Chapter 1, The Emperor, pg. 1-15 Summary

In The Passion, the young Frenchman Henri, sent to fight in the Napoleonic wars, meets a Venetian woman with webbed feet, Villanelle, in Russia. Together, they flee from the grande armee. Henri falls in love with her, though Villanelle's heart is with another. Henri kills Villanelle's husband and winds up in prison, where Villanelle visits him, eventually bearing his child though refusing to marry him.

As the novel begins, Henri recalls his time on the frozen Russian front, where he served as Napoleon's meal server. The emperor's love for poultry is legendary, his ravenous appetite demanding the constant slaughter and preparation of chicken. Henri is fond of Napoleon, but the little emperor is selfish, indulging in food, light and heat as his men go without. Henri recalls the time with bitterness, despairing the notion that...