The Vendetta Short Story Analysis

Authors Avatar

A Vendetta

English Literature Coursework              

The short story ‘A Vendetta’ was written by Guy de Maupassant in the 1800s. It’s the story of an old mother relentlessly avenging her son’s death and the moral implications that her actions impose. It raises some important points for consideration regarding the notion of vengeance or revenge.

           Maupassant prepares us for the violence of the act of revenge and allows us to understand the actions of the mother in a number of ways. Firstly, he deliberately creates a harsh and violent atmosphere in the opening paragraphs. He uses the phrase ‘deadly straits’ to describe the landscapes, which gives the reader a picture of bleak and depressing scenery. Other phrases such as ‘precipitous’, ‘barren coast’ and ‘desolate view’ all work together to create the overall atmosphere of a particularly dreary day. The people of Bonifacio have to live and survive each day in these conditions. It indicates to the reader that the story will be dark and full of drama. Maupassant uses the simile ‘like torn shreds of linen’ to describe the foam on the sea. The word ‘torn’ is quite dramatic and indicates to the reader that the ocean surrounding Bonifacio is violent and encases the residents. It further emphasises the point that the old woman’s surroundings are stark and unforgiving.

Maupassant creates tension in the story by using the first section to describe the character of the widow in detail. He does this by setting up problems which make it seem impossible for her to carry out the vendetta. One of these problems is that she is extremely old. The author makes sure to repeat it many times throughout the story so the reader is conscious of the fact that she isn’t capable of murdering a fully grown man herself. Also, Maupassant mentions, when the mother first sees her son’s dead body, that she lays a ‘wrinkled hand upon the corpse’. This further indicates that she is weak and backs up the point that she can’t carry out the vendetta. This affects the reader by posing the question of how she is going to get revenge. At this point in the story, the reader will start to think up their own ideas of how the story is going to end, which compels them to read on. It’s a very effective technique and encourages the reader to carry on.

Join now!

The author doesn’t give the reader much information about the details of the son’s killing. This is because the story is focussed on the mother promising her son’s dead body a vendetta and how she actually carries it out. Maupassant only concentrates on the description of the bloodied corpse and how the mother reacts to it because he doesn’t want to distract the reader from feeling empathy towards the mother and imagining themselves in her position. The sight of her son’s lifeless, broken corpse is a catalyst that starts a chain reaction of thoughts that lead her to seek revenge. ...

This is a preview of the whole essay