Little Roque

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The little Roque (French La petite Roque ) is a novella by Guy de Maupassant . It first appeared in Le Gil-Blas magazine from December 18 to 23, 1885 . The story first appeared in German in 1901.

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The country mailman Médéric Rompel finds a child's body in the high forest near Carvelin. It turns out to be the daughter of the Roque family from the village. The girl was sexually assaulted and killed after bathing in the Brindille River. The following night, the child's shoes are placed in front of the parents' house. In the course of the plot it becomes clear that the community leader Renardet committed the crime. He manages to steer the investigation in the wrong direction until it is discontinued without result. Later he feels haunted by the child's spirit. He has the forest cut down to escape the memory of what he did. Finally he decides to take his own life. He wrote a confession which he addressed to the examining magistrate Putoin and threw in the mailbox. Then he climbs up to his keep, where he loses courage. When the postman Rompel empties the box, Renardet asks him to return his letter, which he refuses. Now Renardet has no other option: he throws himself from the keep.

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