Gabriel-Ernest Themes

The relationship—and tension—between appearance and reality is a central theme in “Gabriel-Ernest,” influencing both events and how characters react to them. The author suggests that not only can appearances be deceiving, but that people will go to great lengths to ignore evidence that things are not what they seem. Van Cheele, as the owner of his woods, is highly concerned with how they appear to others, and much less interested in the actual state…

Closely intertwined with appearance and reality in “Gabriel-Ernest” are the themes of social status and hypocrisy. The efforts of the characters to protect their status and use it in self-serving ways lead almost directly to the story’s tragic and arguably avoidable conclusion. The narrator tells readers that Van Cheele is not only a local landowner, but a “parish councillor and justice of the peace.” Consequently, his primary concern upon encountering Gabriel-Ernest in the…

Fear of the unknown underlies many of Van Cheele’s observations and deductions in “Gabriel-Ernest,” leading him to conclusions that, while probable, cannot actually be proven as fact. By showing how fear of the unknown can motivate—and distort—reasoning, the author demonstrates the limits of human knowledge and control of the world. Van Cheele is presented as a man of knowledge, but a man who wants to possess knowledge, not a man who truly wants to…