“Never heard the like! The very idea! Wanting to take away a baby just like that!”
The Tuvaches had made their opinion very clear. There must have been a reason to it. Today it would be considered evil to sell your child; people would ask what the point was of having the child in the first place. There, in that case, must also be a feeling similar to this in the time of the story. That is was not right to sell your child. Even though in those days, rich people paying the poor for children did often happen. If the rich could not have children then they could not secure their estates going to someone they trusted. Adopting was the only option for the people that could not conceive. As well as this it was legal to sell your child, there were no laws apposing it, and no social services making sure the house and surroundings the child would have were suitable. This made it very easy for the rich to adopt children.
On the other hand, the Vallins did except, the offer must have been too tempting for them, and/or they had seen the other side of the argument, from their son’s point of view. The Tuvaches had forgotten about this. The Vallins probably thought that their son would prefer growing up in a rich environment, not having to work hard all day on the farm, and come home to:
“A meagre diet of soup, potatoes and fresh air”
The Vallins realised and admitted that they were poor, and would do well with the money they would get from the deal. They even went as far as attempting to rise the amount hey would get per month, and succeeded in doing so.
“We’d need a hundred and twenty”
The d’Hubières were so desperate for a son and an heir to their estate that they accepted straight away without hesitation.
“Madame d’Hubières was so impatient to finalize matters that she agreed immediately”
Monsieur d’Hubières probably did so, so fast because of the fact that he himself could not give his wife children, as he was unable:
“The man did not answer, for he was sued to these sudden enthusiasms which he felt as a physical hurt and took more or less as a personal reproach”
He almost felt ashamed that he could not provide his wife with a child, and so he accepted whatever she wanted.
What the Vallins did was in the interest of both their son and them, and could not have been thought of as bad in those days, as even the mayor accepted it.
“The mayor and a neighbour were hurriedly summoned and willingly witnessed the document.”
After the Vallins had sold their child, the Madame Tuvaches became angry with them in a jealous way.
“I din’t sell you, my precious, I din’t! I don’t go round selling my children. I haven’t got a lot of money, but I don’t go around selling my children!”
When she said that she didn’t have much money, I think she is referring to the fact that she actually wouldn’t mind that money, and probably wishes she had sold her child. In the end she was to find out that she should have sold her child.
When the Vallins child returned home, and was reunited with his real parents, he was happy, wealthy, well educated, and had made his family able to cope with their harsh life. The Tuvaches could hear the cheering in their cottage, and were angry at how happy they were. Charlot – the Tuvaches son – now became angry with his parents, because they had not sold him!
“’O’ course I blame you. I blame you for being soft in the head. Parents like you is the reason why children get held back. It’d serve you right if I upped sticks and off.”
And that’s exactly what he did. He packed his bags and left home, blaming his parents for holding him back in life.
The moral of this story is telling people, especially parents to think of others, in this case your child and how much better it would be to sell him. Madame Tuvaches thought about herself and how good she would look for not being tempted by the money. The money was really just a bonus to having your son raised well in a rich environment. I think that the Vallins were right in selling their son to Monsieur d’Hubières and his wife.
