Avatar (short story)
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Avatar, first published in 1856
, is a Fantastique 19th century short story by French writer Théophile Gautier
.
Countess Prascovie Labinska. Alas, she rejects his advances, and remains faithful to her husband, Count Olaf. Octave slowly drifts towards apathy, and his soul gradually deserts him. Octave's friends and relatives, who fail to understand the source of his illness, resort to a peculiar and rather mysterious physician who spent several years in India leading an ascetic life. The physician, Balthazar Cherbonneau, offers to swap Octave's mind
with Olaf's using magic he learned in India. Cherbonneau tricks Olaf while he is visiting and successfully switches Octave's and the count's minds. Prascovie is shaken by what appears to be a change in her husband's personality, sensing Octave's desire for her in her husband's face. Meanwhile, Olaf is confused by the sudden change of bodies. He realizes that someone is impersonating him when he is denied entry to his residence.
Olaf, in Octave's body, challenges Octave to a duel to the death. Unwilling to harm their original bodies, the two men agree to go to Cherbonneau and fix the exchange. Octave, having given up on all hope of ever being loved by Prascovie, does not return to his body. Olaf reunites with his wife. Cherbonneau decides to take over Octave's cadaver, faking his own death.
1856 in literature
The year 1856 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Arthur Schopenhauer adds a chapter on "The Metaphysics of Sexual Love" to the third edition of his The World as Will and Representation....
, is a Fantastique 19th century short story by French writer Théophile Gautier
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, art critic and literary critic....
.
Plot Summary
Octave de Saville pines for LithuanianLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
Countess Prascovie Labinska. Alas, she rejects his advances, and remains faithful to her husband, Count Olaf. Octave slowly drifts towards apathy, and his soul gradually deserts him. Octave's friends and relatives, who fail to understand the source of his illness, resort to a peculiar and rather mysterious physician who spent several years in India leading an ascetic life. The physician, Balthazar Cherbonneau, offers to swap Octave's mind
Body swap
A body swap is a storytelling device seen in a variety of fiction, most often in television shows and movies, in which two people exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. Alternatively, their minds may stay where they are as their bodies adjust...
with Olaf's using magic he learned in India. Cherbonneau tricks Olaf while he is visiting and successfully switches Octave's and the count's minds. Prascovie is shaken by what appears to be a change in her husband's personality, sensing Octave's desire for her in her husband's face. Meanwhile, Olaf is confused by the sudden change of bodies. He realizes that someone is impersonating him when he is denied entry to his residence.
Olaf, in Octave's body, challenges Octave to a duel to the death. Unwilling to harm their original bodies, the two men agree to go to Cherbonneau and fix the exchange. Octave, having given up on all hope of ever being loved by Prascovie, does not return to his body. Olaf reunites with his wife. Cherbonneau decides to take over Octave's cadaver, faking his own death.