Recently, I read “Mateo Falcone”, a short story by Prosper Mérimée. At first, I thought that it was very interesting, but I was saddened by the story’s ending. In the story, Fortunato Falcone—a ten-year-old boy—was found by Gianetto Sanpiero, a bandit. Fortunato’s parents had left to visit a flock in a faraway clearing, so Gianetto asked Fortunato to hide him from Corsican soldiers. This was something that Fortunato’s father would have done, but Fortunato, being ten, only asked what he would gain, and after receiving a five-franc piece promised to hide him. He did so very cleverly and cunningly, so that when the Corsican soldiers came, they could not figure out where Falcone had gone. When the adjutant tried threatening Fortunato, Fortunato ignored the threats, pointing out that his father was Mateo Falcone, and Mateo had a reputation of being “a loyal friend, but a dangerous enemy”, as he was extremely skilled with a gun. However, when the adjutant bribed him with a silver watch, Fortunato eventually revealed Gianetto’s location despite his earlier promise to hide him. Mateo, being “a loyal friend”, would not have done so, and when his father came back and learned that Fortunato had broken his promise for a watch, Mateo threw the watch against a stone. Then, Mateo led his son to a ravine with soft soil and killed Fortunato because Fortunato had been a traitor, when before Fortunato betrayed Gianetto, Mateo would have killed anyone connecting him with the word “traitor”. I was very upset that Mateo had killed his own son, who was, after all, only ten years old, but the beginning of the story was intriguing. I would rate it 9.2/10.
phoenixbookreview 