Esmeralda by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Name: Esmeralda
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

A French language teacher narrates the story from Paris. He and his wife Clelie, a copyist of paintings, first notice a mismatched trio at the Louvre — an elderly, ill-at-ease man, a sad young girl, and the sharp-tongued mother who fetches them. Clelie guesses they are American. Days later the same family — Monsieur, Madame, and their daughter Esmeralda — moves into the apartment on the first floor of the narrator's building, having grown suddenly wealthy after iron was discovered on their barren mountain land in North Carolina. Madame engages Clelie to give Esmeralda drawing lessons, and the lessons move up to the narrator's fifth-floor apartment. Esmeralda, unused to refinement and still grieving her old rough life, confides in Clelie: the family lived simply until the ore discovery brought money and misery. Her father wanted to stay home, but Madame, more citified from having lived in "'Lizabethville," insisted on traveling and forced the move. Esmeralda reveals she was to be married the week the ore was found, but her mother broke off the match. The father later befriends the narrator on the stairs, timidly asking to visit and "be sociable," explaining that he and Esmeralda are "home folks" from under the shadow of "old Bald" who cannot get used to town ways, while Madame thrives on society. Madame pushes into Parisian society using her money, dressing and displaying Esmeralda, who is admired for her naive beauty but is miserable, especially since Madame promotes a fortune-hunting marquis as a suitor. Esmeralda, weeping, tells Clelie and her father she'd rather die than marry the marquis, and mentions missing "Wash" from home. In despair she once speaks of drowning herself in the Seine. Around this time the narrator glimpses a gaunt, poorly dressed young American man watching Esmeralda from the shadows as she leaves for a ball; the concierge reports a starving, secluded young lodger on the floor above who eats almost nothing. When the narrator finds him collapsed on the stairs, Clelie and the narrator nurse him through the night, learning he is Wash — Esmeralda's betrothed, who sold what little he had, traveled steerage, and had despaired upon seeing her surrounded by luxury, believing she had abandoned him. Clelie brings Esmeralda to him; the reunion is joyful. The father, informed, is astonished but accepts it. He resolves to "break it to mother" that Esmeralda has chosen Wash over the marquis and over her mother's ambitions. After a stormy confrontation with Madame, he returns exhausted, reporting that Madame's door is now closed to Esmeralda. Esmeralda stays with the narrator and Clelie to prepare for her wedding, deeply grateful to her father for standing up for her at cost to himself, though he stays loyal to Madame, whom he will not abandon. The narrator, Clelie, and Monsieur accompany Wash and Esmeralda to their wedding at the American Chapel, where Monsieur gives the couple papers securing an inheritance for them. They travel with the newlyweds to Havre and see them off by ship, Monsieur sending fond, halting messages to the folks back home and explaining that he himself cannot return because he will not go back on his vow to Mother. As the ship departs, the narrator calls their future "obscurity"; Clelie corrects him: "It is love." Monsieur, left behind, reflects that it was natural for Esmeralda to choose Wash, and he would not have it otherwise.

By Frances Hodgson Burnett · First published 1877 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Coming-of-Age · 11,266 words

First lines

To begin, I am a Frenchman, a teacher of languages, and a poor man, -- necessarily a poor man, as the great world would say, or I should not be a teacher of languages, and my wife a copyist of great pictures, selling her copies at small prices. In our own eyes, it is true, we are not so poor -- my Clelie and I. Looking back upon our past we congratulate ourselves upon our prosperous condition. There was a time when we were poorer than we are now, and were not together, and were, moreover, in London instead of in Paris. These were indeed calamities: to be poor, to teach, to live apart, not even knowing each other -- and in England! In England we spent years; we instructed imbeciles of all grades; we were chilled by east winds, and tortured by influenza; we vainly strove to conciliate the appalling English; we were discouraged and desolate. But this, thank _le bon Dieu! _ is past.

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Esmeralda is listed on Textopian as a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, dated 1877 CE.

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Work type: Novel
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Date: 1877 CE
Language: English
Genres: Literary Fiction, Social Commentary, Coming-of-Age, Romance, Drama
Length: 11,266 words
Structure: 1 section, 226 paragraphs
Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)

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Work identity for Esmeralda by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering Esmeralda?
How does this novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Literary Fiction first become important in the reading?

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Genres

Literary Fiction — The book explores complex themes of identity, class, and cultural dislocation through character-driven narratives.
Social Commentary — It critiques societal norms and the struggles of individuals from different backgrounds, particularly focusing on the American experience in Paris.
Coming-of-Age — The protagonist, Esmeralda, undergoes significant personal growth and self-discovery amidst her family's transition to wealth and societal expectations.
Romance — There are elements of romantic longing and emotional connections, particularly regarding Esmeralda's past and her relationships.