An Official Post : Summary

Louis Remire was a policeman earlier, but now is serving a jail term in the remote penal colony of Saint Laurent de Maroni in French Guiana. He was convicted of killing his wife and sentenced to a twelve-year-long sentence. His is not, however, the miserable condition as suffered by other inmates, because he has been given an official position because of he being a policeman in the past and also because of his good conduct in the jail. His official position is that of the colony’s executioner. It is a privileged post which has been accorded to him not only because of his exemplary behaviour towards prison officials but also because of his experience as a policeman in his native Lyons, France.

Remire’s official position brings with it several perquisites: he has been given his own small house on the prison premises; he is able to wear his own clothes, rather than a prison uniform; he is allowed to grow the mustache of which he is inordinately vain. All these facilities have made life tolerable for him. Moreover, as if these liberties were not enough, Louis Remire also receives one hundred francs for every execution, and has been able to save up enough money to establish himself in the outside world upon his release.

The official position is not, however, without its drawbacks. As he is the executioner in the prison, the rest of the convicts hate him and would gladly kill him if given the chance. His predecessor was found stabbed and hanged in the jungle.

Despite the potential danger of his position, Louis Remire remains undaunted. He has a long experience as a police officer, and his police training has taught him how to protect himself. He also has two vicious dogs that patrol the grounds of his hut. He thinks of himself quite above his fellow inmates, and is glad to be separated from them. Unlike them, he is an official of the state, a powerful agent of law and order, and he always feels a sense of accomplishment when, after an execution, he hoists the severed head and pronounces, “Au nom du peuple francais justice est faite” (In the name of the French people, justice is done).

Despite the hateful job, he takes pride in his work. He keeps his guillotine in perfect working order, its brass fittings shined to perfection, its blade razor sharp. Presently, Louis Remire is preparing for an especially busy day ahead. Six convicts are to be executed the following morning. He could have managed it quite easily, but he has a little hitch, his trained and experienced assistant has taken ill and has been confined to the hospital. He lives in his room with his assistant, and now he has to live alone. Not only this, he has been given a new assistant and so he has to be very cautious in his work as multiple executions seem a major task and his new assistant could prove to be a liability.

The new assistant seems suitable to Louis Remire, yet he takes no chance in training and instructing him how the guillotine works. He is satisfied that the assistant knows how to prepare and clean the guillotine after the execution.

Louis Remire is eating and resting in his room. He happens to think why he had to kill his wife. She was a quarrelsome woman who often disturbed him. Not only this, she spread rumour about him that he could kill her any time. One day, Remire had to shoot her when in an argument, she drew his gun, but she did not realize that her husband was a trained police officer; he sprang upon her and shot her dead. After this, he confessed his crime, so he was sentenced to this 12-year-long jail term. Thanks to his stars, he has been given the present position which has made his life tolerable.

Presently, he thinks that 600 francs is a large sum, and he has some savings with him. He has seen how the convicts suffer after the jail term when they can get no job. This saving will help him settle down after the jail term and he intends to open a beer bar.

Remire wakes up at midnight on the alarm and gets ready to go to the guillotine to ensure that everything is fine there because the executions have to be carried out early in the morning. He lights a cigarette but soon senses that there are other people in the dark around him. He throws away the cigarette and takes out his knife which he is ready to use in self-defence. He trips at one place and finds one of his dogs lying dead. He is horrified and tries to use his police training for his self-defence, but he is unable to do anything as the number of attackers is large. He is finally stabbed and his throat is slit quickly. He has probably been murdered by other convicts who hate him for the kind of work he does.