The Piece of String
Summary
'The Piece of String' is a naturalistic story in which the protagonist is falsely accused of stealing a wallet. The entire story explores how social stigma thrives at the cost of the victim’s suffering.
It is a market day. At Goderville, the peasants of the town gather to sell their goods, usually crops or animal products. Maitre Hauchecome of Breaute, has arrived at Goderville. He takes his way towards the square. He notices a piece of string on the ground. He picks up anything he sees as useful off the ground. He thinks that he can make use of the piece of string in the future. He bends to pick up it. He notices Maitre Malandain, the harness-maker, looking at him. With a sort of shame at being seen by his enemy, picking up the piece of string, Hauchecome hides it in his clothing. Then, he pretends to be looking for something valuable on the ground, and goes off towards the market-place.
When Hauchecome is at Jourdain’s tavern, the public crier notifies the inhabitants of Goderville, and all persons present at the market that a black leather pocketbook containing five hundred francs and some business papers was lost this morning. The officer appears there and asks Hauchecome to accompany him to the mayor's office. The mayor tells him that Malandain saw Hauchecome picking up something from the road, so he is accused of taking the purse.
Hauchecome assures the mayor that he picked up a piece of string, not a purse. Though he does not have the purse, no one believes him. The purse is returned. However, Hauchecome is accused of having an accomplice who has returned the purse to clear his name. He believes that after the purse is returned his name will be cleared. But the townspeople still suspect that he stole the purse. This exhausts him and makes him ill. In his last breath, he speaks words ‘It was only a piece of string.’
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