, whom he sees as both temptress and source of spiritual peril. When his lively niece—cheerful, outspoken, and unafraid to tease—drops by, her carefree presence forces the cleric to confront the tender, paternal feelings he has long suppressed.

The story unfolds through Marignan’s internal debates and the quiet moments he shares with his niece as they stroll beneath sunrise and twilight. Their conversations reveal a man wrestling with doctrine, desire, and the simple joys of rural life, all while the surrounding countryside mirrors the orderly rhythm he believes the world should follow. The narrative captures the tension between dogmatic certainty and the lingering humanity that refuses to be entirely ruled out.