Francois Moriak, "Monkey": a short summary of the book

The tale of the French writer François Mauriac "Monkey", the summary of which is offered to your attention, was created in 1951 and subsequently translated into many languages of the world. In the center of the plot lies the fate of the patient from the birth of a twelve-year-old boy, who lags behind in development from his peers. With young Guillaume, not just nature has treated unfairly. The kid does not feel the love and support of relatives, is constantly attacked by his mother.

Descendant of a noble family

A thin chicken's neck, a short-cropped head with large ears, a drooping lower lip, with which saliva constantly dribbles - such is the portrait of the younger descendant of the kind of barons de Serne. Mother calls her son a monkey, a degenerate, a degenerate and other offensive nicknames. In addition, the boy is constantly getting slapped and slapped from a woman who hates him as much as her own husband. Of course, Guillaume is an exact copy of his father, who has a slight degree of dementia.

In the book "Monkey" Moriak Francois does not give an exact definition of the disease of Baron Galeas, but outlines the appearance of a man: not for growth a huge head, narrow sloping shoulders, unnatural leanness. Strangeness also manifests itself in the conduct of M. de Serne. During family meals, he smeared on plates all that can be smeared, mixes wine with soup, there he also crumbs bread and other products. The old Baroness, Galeas's mother and grandmother Guillaume can hardly keep the boy from imitating his father.

The evil fury of Madame de Serne

In the castle, where a pious family lives, scandals are constantly erupting. Violator of tranquility is the mother of Guillaume, who is called Paul. The unfortunate boy suffers the hardest of all, the wrath of a woman unsatisfied with her destiny is directed at him. A bilious face, covered with a dark fuzz on the chin and upper lip, lilted dark hair - the heroine of the work of Moriak, "Monkey", looks like this. A brief account of the history of her appearance in the house does not arouse the reader's sympathy.

Thirteen years ago, Paul married an ugly Baron only to marry with a noble aristocratic family name. Unable to share a bed with an eccentric husband, Madame de Serne takes out anger at others. Domestic people call her a monster, a monster, Gorgon. Little Guillaume, hated by her mother, seeks protection from her grandmother, father and the Fraulein serving in the castle. But only the elderly Fraulein treats the boy with genuine tenderness and sincere love.

In the novel "Monkey", the brief content of which can not contain all the nuances of the prevailing situation in the house, the relationship between the baron and his wife is said softly: only once Paul answered the embrace of the husband, as a result, their son Guillaume appeared.

Weak ray of hope

Despite the development gap, the boy learned the basics of reading and writing. He was twice given to private boarding houses, but they did not want to keep the sick child there - Guillaume dirty the sheets. Paul negotiates with the teacher of the secular school, living near the castle, so that he engaged with her son individually. It was not easy for a confused kid to decide to meet with Mr. Bordas, whom he dubbed as an "ogre" in his imagination. Not paying attention to the son's tears and pleas, Paul raises him on the first rainy autumn evening.

It turned out that the teacher is not so terrible. After two hours of communication with him, the boy had self-confidence, the hope of finding a new friend, a kind and understanding mentor, began to dawn. That night Guillaume fell asleep for the first time in his short life with a smile on his lips. As though it would be desirable, that on this light note the point in the story of Francois Mauriac "Monkey" was put. The summary of the last chapter tells about the gloomy events that turned into a tragedy.

Relief from mental anguish

The next morning, under the pressure of his wife, who was unhappy with the sight of the little Baron de Serne, Robert Bordas sends a note to the castle, reporting a refusal to deal with a sick child. In the house the scandal between mother and grandmother again inflames. Paul sows insults to a worthless son and a feeble-minded husband.

In order not to hear malicious statements, the father takes Guillaume out into the street. They go to the family cemetery, to which Galeas devotes all his free time, caring for the graves of his ancestors. The Baron takes up the usual work, and the boy, sitting on the tombstone, can not hold back tears, lamenting his uselessness. After all, even a teacher who was so kind and considerate does not want to deal with him.

Somewhere in the distance the river rustles. This sound draws Guillaume, and he rushes hastily towards liberation from physical abuse and mental suffering. The father, having noticed the absence of his son, goes to search for him. Galeas is no less than his boy tired of a bleak earthly existence. The river bottom took the lives of the last two representatives of the genus de Serne.

"Since Mr. Galeas, taking his son's hand, decided to share with him an eternal dream, no one cares anymore about the graves in the family cemetery." So ends the story of Moriak's "Monkey", a summary of which you just read.