The Lobster and her Daughter

The poem begins by observing that the wise may advance by seeming to retreat, as lobsters move backward and commanders mislead their enemies about where they intend to strike. Such secrecy and indirect action are linked to Fate and Louis, whose purposes remain hidden until victory reveals them. The fable then tells of a mother lobster rebuking her daughter for failing to go forward. The daughter replies that she can only follow her mother’s example, since all their race move in the opposite direction. Her answer is judged sensible: example strongly shapes conduct, sometimes leading to wisdom but more often to folly. Yet retreating or backing toward an aim can be a useful art when properly employed, especially in war.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1693 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Animal Tale · 436 words

First lines

The wise, sometimes, as lobsters do, / To gain their ends back foremost go. / It is the rower's art; and those / Commanders who mislead their foes, / Do often seem to aim their sight / Just where they don't intend to smite. / My theme, so low, may yet apply / To one whose fame is very high, / Who finds it not the hardest matter / A hundred-headed league to scatter. / What he will do, what leave undone, / Are secrets with unbroken seals, / Till victory the truth reveals. / Whatever he would have unknown / Is sought in vain. Decrees of Fate / Forbid to check, at first, the course / Which sweeps at last with torrent force. / One Jove, as ancient fables state, / Exceeds a hundred gods in weight. / So Fate and Louis[1] would seem able / The universe to draw, / Bound captive to their law. -- / But come we to our fable. / A mother lobster did her daughter chide: / 'For shame, my daughter! can't you go ahead? ' / 'And how go you yourself? ' the child replied; / 'Can I be but by your example led? / Head foremost should I, singularly, wend, / While all my race pursue the other end. ' / She spoke with sense: for better or for worse, / Example has a universal force. / To some it opens wisdom's door, / But leads to folly many more. / Yet, as for backing to one's aim, / When properly pursued / The art is doubtless good, / At least in grim Bellona's game.[2]

• Open reader

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Genres

• Fable — A brief animal-centered narrative delivers a clear moral: example powerfully shapes conduct, and one should not rebuke others for behavior one displays oneself.
• Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the work explicitly instructs readers on moral conduct, leadership, imitation, and strategic action.
• Animal Tale — The central characters are a speaking mother lobster and her daughter, whose human-like dialogue dramatizes the lesson.
• Moral Allegory — The lobster's backward movement functions allegorically, representing the influence of parental and social example as well as indirect strategy.

Tags

French fable · verse narrative · seventeenth-century France · moral allegory · animal characters · mother and daughter · lobsters · parental example · imitation · conduct and character · wisdom and folly · backward movement

What this Textopian page supports

The Lobster and her Daughter is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1693 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Fable
• Author: Jean de La Fontaine
• Date: 1693 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Animal Tale, Moral Allegory, Satire
• Length: 436 words
• Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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• Work identity for The Lobster and her Daughter by Jean de La Fontaine
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More by Jean de La Fontaine

• To Monseigneur the Dauphin (1668)
• The Grasshopper and the Ant (1668)
• The Raven and the Fox (1668)
• The Frog that Wished to be as Big as the Ox (1668)
• The Two Mules (1668)
• The Wolf and the Dog (1668)
• The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company with the Lion (1668)
• The Wallet (1668)
• All works by Jean de La Fontaine