Tales and Novels of J. de La Fontaine

In Short

This book gathers three distinct tales—"The Progress of Wit," "The Sick Abbess," and "The Truckers"—that explore the recurring human appetite for variety, illicit romance, and the subversion of social conventions. Through a blend of sharp irony and lighthearted cynicism, the narrative focuses on characters who navigate the friction between their desires and the rigid expectations of their station. Its enduring appeal lies in the author's ability to treat scandalous affairs with a dry, conversational grace, transforming simple village scandals into sophisticated commentaries on the fragility of human fidelity.

The Story

The collection opens with "The Progress of Wit," a tale of a young, simple-minded girl named Alice. Concerned by her perceived lack of intellect, Alice is directed to a local friar, Father Bonadventure, who purportedly keeps a store of "wit" to bestow upon the needy. When Alice arrives, the friar explains that this commodity is best taught through direct, physical instruction. Through a series of clandestine encounters in his cell, the friar "educates" the girl, until Alice—now remarkably enlightened—shares her new expertise with her friend Nancy. Nancy, however, reveals that she attained her own "wit" through Alice’s brother, Alan, proving that the commodity is far more common—and more easily acquired—than the girl first suspected.

The narrative shifts to a convent in "The Sick Abbess," where the leader of a flock is struck by a melancholy wasting disease. Her physicians offer a blunt, singular prescription: she must engage with a man to restore her constitution. The Abbess is initially horrified, but she eventually finds a path forward when a nun named Agnes suggests that the entire sisterhood should follow the Abbess’s lead to normalize the activity. By framing the transgression as a collective, charitable act of solidarity, the nuns effectively dissolve the shame surrounding the Abbess's cure. Once the first barrier is broken, the entire convent embraces the remedy with enthusiastic efficiency, restoring the Abbess to health and vitality.

Finally, "The Truckers" follows two villagers, Stephen and Giles, who grow weary of their respective wives. With the help of a cynical local lawyer, Oudinet, they decide to "truck"—or exchange—their spouses in a formal, albeit absurd, legal transaction. The experiment proceeds with surprising success, as the men find that the novelty of new partners brings unexpected vigor to their domestic lives. However, the arrangement eventually sours when Stephen encounters his former wife in the woods and discovers, to his chagrin, that she is more captivating than he remembered. This realization triggers a legal battle to undo the exchange. The case eventually climbs the ladder of the French court system, leaving the villagers in a state of unresolved litigation, with the narrator ultimately suggesting that the true pleasure lay not in the possession of the wives, but in the thrill of the illicit game itself.

How It Unfolds

The education of Alice Alice seeks out a friar to remedy her perceived stupidity, only to find that his method of instruction is entirely physical. She returns to her daily life significantly transformed, promptly sharing the details of her "education" with her friend Nancy.

The convent’s prescription An ailing Abbess is told by her doctors that her survival depends on a romantic encounter, a prospect that clashes with her vows. Agnes rallies the sisters to create a culture of acceptance, ensuring that the Abbess does not have to bear the burden of her recovery alone.

The communal remedy The sisters adopt the Abbess’s path as a collective social norm, moving swiftly to ensure the "remedy" is applied throughout the convent. This act of unity dissolves the stigma of the situation, allowing the Abbess to recover her health completely.

The village trade Stephen and Giles, bored with their marriages, employ a lawyer to draft a contract for a wife-swap. They treat the arrangement with the casual gravity of a business transaction, complete with a mule offered as a bargaining chip.

The unraveling of the swap The novelty wears off after a month, and Stephen’s accidental discovery of his former wife’s renewed charm leads to buyer’s remorse. The two men retreat into litigation, dragging the matter into the public eye and leaving their domestic stability to the whims of the courts.

The People

Alice is a naive girl whose transformation from "a silly fool" to a worldly woman drives the first tale’s humor. She is defined by her initial ignorance and her subsequent, quick-witted comfort with her new reality. Father Bonadventure acts as the catalyst for Alice’s change; he is a pragmatic, predatory figure who uses his holy office to facilitate his own desires, viewing "wit" as a form of currency he is happy to circulate.

The Abbess is a woman trapped between a genuine medical need and the crushing weight of public reputation. Her journey from shame to pragmatic recovery highlights her adaptability. Agnes, her foil, is the savvy sister who understands that the only way to shield the Abbess from scandal is to make the transgression universal, thereby turning an individual lapse into a collective policy.

Stephen and Giles are archetypal "village louts" who seek to manage their marital dissatisfaction with the same utilitarian logic they would apply to livestock. They are characterized by their fickle nature; they view their wives as interchangeable goods until the spark of jealousy—ignited by the "theft" of a partner—forces them to reconsider the value of what they have lost. Oudinet, the lawyer, serves as the cynical architect of their folly. He is the only one who truly profits from the arrangement, proving that while the villagers seek variety, he seeks only the fees generated by their moral confusion.

In Its Own Voice

The girl, quite overcome with shame and pain; Her neighbours asked to point her out the spot, Where useful wit by purchase might be got.

Alice desperately seeks a solution to her perceived lack of intelligence, setting off the chain of events in the friar’s cell.

The girl replied: wit will not long delay; 'Twill soon arrive; but then I fear its flight: I'm half afraid 'twill leave me ere 'tis night.

Alice expresses a humorous concern that the "wit" she has just acquired from the friar might be as fleeting as the encounter itself.

Bread got by stealth, and eat where none can spy, Is better far than what you bake or buy.

The narrator offers a cynical reflection on why the stolen encounter in the woods is, for Stephen, more intoxicating than his previous legitimate marriage.

What It's Really About

The book explores the tension between human instinct and the social structures designed to contain it. The stories argue that when institutional rules—whether those of the church or the marriage contract—clash with the fundamental human desire for variety and pleasure, people will inevitably find ways to circumvent or subvert them. The author suggests that "wit," "remedy," and "contracts" are merely masks worn by desire. Ultimately, the work poses a skeptical question: are our social institutions truly meant to protect our happiness, or do they merely provide a stage for the elaborate, often ridiculous games we play to disguise our restlessness?

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a dry, ironic wit and have a tolerance for the bawdy humor of the seventeenth century will find this collection rewarding. There is a distinct, rhythmic precision to the language that turns even the most scandalous behavior into a droll, observational performance. It is a book that refuses to judge its characters, choosing instead to laugh at the predictability of their lapses.

However, the modern reader should be prepared for the period’s attitudes toward women and the church, which are handled with a cavalier, sometimes cynical detachment that does not align with contemporary sensibilities. The humor relies heavily on the premise that infidelity is a universal, almost unavoidable state of being, which some may find repetitive or thin. Yet, if you enjoy literature that strips away the veneer of high-minded morality to reveal the messy, impulsive, and deeply human logic underneath, these tales offer a sharp, bracing experience. It stays with you not for its plots, but for the author’s unflinching, conversational tone—a voice that seems to lean in, wink, and remind you that, regardless of the era, human folly remains an endlessly entertaining subject.