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The Demoiselle D'Ys (The Deh-mwa-zel dees) is a story in The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. It's the fifth story in the book and arguably the first to have no connection to the titular character.

Prologue[]

The prologue begins with a short poem-esque French passage that goes:

"Mais je croy que je

Suis descendu on puiz

Tenebreux onquel disoit

Heraclytus estre Verité cachée.

This roughly translates to:

But I believe that I

went down on the

tenebrous one who said

Heraclytus is the hidden Truth.

It then leads into another passage that goes:

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

The former is a passage from book 3 chapter 36 of Gargantua and Pantagruel, and the latter is a verse from Proverbs 30:18-19 in the King James version of the Bible.

Plot[]

The story starts with Philip, a man whose overconfidence has got himself lost on a moorland with no signs of civilization and the sun quickly setting. After searching for any landmarks to guide him, he eventually gives up and decides to spend the night sleeping in the moors. As sleep comes upon him, he hears a large crash in the bushes. He sits up to find a falcon who suddenly swoops after a hare. As he follows the falcon to its newly found catch, he notices that the falcon has a leash with a sleighbell-shaped object on it. As Philip is observing this, a woman pushes past the surrounding heather to collect the falcon and its catch. She passes Philip without a word, and he realizes that she is likely the only chance of him getting to sleep on a bed made of anything but dirt. He explains his unfortunate circumstances to her, and she is in shock of how he managed to get here, saying that it would take centuries to return to whence he came. Before Philip can question further, she changes subject by blowing a whistle to call Hastur and Raoul to her side. She then tells Philip that she will do the courtesy of letting Philip stay the night. The four of them and a few of their hounds walk across the moorland to a large castle called the Château d'Ys where Philip and the woman share a drink from a cup. She then leads him inside.

When Philip wakes up the next day, he hears the woman preparing a hunt with the aforementioned falconers Hastur and Raoul as well as three new faces: Gaston, Sieur Piriou Louis, and Glemarec René. They leave to go on their hunt with the woman staying behind. Philip quickly gets dressed in an outfit he notes looks like a medieval huntsman gown and looks similar to what the Falconers were wearing. He doesn't think much of it and goes downstairs. There, he briefly meets with Pelagie the nurse before the woman he met yesterday invites him to breakfast. There, they immediately hit it off, leading to Philip realizing and confesseing his love to her, to which she responds in kind. Afterwards, they finally exchange names, where she reveals her name: Demoiselle Jeanne d'Ys. Afterward, they proceed to have small talk for a little while, and Jeanne talks about her life on the moors. Afterwards, Philip promises to stay with her for a week and visit her every day afterwards, where he will join them in their hunting. This prompts Jeanne to teach Philip the basics of falconry. During her lecture, the falcons suddenly start to panic, screaming and flapping their wings. Jeanne and Philiip look around to spy a poisonous viper slithering nearby. Philip goes to investigate, which brings Jeanne to plea with Philip not to put himself in danger. He complies and comforts her, oblivious to the viper who has slithered up to his ankle, biting him. Philip quickly throws Jeanne out of danger and stomps on the vipers head before collapsing to the ground and passing out. The last thing he sees is the face of Jeanne leaning over him.

Philip is miraculously still alive, and opens his eyes to find Jeanne and the hawks missing and the crushed snake at his feet. The castle has been reduced to ruin, and a falcon soars into the clouds above. Philip drags his numb foot across the ground then falls to his knees before a crumbling shrine that reads "Pray for the soul of the Demoisllie Jeanne d'Ys, who died in her youth for love of Philip, a Stranger. A.D. 1573." But upon the icy slab of stone lay a woman's glove still warm and fragrant.

Characters[]

  • Philip: A stranger who has left Kerselec and ventured into the moors, presumably to hunt considering the gun he carries with him. He is described as very chivalrous by Jeanne and is very charming, as shown with the speed at which his relationship with Jeanne progresses. He's both the narrator and the protagonist.
  • Jeanne: A beautiful falconer and the main love interest of the story. She's lived on the moors all 19 years of her life, with the only people she's ever known being the other hunters (Hastur, Raoul, Gaston, Glemarec René, and Louis), Pelagie, and Philip. She has curly dark hair and her parents died before the events of the story.
  • Pelagie: An old nurse who lives in the castle. She is seemingly a housekeeper.
  • Sieur Piriou Louis: One of the four falconers. Jeanne says that he's like a father to her.
  • Raoul: A tall skilled falconer and piqueur (Someone who manages the hounds during a hunt). Jeanne says that one day she will promote him to grand veneur (Huntsman).
  • Hastur: Another falconer/piqueur. He is tall, silent, and is described as an "Incomparable" falconer to Raoul. Whether that means he is far better or worse is left ambiguous.
  • Gaston: Another falconer who is briefly mentioned.
  • Glemarec René: A piqueur. Not much information is given about them.
  • Goulven: A minor character. He warns Philip not to enter the moors without a guide.

Trivia[]

  • The second part of the prologue details several different things that are briefly mentioned in the story. "The way of an eagle in the air" is most likely referencing the numerous falcons, "The way of a serpent upon a rock" is foreshadowing for Philips near-death experience, and "The way of a ship in the midst of the sea" is a reference to a brief quote of Jeanne where she mentions that she has seen ships on the ocean to the side of the moors.
    • It's unknown what "The way of a man with a maid" is referencing. It could be talking about Pelagie who is seemingly a maid, Philip and Jeanne's relationship, or Jeanne's parents. It could also be that it is intentionally left out of the story as that could be one of the things the narrator knows not.
  • Philip and Jeanne sharing a drink may be a referencing the loving cup ceremony. Such a ceremony is when the two partners would share a drink from the same cup to show that they are coming together.
  • The ending is similar to that of An Inhabitant of Carcosa. Both end with the protagonist finding the ruins of a graveyard and realizing that they have lost someone dear to them.
  • Philip is described as a stranger by Goulven, Jeanne, the gravestone, and himself. This is could be a reference to The Stranger from the King in Yellow.
  • Sieur Piriou Louis is possibly a reference to Louis Castagine.
  • Hasturs name is possibly a reference to other stories in the book (The repairer of reputations, The mask, and The yellow sign) or a reference to Haita the shepherd, as all of them mention the name Hastur in one way or another and were published before or around he same time as The Demoiselle D'Ys.
  • One of the first and last things about Jeanne that is described to the reader is that she wears a glove.
  • It's possible that Jeanne killed herself upon Philips departure, as her gravestone states that she "died in her youth for Philip."
  • This story and The Street of the Four Winds both end with the the main love interest dead and a perfumed item.
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