Story summary
What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America summary
- 7 min read
- 10 parts
- Audio soon
A tanner in a small Picardy town lends money to a girl's father to win her, and war arrives in Verval.
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What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America at a glance
Summary: 7 min to read
- Reading time
- About 3 h 45 min3 h fast, 4 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 53,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America in short
The collection runs from a dark wartime drama to the comedy of a loaded frog. Its title story asks what love depends on and shows a tanner who cannot accept a refusal. Around it come love tales of Paris, Naples and London, then Tales of France, and finally Mark Twain in French.
What What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America is about
A rich tanner stands in a moonlit garden in July 1870, dressed with unusual care, trying to decide whether to ask a girl to marry him. Within a year, that single evening will cost lives in a French town. Could love be the cause?
What Does Love Depend On? gathers the short novels and sketches of Emile Blémont, a French poet and critic. It holds tales of love in France, Tales of France, and American Sketches, free renderings of Mark Twain. You will meet a cruel creditor, a courtesan, Flaubert's Pécuchet and a frog loaded with shot.
Who it’s for. Readers who love short stories with a French accent, from romantic drama and Paris comedy to street scenes and Mark Twain's tall tales.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A creditor holds a whole family hostage
The title story opens in Verval-sur-Orle, a small Picardy town, in July 1870. François Rouillon, a tanner, brewer and miller of about thirty-seven, is broad, strong, shrewd and used to getting his way. On a moonlit evening he dresses with care and sets out to win a wife.
His choice is Lucile Fraisier, nineteen and fair, daughter of the draper Constant Fraisier. Rouillon once spread rumors until a girl who refused him had to leave town. He pursues Lucile the way he does business. Fraisier is a gambler who never manages his shop, and Rouillon lent him money with careful guarantees until the family owed twenty thousand francs.
That evening he asks for Lucile's hand in a curt, commanding voice. Fraisier, frightened, begs for a few days. Lucile listens in the shadows and says the loans were a trap. She cannot love a man who built one.
Affection that comes with a debt attached is not a gift but a leash.
- 2Start free to read
A daughter refuses and a plan to buy time
Lucile does not stand alone.
- 3Start free to read
War arrives and tests every character
On July 15, 1870, France and Prussia go to war, and the empire falls within weeks.
- 4Start free to read
A hostage chooses whom to sacrifice
Rouillon is taken to the Villa des Roses, where a German commander sits at a lavish lunch.
- 5Start free to read
Comic ball and a refusal at the mill
After the grim opening piece, the book lightens with Octave's Marriage.
- 6Start free to read
Short tales of heartbreak, vengeance and a wager
On a Snowy Night is a brief monologue.
- 7Start free to read
Claire, a hunt and two weddings
A True Frenchwoman is the longest of the shorter tales.
- 8Start free to read
Tales of France from the court to the village
The second part, Tales of France, begins with Young Alexis.
- 9Start free to read
Street sketches, a scribe and Pécuchet
Several sketches record Paris itself.
- 10Start free to read
Mark Twain in French and the book's laughter
The last part, American Sketches, is a free but faithful French version of Mark Twain, with a preface from 1881.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Check yourself
Why does Lucile reject Rouillon's claim to her affection?
Right. “Lucile listens in the shadows and says the loans were a trap.”Not quite. “Lucile listens in the shadows and says the loans were a trap.”
What does Rouillon decide while considering the commander's threat?
Right. “If a storm must fall on someone, it will fall on someone else.”Not quite. “If a storm must fall on someone, it will fall on someone else.”
What makes the humor of the American Sketches work?
Right. “The more the narrators pretend all is normal, the funnier the page becomes.”Not quite. “The more the narrators pretend all is normal, the funnier the page becomes.”
Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- François Rouillon A rich tanner, brewer and miller in Verval who wants Lucile Fraisier and uses her father's debts to get her.
- Lucile Fraisier A nineteen-year-old draper's daughter who loves André Jorre and refuses to be bought, even to save her family.
- André Jorre A harness-maker called back to the army, who loves Lucile and hopes to protect her family from ruin.
- Constant Fraisier Lucile's father, a charming gambler and failed shopkeeper who is deep in debt to Rouillon.
- Madeleine Cibre A former servant of Rouillon's, cast out when pregnant, who later serves at the Villa des Roses.
- Octave A shy young Parisian law student who adores his cousin Édith and stumbles through a wild day with new friends.
- Claire Albe A dowryless, warm-hearted young Parisian woman who must choose between a safe suitor and the man who unsettles her.
How it ends (spoiler)
Rouillon is arrested by a gendarmerie brigadier in front of André and Fraisier. At his court-martial, Madeleine Cibre produces his handwritten list, and a gardener's daughter describes what she saw. Rouillon admits his crime, is sentenced to death, and leaves his fortune to Lucile. Before the firing squad, he shouts Long live Death. The people of Verval still remember him by that nickname.
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Questions about What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America
What is What Does Love Depend On about?
It is a collection of short stories and sketches by Emile Blémont. The title story follows a rich tanner in 1870 who wants to marry a draper's daughter. Other pieces range from Paris comedies to tales from Naples, London and America.
Who is François Rouillon?
He is the central figure of the title story, a tanner, brewer and miller in the Picardy town of Verval. Strong and shrewd, he lends money to a family to win their daughter, and the war of 1870 tests him.
Are the American Sketches written by Mark Twain?
They are free French versions of Mark Twain pieces, including the jumping frog tale, Journalism in Tennessee and How to Cure a Cold. A preface from 1881 says the translator kept the flavor of the original while adapting it for French readers.
When was the book written and is any of it based on real events?
The pieces appeared in newspapers and magazines over many years, with dates such as 1873, 1881, 1883 and 1891 to 1892. The title story is set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871.
Is the collection easy to read?
Each piece is short and self-contained, so you can read one at a sitting. The stories have clear plots, lively dialogue and a brisk pace, and the tones range from tender to comic.
Cite this edition
Blémont, Émile. What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/what-does-love-depend-on-tales-of-france-and-america.
Blémont, É. (2026). What does love depend on? — Tales of France and America. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/what-does-love-depend-on-tales-of-france-and-america
Blémont, Émile. What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/what-does-love-depend-on-tales-of-france-and-america.
@book{blemont2026what,
author = {Blémont, Émile},
title = {What Does Love Depend On? — Tales of France and America},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/what-does-love-depend-on-tales-of-france-and-america}
}
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