Project Gutenberg 2007-09-18 Public domain in the USA. 90 Gautier, Théophile 1811 1872 Gaultier, Theophile Gautier, Theophile Gautier, Pierre-Jules-Théophile Hearn, Lafcadio 1850 1904 Koizumi, Yakumo Hearn, Patrick Lafcadio Xiaoquan, Bayun King Candaules David Widger "King Candaules" by Théophile Gautier is a historical novella written in the late 19th century. Set in ancient Lydia before the Trojan War, the story revolves around the exploits of King Candaules and his obsession with displaying the beauty of his wife, Queen Nyssia. The narrative explores themes of desire, jealousy, and the boundaries of intimacy as Candaules devises a plan that fundamentally alters the dynamics of love and honor. The opening of the tale establishes the atmosphere of anticipation surrounding a grand festival in Sardes, where Candaules is set to marry Nyssia, the daughter of a satrap. As the festivities unfold, we are introduced to Gyges, the king's chief guard, whose life becomes enmeshed in the intrigue of the royal family. Candaules, captivated by Nyssia's beauty, recounts her unmatched allure to Gyges and eventually reveals his desire to show her to him in a moment of intimacy. As Gyges grapples with the moral implications of witnessing Nyssia's nudity, the narrative heightens its tension, foreshadowing conflict and the complex interplay of admiration, possession, and betrayal that will follow. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Fiction PQ Text Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 157433 157430 2024-09-10T04:38:09.683960 2023-09-10T08:11:48.996659 text/html text/html 159201 2021-09-10T05:55:21 text/html 112923 2024-09-10T04:38:13.555917 application/epub+zip 112324 2024-09-10T04:38:11.024964 application/epub+zip 112323 2024-09-10T04:38:10.213964 application/epub+zip 210224 2024-09-10T04:38:15.666914 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 197780 2024-09-10T04:38:13.061953 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 198016 2022-09-10T14:33:49.730866 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 138068 138073 2024-09-10T04:38:09.352970 2023-09-10T08:11:48.686671 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 137845 2021-09-10T05:55:37 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19030 2024-09-10T04:38:15.811930 application/rdf+xml 13500 2024-09-10T04:38:10.551970 image/jpeg 3429 2024-09-10T04:38:10.382951 image/jpeg 54678 2021-09-10T05:56:07 application/octet-stream application/zip 57675 2021-09-10T05:56:28 application/octet-stream application/zip 108306 2024-09-10T04:38:09.698937 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia