Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 253 After satisfaction comes emptiness

"Suspense is the most primal driving force of reading, while curiosity is its most delightful seasoning."

Norman McLeod repeated the last sentence of Lionel's letter over and over, took a deep breath, and finally made his decision.

He slammed his hand on the call bell on the table, and his assistant Will, who had just returned from the translation office, had no choice but to rush over.

Norman McLeod's tone was firm: "Go tell the art department that the cover design originally scheduled for mid-June is scrapped!"

Anything due at the end of the month will also be voided! I have a new idea!

Will was stunned: "Sir, the mid-term cover proof is already..."

McLeod interrupted his assistant: "Redo it all! Also, notify the printing press to reserve enough paper for additional printing."

I have a feeling we might need to…

Will didn't say anything more, only said "Yes!" and left the editor-in-chief's office.

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In mid-June 1880, Parisian readers were greeted with the final chapter of Benjamin Bouton's Curious Cases.

Benjamin Boudon left Daphne and the child because he knew he was getting younger every day and would eventually become a child, or even an infant.

He will not only be unable to be there for his child as she grows up, but he will also be a burden to Daphne.

Benjamin sold the inheritance his father left him, leaving all the money to Daphne, and one night, he drove away alone in his carriage.

From then on, Daphne began to receive postcards and letters from Benjamin every year—to their daughter.

Their daughter, Caroline, reads a passage from a letter her father, Benjamin, sent her when she was ten years old, which seems to serve as a summary of the entire novel:

Be who you want to be. There's no time limit to this; you can start anytime you're willing to.

You can start changing now, or you can remain unchanged; you don't have to be restricted by any rules.

I hope you can live your most wonderful life; I hope you can see things that amaze you; I hope you can experience emotions you've never felt before; I hope you can meet people with different perspectives; I hope you can be proud of your life.

If you find yourself not yet able to do it, I hope you have the courage to start over.

Benjamin traveled to countries all over the world, staying as far as Africa and India; Daphne married a businessman and opened a etiquette school.

One evening after class, Daphne saw Benjamin—his eyes were still full of love for her, but he looked like a young man in his early twenties.

Daphne, however, was over fifty years old, and the years had left indelible marks on her. After spending another night together, they said goodnight to each other and parted silently.

A few years later, Daphne received a letter from the workhouse saying that a boy there had lost his memory, but his notebook was filled with her name.

When Daphne arrived at the workhouse, she found it was Benjamin, but he looked only twelve or thirteen years old, and his face was covered with acne.

Daphne was already quite old at this time, but she still took on the responsibility of caring for Benjamin.

Finally, Benjamin, now an infant, closed his eyes in Daphne's arms.

The infant in his arms, Benjamin Boudon, listening to the familiar melody, slowly and peacefully closed his eyes. His breathing gradually weakened and finally stopped. The ship of life, which had been sailing against the current for nearly a century, finally returned to its harbor at this moment.

He found eternal peace in the arms of his first and final lover.

Daphne felt the little body in her arms completely relax. She didn't burst into tears, but simply lowered her head and gently pressed her wrinkled cheek against the baby's still warm face.

Outside the window, the Seine River still flows quietly, and the Parisian sky is high and serene.

Time, in the end, lost to love.

Upon witnessing this outcome, both Paris and London were plunged into a complex mix of feelings—a sense of loss mixed with a feeling of having gained something.

To mark the final installment of Benjamin Buton's serialization, Mrs. Rothschild held a "grand" reading ceremony, inviting almost all of her close friends.

After the last sentence was read, the salon was filled with the sobs of the ladies.

Even Mrs. Rothschild, who had already seen the ending, was affected by the atmosphere. Her voice was somewhat wistful: "To be honest, gentlemen, it has been many years since I have been so heartbroken by a novel."

How cruel, yet how romantic, was Benjamin's fate! His final departure was a chivalrous sacrifice!

However, she admired Daphne even more: "This woman possesses unimaginable resilience and loyalty. Can you imagine? Raising her beloved from his adolescence to infancy! This is a sacred emotion that transcends the mundane!"

Finally, she couldn't resist commenting on Lionel: "He is undoubtedly a genius—his novels touch upon eternity!"

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Mrs. Pauline, who lived in the apartment on St. Martin's Avenue, witnessed Benjamin leaving Daphne and couldn't help but whisper in shock, "No...he can't do this..."

She felt a pang of heartache for Daphne.

However, when she read Benjamin's words to his daughter, "I hope you can be proud of your own life... If you find that you haven't, I hope you have the courage to start over," tears silently streamed down her face again.

She carefully cut out the newspaper and placed it under the glass of the dressing table.

She felt that these words were also a form of comfort and encouragement for herself—a woman trapped in the mundane details of daily life who occasionally reminisced about her pre-marital dreams.

In a smoky pub on Rue Saint-Jacques, carpenter Martin fell silent as he listened to postcards Benjamin sent to his daughter from all over the world.

He said in a low voice, "He's suffering inside... He knows he'll become a burden."

Finally, when the reader read that Daphne found young Benjamin in the workhouse and ultimately held him in her arms like a baby to say goodbye, the tavern fell silent, with only heavy breathing audible.

After a long silence, the old worker Joseph sighed and downed the cheap wine in his glass: "Damn it... this world... but this woman, she's really tough!"

To them, this story is strange yet true; it speaks of the capriciousness of fate and, more importantly, the raw yet powerful love between people suffering hardship.

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The completion of this work brought literary criticism to a climax, with almost all major newspapers publishing lengthy reviews.

Le Figaro: "Lional Sorel announced the birth of a true novelist with *The Curious Case of Benjamin Bouton*. ... The passages about Daphne raising the 'boy' and 'infant' Benjamin in her later years make her one of the most moving women in French literature..."

The analysis in *Two Worlds Review* takes a broader perspective: "Mr. Sorel has accomplished an extraordinary feat. This work skillfully weaves a grand history of France from the French Revolution to the Third Republic. Benjamin's life reflects the turmoil and change of the entire century."

The ending suggests that no matter how times change, humanity's most fundamental experiences—love, loss, memory, and death—are eternal.

The Times Literary Supplement also praised it highly: "This remarkable book from France challenges our understanding. Its ending abandons any form of sentimentality, presenting the capriciousness of fate and human dignity with an almost cruel tenderness."

We eagerly anticipate what this young gentleman will bring us!

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Bouton has finally come to an end, and readers in both Paris and London, after the emotional turmoil, feel a sense of emptiness.

This "historical romance novel" has greatly raised people's threshold; reading other mediocre authors' serialized works at this point will only make them feel more empty.

The British magazine *Good Words* made a surprising move...

(End of this chapter)