Essay Questions

What is the consequence of the shepherdess in "The Mysterious Estate”?

Alain-Fournier writes,“As soon as it was light, he set out again. But his swollen knee hurt, so he had to stop and sit down constantly because the pain was so bad. As it happened, this was the most desolate region of the Sologne, and throughout the morning the only person he saw was a shepherdess in a distance bringing home her flock. Even though he called out to her and tried to run, she vanished before he could make her hear." The shepherdess amplifies mystery due to her ironic vanishing. Moreover, she underscores the bareness of the area. Meaulnes must defy all the bareness for him to grasp his end goal which is gratification.

What is the motive of the ambush in “We are caught in an Ambush”?

Francois explains, “Whenever he found a new piece of paper, the leader went across to this light to see what it said. Finally, he unfolded the rough map covered with annotations on which Meaulnes had been working ever since his return, and he shouted gleefully: ‘This time, we’ve got it. Here is the plan! Here is the guide. We’ll see if this gentleman really went where I think he did…’ ”

This passage divulges the object of the ensnarement. The gang is interested in getting the map which seems to be offering details which are meaningful to the gang. The ambush concludes after gang secures the map. Accordingly,the maps is a material motif in the entire plot.