En mer (or At Sea) is a short story written by Guy de Maupassant. Released in 1883, it tells of an accident at sea.
Characters[]
- Captain Javel
- The younger Javel
- The narrator
Plot[]
On hearing of the death of one "Captain Javel" at sea, our narrator recounts the tale of how Javel's brother lost his arm.
At this time, Captain Javel was the captain of a trawler (which the narrator states is the best kind of fishing-boat). Shortly after leaving Boulogne, the ship encountered a storm. During this storm, the "younger Javel"'s arm was caught beneath the rope of the trawl-net. Wishing not to lose the extremely valuable catch, the Captain did everything in his power to free his brother's arm. While this eventually worked, the trapped arm was left a mangled mess, with the younger Javel himself declaring it "buggered". The crew do everything in their power to preserve the younger Javel's arm. Eventually, though, gangrene begins to set in and the younger Javel is forced to amputate his own arm. He decides to preserve his severed arm using salt. Once back on land, the younger Javel holds a funeral for his severed arm. He gives up the sea and gets a job at "the port".
Sources[]
- Wikipedia