L'Ingenu Summary

L'Ingenu Summary

One evening Abbot de Kercabon was walking with his sister along the seashore. They were thinking about their long ago lost brother and his wife, who had left for Canada and never came back. While talking they saw a ship in the bay. The people were the English, among them though was a young man dressed up like an Indian. The young man said he was the Huron, and the abbot with his sister were very interested in him, as never had seen alive Huron. So they invited him to the dinner and took him with all the hospitality. He was to return next day, and in the morning when he was the abbot again, he presented him with his talisman - portraits of unknown people tied to a string. This talisman was given him by his nurse, and had to protect him from evil. In the portraits the abbot recognizes his brother and his wife. The Huron did not know his own parents, and was raised by the Huron Indians. The abbot assumed that this young man was his nephew, so the Huron settled in their house and did not leave.

The first thing was to do with the Huron to baptize him. so the abbot gave him the Bible to read, so to acknowledge with their religion. When the day of the christening came the Huron could not be found anywhere. Finally they found him in the river, and he told that he would be baptized only this way – like the people in the Bible. All persuasions that the ceremony has undergone through the years could not make the Huron come out from the river. Only charming Miss St. Yves could make him come out. For this she was invited to be his god-mother.

After the ceremony Miss St. Yves and the Huron had a conversation, and declared love to each other. Only she said that they needed the permission from the relatives, which the Huron found ridiculous, but had to obey his beloved and asked his uncle and aunt. The abbot said that it was an awful sin to marry one’s god-mother, it was forbidden. The Huron said it was stupid, and said that nothing of this was in the Bible. He decided to marry Miss St. Yves the very night. He rushed into her room and tried to take possession of her by force, which in his understanding was a marrying ceremony. Her relatives were in time to stop him, and later explained him the way affairs of such kind should be managed. The Huron decided to go to the Pope to ask for the permission to marry. Miss St. Yves’s relatives meanwhile took her to the convent to save from this crazy, and later marry her with another man.

On his way to the Pope the Huron met with great number of people leaving their houses, because they did not want to reject their own faith. The Huron decided first to go to Paris and meet the king first. He would tell him what illegal things were done in his country. Coming to the Versailles the Huron was astonished by how difficult it was to meet the king. As a result of his behavior he was thrown into the prison.

He was imprisoned with a Jansenist called Gordon. Gordon was a good-natured old man, who had a great influence on the Huron during 11 months of his imprisonment. He educated him, taught many things. The Huron was reading many books, and became very educated young man with extremely common sense.

His relatives meanwhile started looking for him and left Low Britany for Paris. Miss St. Yves did the same. It was she who managed to save the Huron from prison, but by the cost of her pride and dignity. She was forced to give herself to the person who let the Huron get out from the prison. On the evening all the family got together, happy and in expectations of brilliant future. St. Yves could not carry the burden of her betrayal and became very sick. Her soul was killing her body. At her deathbed she told in what way she managed to save the Huron from prison, and died. The Huron was miserable in his grief, but with the flow of time he could collect himself. He became a magnificent officer in the king’s army and had a bright future in front of him.

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

Update this section

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.