Farewell

by Honoré de Balzac

"Farewell" by Honoré de Balzac is a short story published in 1830. When Baron Philippe de Sucy encounters a mysterious, insane woman at an abandoned manor, he recognizes her as Stephanie, the countess he loved and lost during Napoleon's catastrophic retreat from Russia in 1812. Haunted by their separation at the Beresina River crossing, Philippe devises an elaborate plan to restore her memory and their connection, recreating the traumatic battlefield scene that shattered her mind.