SOURCE: "The Second Generation," in Short Fiction in France, 1800-1850, Syracuse University Press, 1964, pp. 166-204.

In the following excerpt, George offers a thematic and stylistic analysis of Gautier's short fiction, maintaining that he "stands forth as one of the earliest to construct a formal short story. "

The petits romantiques, the second generation of romantics, boasted fewer distinguished names than the original group, but they made up for this lack in devotion to a cause. Their faith in their destiny flamed even higher than that of the founders of the movement; they developed an overpowering sense of the sanctity of their mission. Tragically, most of them possessed a modicum of talent but no genius, with the result that their work scarcely outlived them. Most were devout poets who, like their predecessors, turned reluctantly to the brief narrative as it became an accepted mode of literary expression. Yet some of...