Invitation to a Beheading

When Cincinnatus wakes the next day, he hears loud noises outside his cell. Not only has Marthe arrived, but she is accompanied by her entire family and all the family’s furniture. Marthe’s father, her identical twin brothers, her maternal grandparents, and her three female cousins have come to the fortress, but the cousins are being denied entry. Diomedon and Pauline, Marthe’s children (fathered by other men during her affairs), have also come to the prison. Marthe has even invited one of her lovers, who has a “flawless profile.”

The group enters the small cell, dragging in their furniture and other items including a fishbowl, a tricycle, sections of walls, and a wardrobe with a mirror. Cincinnatus watches, then Marthe’s father begins to criticize Cincinnatus “in detail and with relish” (100). While he talks, Marthe talks to her lover, who seems concerned that she is cold. Marthe notices that her son is misbehaving and rebukes him. Marthe’s father demands Cincinnatus explain why he has been condemned to death.

Roman enters and sits in a quiet corner of the cell, where a cat leaps onto his shoulder. Marthe’s father continues his diatribe then falls silent, reaching for his cigarettes.