The Romance of the Forest
We open with La Motte, a falling nobleman who is fleeing Paris for debt. He takes with him his wife, Madame La Motte, and faithful servants Peter and Annette. La Motte is basically a good guy, although his scruples have taken a beating in the last few years, as he sinks into dissipation. When night approaches, Peter can no longer direct the carriage, and La Motte goes to the only house in sight in the desolate wilderness to ask for directions. He is invited inside, and then realizes that he is in the company of criminals! The criminals agree to let him go, but only if he takes a beautiful, young, innocent girl named Adeline with him and promises never to return. So La Motte does. Life with a beautiful girl or death without-- a difficult choice to make, but he makes it.
They flee through the darkness and stop at an inn. Adeline falls ill and the trip is delayed, to La Motte's chagrin. However, she is so sweet and beautiful and kind that the whole family is immediately besotted with her. When she recovers, the family goes on their way once more. They reach a forest in the wilds of France, and stumble upon a deserted abbey in the middle of the forest. Since it seems that the abbey is no longer inhabited, La Motte decides to fit up some of the nicer chambers and live there, free from the persecution of those he is indebted to.
But he needs money. So he wounds and robs a passing Marquis. No one else realizes that he has done this. Madame La Motte thinks he just has a remarkable store of money left.
And La Motte's decision to live in the abbey is made despite his discovery of a skeleton locked in a chest in one of the chambers. Go figure.
La Motte hides his booty in the forest, and often goes to look at the store of gold and jewels hidden in the ruins beyond the abbey. He refuses to tell Madame La Motte what he has been up to. Because the lovely Adeline often goes for walks in the forest-- and there breaks into spontaneous poetry or song called "Birches" or "Willows" or "Night" or "Lark" or even just "Sonnet"-- Madame La Motte immediately comes to the realization that the two of them must be having an affair. She becomes suspicious and mean to Adeline. Adeline is upset. Then the son of the La Mottes, Louis, comes to visit. He falls in love with Adeline. Adeline rejects him, for she cannot love him, although she esteems him most highly, sir.
And then, one night, the Marquis comes. La Motte is horrified to find that he is survived. The Marquis agrees not to have him arrested for trespassing and robbery and assault, if La Motte will grant him open sexual access to Adeline. La Motte agrees, but says that Adeline is so virtuous a route other than rape might be more effective. The Marquis declares his love to Adeline and asks her to be his mistress. She is appalled. The Marquis declares his love to Adeline and asks her to be his wife-- although he is already married. She is still appalled. So the Marquis abducts her one night, and she is taken to his chateau.
In the mean time, Adeline has met a dashing young chevalier in service to the Marquis. This chevalier's name is Theodore and he is her One True Love. She has also found the manuscript and, upon reading it, discovered that a man died in the abbey many years ago.
Adeline manages to jump out of a window in the chateau and escapes into the garden. Theodore saves her in the garden, and the two of them climb a ladder propped against the wall and hop into his carriage. Along the way, Adeline faints many times and blushes several times. These are two of her greatest talents, and she does them both as naturally and as frequently as breathing. In the carriage, Theodore confesses his love. He also confesses that he knew of the plans of the Marquis, and deserted the military to save her. Adeline is appropriately flattered. The two of them go to an inn where Adeline falls ill (something else she does frequently). Soldiers come to arrest Theodore. He is wounded. He recovers in the inn. The Marquis comes. Theodore wounds him. Theodore is arrested and Adeline is sent back to the abbey. She knows that La Motte betrayed her and cannot trust him.
Which is really, you know, about right, because the Marquis tells La Motte to kill Adeline. And La Motte is going to. But he feels pity and sends Adeline off in the dead of night with the trusty Peter. The two depart for the home of Peter's sister in Savoy. When they arrive, Adeline falls ill again. She faints dead away and when she wakes up, she is no longer in the cramped house of the sister. Instead, she is in a spacious and elegant villa near a lake. La Luc, the local clergyman, has taken her in, because his maiden sister is a skilled healer. Once Adeline has recovered, she becomes a part of the family and gets along marvelously well with everyone, including the daughter Clara. Yet she cannot forget Theodore.
La Luc is very ill and his physician advises traveling abroad. La Luc, Clara, Adeline, and Peter all set out but before they've been gone for very long, run into Louis La Motte. Louis reveals to Adeline that Theodore has been sentenced to death and that he is on his way to tell Theodore's father. Adeline says she has just come from Savoy. "Oh," says Theodore, "Then perhaps you know La Luc." Could it be? Could Adeline's true love be related to the family that has taken her in and become so close to her? Indeed, he is an absent son, gone for the last four years. The whole family goes to visit Theodore in prison, despite La Luc's poor health. La Luc believes that perhaps he can beg the king to spare Theodore's life and leaves for Paris.
La Motte is currently on trial in Paris. The Marquis lost his temper when Adeline ran away and decided to have La Motte arrested. Although no one likes the Marquis, he is held in high esteem by the king. When La Luc begs for his son, the Marquis contradicts his word, and the king decides not to grant the pardon. But then, one man surfaces for the trial of La Motte. He is one of the criminals from the night at the beginning of the book. He reveals that the Marquis is actually Adeline's father, and that her whole life before the beginning of the book was an elaborately-constructed lie. INCEST! RAPE! INCESTUOUS RAPE! Then another man surfaces and it is revealed that the Marquis is not her father, but her uncle. His brother was her father. And the Marquis murdered him. In fact, the manuscript that Adeline read earlier in the book was written by her father. After such brutal testimony, the Marquis knows that his character has been damaged beyond repair and that he will surely be sentenced for murder. He poisons himself, but leaves a full confession behind and wills a considerable fortune to Adeline.
La Luc makes a full recovery.
Theodore is pardoned.
La Motte is exiled, but not killed.
Adeline is suddenly wealthy, with a grand title and a real family. She marries Theodore (in a double wedding with Clara and her suitor) and they move to the lake of Geneva, just a few miles away from La Luc's home.
Louis realizes he isn't in love with Adeline, but still thinks of her with the greatest esteem and friendship, and is best buddies with Theodore. He buys a house right next door on the lake of Geneva.
And everyone was happy, for they were virtuous and honest. And that is The Romance of the Forest.
They flee through the darkness and stop at an inn. Adeline falls ill and the trip is delayed, to La Motte's chagrin. However, she is so sweet and beautiful and kind that the whole family is immediately besotted with her. When she recovers, the family goes on their way once more. They reach a forest in the wilds of France, and stumble upon a deserted abbey in the middle of the forest. Since it seems that the abbey is no longer inhabited, La Motte decides to fit up some of the nicer chambers and live there, free from the persecution of those he is indebted to.
But he needs money. So he wounds and robs a passing Marquis. No one else realizes that he has done this. Madame La Motte thinks he just has a remarkable store of money left.
And La Motte's decision to live in the abbey is made despite his discovery of a skeleton locked in a chest in one of the chambers. Go figure.
La Motte hides his booty in the forest, and often goes to look at the store of gold and jewels hidden in the ruins beyond the abbey. He refuses to tell Madame La Motte what he has been up to. Because the lovely Adeline often goes for walks in the forest-- and there breaks into spontaneous poetry or song called "Birches" or "Willows" or "Night" or "Lark" or even just "Sonnet"-- Madame La Motte immediately comes to the realization that the two of them must be having an affair. She becomes suspicious and mean to Adeline. Adeline is upset. Then the son of the La Mottes, Louis, comes to visit. He falls in love with Adeline. Adeline rejects him, for she cannot love him, although she esteems him most highly, sir.
And then, one night, the Marquis comes. La Motte is horrified to find that he is survived. The Marquis agrees not to have him arrested for trespassing and robbery and assault, if La Motte will grant him open sexual access to Adeline. La Motte agrees, but says that Adeline is so virtuous a route other than rape might be more effective. The Marquis declares his love to Adeline and asks her to be his mistress. She is appalled. The Marquis declares his love to Adeline and asks her to be his wife-- although he is already married. She is still appalled. So the Marquis abducts her one night, and she is taken to his chateau.
In the mean time, Adeline has met a dashing young chevalier in service to the Marquis. This chevalier's name is Theodore and he is her One True Love. She has also found the manuscript and, upon reading it, discovered that a man died in the abbey many years ago.
Adeline manages to jump out of a window in the chateau and escapes into the garden. Theodore saves her in the garden, and the two of them climb a ladder propped against the wall and hop into his carriage. Along the way, Adeline faints many times and blushes several times. These are two of her greatest talents, and she does them both as naturally and as frequently as breathing. In the carriage, Theodore confesses his love. He also confesses that he knew of the plans of the Marquis, and deserted the military to save her. Adeline is appropriately flattered. The two of them go to an inn where Adeline falls ill (something else she does frequently). Soldiers come to arrest Theodore. He is wounded. He recovers in the inn. The Marquis comes. Theodore wounds him. Theodore is arrested and Adeline is sent back to the abbey. She knows that La Motte betrayed her and cannot trust him.
Which is really, you know, about right, because the Marquis tells La Motte to kill Adeline. And La Motte is going to. But he feels pity and sends Adeline off in the dead of night with the trusty Peter. The two depart for the home of Peter's sister in Savoy. When they arrive, Adeline falls ill again. She faints dead away and when she wakes up, she is no longer in the cramped house of the sister. Instead, she is in a spacious and elegant villa near a lake. La Luc, the local clergyman, has taken her in, because his maiden sister is a skilled healer. Once Adeline has recovered, she becomes a part of the family and gets along marvelously well with everyone, including the daughter Clara. Yet she cannot forget Theodore.
La Luc is very ill and his physician advises traveling abroad. La Luc, Clara, Adeline, and Peter all set out but before they've been gone for very long, run into Louis La Motte. Louis reveals to Adeline that Theodore has been sentenced to death and that he is on his way to tell Theodore's father. Adeline says she has just come from Savoy. "Oh," says Theodore, "Then perhaps you know La Luc." Could it be? Could Adeline's true love be related to the family that has taken her in and become so close to her? Indeed, he is an absent son, gone for the last four years. The whole family goes to visit Theodore in prison, despite La Luc's poor health. La Luc believes that perhaps he can beg the king to spare Theodore's life and leaves for Paris.
La Motte is currently on trial in Paris. The Marquis lost his temper when Adeline ran away and decided to have La Motte arrested. Although no one likes the Marquis, he is held in high esteem by the king. When La Luc begs for his son, the Marquis contradicts his word, and the king decides not to grant the pardon. But then, one man surfaces for the trial of La Motte. He is one of the criminals from the night at the beginning of the book. He reveals that the Marquis is actually Adeline's father, and that her whole life before the beginning of the book was an elaborately-constructed lie. INCEST! RAPE! INCESTUOUS RAPE! Then another man surfaces and it is revealed that the Marquis is not her father, but her uncle. His brother was her father. And the Marquis murdered him. In fact, the manuscript that Adeline read earlier in the book was written by her father. After such brutal testimony, the Marquis knows that his character has been damaged beyond repair and that he will surely be sentenced for murder. He poisons himself, but leaves a full confession behind and wills a considerable fortune to Adeline.
La Luc makes a full recovery.
Theodore is pardoned.
La Motte is exiled, but not killed.
Adeline is suddenly wealthy, with a grand title and a real family. She marries Theodore (in a double wedding with Clara and her suitor) and they move to the lake of Geneva, just a few miles away from La Luc's home.
Louis realizes he isn't in love with Adeline, but still thinks of her with the greatest esteem and friendship, and is best buddies with Theodore. He buys a house right next door on the lake of Geneva.
And everyone was happy, for they were virtuous and honest. And that is The Romance of the Forest.
posted by Joey at 3:41 PM
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