Legend of Mont St. Michel (Maupassant)
Short summary
Normandy, France. The narrator visited Mont St. Michel, a beautiful castle-like island in the sea. A local peasant explained its origins, recounting the story of Saint Michael and the devil.
To evade the devil's constant harassment, Saint Michael built Mont St. Michel amidst dangerous quicksands. But poverty forced him to bargain with the devil, choosing to share crops from the devil's fertile lands: first tricking him into taking useless plants, then grain crops that yielded no benefit underground. Angry at losing twice, the greedy devil refused further dealing.
Still seeking revenge, Saint Michael invited the devil to a grand feast. Overeating, the devil felt unwell, offending the saint. "Satan, terrified, ran away, and the saint, seizing a stick, pursued him. They ran through the halls, turning round the pillars, running up the staircases, galloping along the cornices, jumping from gargoyle to gargoyle."
Satan, terrified, ran away, and the saint, seizing a stick, pursued him. They ran through the halls, turning round the pillars, running up the staircases, galloping along the cornices, jumping from gargoyle to gargoyle.
Finally caught at the highest terrace, the devil received a powerful kick and flew through the air, landing far away and limping off defeated, leaving Normandy permanently in Saint Michael's care.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
First impressions of Mont St. Michel
The narrator first glimpsed Mont St. Michel from Cancale as a gray shadow against the misty sky. Later, at sunset from Avranches, he observed the rocky castle standing black against the crimson light while the vast stretch of sand, the horizon, and the entire bay were bathed in red. The following morning at dawn, he walked across the sands toward this magnificent structure, his admiration growing with each step.
I saw it again from Avranches at sunset. The immense stretch of sand was red, the horizon was red, the whole boundless bay was red. The rocky castle rising out there in the distance like a weird, seignorial residence...
Exploring the architectural marvel
As the narrator approached Mont St. Michel, he was struck by its grandeur, describing it as a gigantic jewel, as big as a mountain yet as delicate as lace. He wandered through the halls supported by both frail and massive columns, marveling at the spires that seemed to reach for the sky. The entire structure impressed him as a masterpiece of colossal yet delicate architecture, with its towers, gargoyles, and charming ornaments resembling stone fireworks.
As surprised as if I had discovered the habitation of a god, I wandered through those halls supported by frail or massive columns, raising my eyes in wonder to those spires which looked like rockets starting for the sky...
Meeting the Norman peasant
While gazing up in ecstasy at the architectural wonder, the narrator was approached by a Lower Normandy peasant who offered to tell him the story of the great quarrel between Saint Michael and the devil.
Saint Michael as the patron of Normandy
The narrator reflected that every village in France has its protecting saint, modeled after the characteristics of the local inhabitants. Saint Michael watches over Lower Normandy as the radiant and victorious angel, the sword-carrier, the hero of Heaven, and the conqueror of Satan. The peasant's tale revealed how the Norman people, known for being cunning and tricky, understood and recounted the struggle between the great saint and the devil.
The territorial conflict between saint and devil
According to the peasant's tale, Saint Michael built his magnificent residence in the open ocean to escape from the malice of his neighbor, the devil. He surrounded his domain with treacherous quicksands for further protection. While the saint ruled only over the sands, the devil owned all the salt marshes, rich lands with the finest crops, wooded valleys, and fertile hills of the country. This imbalance of wealth troubled Saint Michael, who began to consider ways to improve his situation.
The first agricultural bargain
After six months of fasting and contemplation, Saint Michael walked to the shore to propose a bargain to the devil. When he arrived, Satan was eating his soup. The devil welcomed the saint, kissed the hem of his sleeve, and offered him refreshments. Saint Michael drank a bowl of milk and then proposed his deal: he would take care of all the agricultural work—plowing, sowing, and fertilizing—and they would share the crops equally.
The naturally lazy devil accepted the proposal. Saint Michael added that the devil could choose which part of the crops he wanted: the part that grows above ground or the part that stays in the ground. Satan quickly chose everything above ground. They sealed the bargain by grasping hands and spitting on the ground, and Saint Michael departed.
The second growing season and the devil's frustration
Six months later, the devil's lands were covered with carrots, turnips, onions, and salsify—plants whose valuable parts grow underground while their leaves are useful only as animal feed. Satan, feeling cheated, wanted to break the contract and called Saint Michael a swindler. The saint, who had developed a taste for agriculture, offered a new arrangement for the following year: the devil could take everything under the ground.
The next spring, all the devil's lands flourished with golden wheat, oats, flax, clover, peas, cabbage, and artichokes—crops that develop their valuable parts above ground in the sunlight. Once again, Satan received nothing. Furious, he took back his fields and refused all further proposals from his neighbor.
The revenge dinner invitation
A whole year passed, and Saint Michael grew angry watching the devil direct the work, harvest the crops, and thresh the wheat from his lonely manor. No longer able to deceive Satan, he decided to take revenge and invited him to dinner the following Monday. The saint acknowledged the devil's misfortune in their dealings but insisted there should be no ill feeling between them, promising to serve good food.
Being both greedy and lazy, Satan eagerly accepted the invitation. On the appointed day, he arrived at the castle in his finest clothes. Saint Michael served a magnificent feast: a vol-au-vent filled with cocks' crests and kidneys, two big gray mullet with cream sauce, turkey stuffed with chestnuts soaked in wine, tender salt-marsh lamb, vegetables, and hot pancakes. They drank sweet cider and heady red wine, with apple brandy between courses.
The devil ate and drank to excess until he became uncomfortable and began to retch. Saint Michael rose in anger, thundering at Satan for such behavior in his presence. Terrified, the devil fled with the saint in pursuit, wielding a stick. They ran through halls, around pillars, up staircases, along cornices, and jumped from gargoyle to gargoyle.
The defeat of the devil and the legend's significance
The ill devil, running desperately to escape, found himself trapped at the top of the last terrace with a view of the immense bay. Saint Michael caught up and delivered a furious kick that sent Satan flying through the air like a cannonball. The devil landed heavily near the town of Mortain, his horns and claws embedding deeply in the rock, leaving marks that remain to this day.
He shot through the air like a javelin and fell heavily before the town of Mortain. His horns and claws stuck deep into the rock, which keeps through eternity the traces of this fall of Satan.
Satan rose, limping and permanently crippled. Looking back at the distant castle against the setting sun, he understood he would always be defeated in this unequal struggle. He departed, leaving his enemy in possession of his fields, hills, valleys, and marshes. This, according to the peasant, is how Saint Michael became the patron saint of Normandy by vanquishing the devil. The narrator concluded that another people would have imagined this battle quite differently.