Short Story #140: The Boy by Maurice Courtois-Suffit

Title:  The Boy

Author:  Maurice Courtois-Suffit

Summary

Claude visits a cabaret and falls for a dancer named Flore.  He decides to introduce himself to her and court her.  When he goes to the backroom, Flore is with her friend, Charly and Claude does what he can to take Flore out alone but she is insistent on bringing Charly.  Claude continues to get mix messages from Flore who rarely gives him the chance for the two to be alone and sways back and forth between affection and toying with him.  At one point, Flore directs Claude to take Charly out, which he does reluctantly. The psuedo romance continues with Flore occasionally jealous when Claude shows interests in other women or even decides to leave.  Yet Flore also demands gifts and tokens of affection from Claude, all the while giving him little assurance of her seriousness for him.  Flore eventually convinces Claude of giving her a sum of money that she needs to pay off debts.  Claude gives her the money.  She soon disappears after that and refuses to see him.  Claude gets the point and accepts his fate.

Reflection

A familiar theme within this collection of love lost or rather disenchanted love.  Courtois-Suffit did well with the plotting here, showing the games being played (ultimately, by both sides--the deceiver and the deceived both commit to this course).  I rather liked the title for this one as it does symbolize often what I see as an immature concept and enactment of love with Claude being petulant boy with how he conducts relationships.


Short Story #140 out of 365
Rating:  3 (out of 5 stars)
Date Read:  5/18/2014
Source:  Great French Short Stories edited by M. E. Speare.  The World Publishing Company, 1943.  You can find this story and others in this anthology at this resource.

For a full listing of all the short stories in this series, check out the category 365 Short Stories a year.

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