The Point of Honor

De: Joseph Conrad

Narrado por: Lawrence Skinner

"Napoleon I., whose career had the quality of a duel against the whole of Europe, disliked duelling between the officers of his army. The great military emperor was not a swashbuckler, and had little respect for tradition. Nevertheless, a story of duelling, which became a legend in the army, runs through the epic of imperial wars. To the surprise and admiration of their fellows, two officers, like insane artists trying to gild refined gold or paint the lily, pursued a private contest through the years of universal carnage. They were officers of cavalry, and their connection with the high-spirited but fanciful animal which carries men into battle seems particularly appropriate."

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AKA The Duel

"Thus to this man, sobered by the victorious issue
of a duel, life appeared robbed of its charm, simply because it was no
longer menaced."
- Joseph Conrad, The Duel (aka The Point of Honor)

Based loosely on the lives of two French cavalry officers (Hussars: Dupont and Fournier-Sarlovèze) during the Napoleonic wars who over the course of 19 years fought 30 duels*, Conrad builds this novella into a manhood, honor, etc. It also shows a bit how ridiculous men, honor, and war often are. And god help us when they all get together.

The book was made in 1977 into a pretty good movie by Ridley Scott (his first). Recently my wife told me she remembers vividly being a young kid (maybe 5) and watching this movie with her dad (a cavalry officer, oddly) and still remembers it having great uniforms and having the basic plot of duel + talking + duel + talking + duel + kissing + duel. Story checks out.

It wasn't my favorite Conrad, but a 3-star Conrad is a classic almost anywhere else.

Fantastic Story by Breakout Author Joseph Conrad

Joey Conrad certainly knows how to write people. His characters are exceptionally human and his descriptions pop right off the page. I hope he writes more soon!

Is it canon?

One of my favorite stories and I rate it highly excepting just one point of scholarship. What text did the narrator use? It is a version of the the original text that is not identified and so far has eluded my efforts to discover. I can only buy so many copies of “A Set of Six,” and “A Point of Honor.” Not that it isn’t a delightful version, just a maddening one to follow!