Story Analysis: The Disappearing Milk By Mont Saint Michel

The disappearing milk
After the arrival of the Brazilian convoys, the narrator develops an incurable and relentless uneasiness and anxiety which forces him to flee his house in an attempt to find peace of mind. He travels to the Mont Saint Michel where his state of mind seems to improve. However, upon his return, the narrator’s anxiety becomes palpable. On July 4, the narrator describes an encounter with an invisible being akin to a succubus. The presence straddles him during his sleep and sucks his life through his lips. The protagonist distressed by this event, writes: “cette nuit, j’ai senti quelqu’un accroupi sur moi, et qui, sa bouche sur la mienne, buvait ma vie entre mes lèvres” (15). The narrator’s description of the event is sexualized,

On July 6, he decides to test his sanity by conducting an experiment consisting of leaving water, milk, wine, bread, and strawberries in a table to see whether the invisible being took them. The next day, he found that the water and milk were gone, which was not only perplexing for him but also upsetting. Several assumptions can be drawn from this episode. First, the narrator’s reaction towards the disappearance of the water and milk is a manifestation of the Oedipus complex. In this case, the home and carafe represent the female figure while Le Horla is an embodiment of the rival father. As mentioned before, Freud states that any object capable of being filled symbolizes a vagina (http://www.bartleby.com). In this case, the water disappearance upsets the narrator since the carafe symbolizes female genitals who are being penetrated by the unwanted father figure. Overall, the narrator feels threatened since the disappearance of the water and milk symbolizes that Le Horla has defeated him by penetrating his home (mother), entered his room, and defiled his carafe (female genitals).
Milk is also an interesting choice. Though the narrator is a grown man who can fend for himself, it is possible that his anxiety results from feeling deprived of a mother’s milk. In the early stages of a child, his main source of nourishment is his mother’s breast. Although the narrator