La gangue

A traveling narrator stopping at a faded spa town becomes fixated on a severely disfigured man whose ravaged face contrasts with luminous, expressive eyes and delicate hands. The account follows the narrator's shifting reactions—initial shock, growing curiosity, and pity—while documenting the townspeople's horror, gossip, and calls to exclude or hide the unfortunate figure. Through repeated encounters and close observation, the narrative examines social rejection, the gulf between outward appearance and inner dignity, the suffering of an isolated individual, and the ethical failures of a community that measures worth by beauty rather than by humanity.