Joseph Conrad

The Duel Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad's novella "The Duel" regards the story of Lieutenant Gabriel Feraud, a fervent Bonapartist and obsessive duelist. Following a near-fatal duel with the nephew of the mayor of Strasbourg, Lieutenant Armand d'Hubert is sent to put Feraud under house arrest. This confrontation sets in motion a series of indecisive duels between the two over the course of the next several years. Conrad's "The Duel" is based upon the real-life events of two French Hussar officers named Dupont and Fournier-Sarlovèze, who over the course of nineteen years fought over thirty duels. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, the conflict between the two men is a gripping period piece in which Conrad constructs an analogy to the conflict of all men.