A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine

Title: A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine

Author: Brian Hodge

Date of First Publication: 1993

Place of Publication: Frankenstein: The Monster Wakes

Type: Short Story

Themes: ANDROID; POSTHUMAN; RACE/POLITICS; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER

Critical Summary: The story takes place during the Great War, just as Germany is invading France. The plot centers around Sister Giselle, a nun at Chateau-sur-Lac who takes care of the horses in the stables. One day, she realizes that the horses have been taken care of by someone else prior to her getting there. She begins to imagine a kind-hearted, shy stranger who’s hiding out in the stables due to the circumstances of war. And so Sister Giselle begins leaving bread, cheese, and wine for the kind stranger to eat. Eventually, she becomes obsessed with finding out who the stranger is and decides to go into the stables at night to confront him. Upon confronting him, she finds the kind-hearted stranger to be none other than Frankenstein’s Creature. She then gives him the name Nomad. Although ugly and visually-menacing, Sister Giselle overlooks his physical flaws and talks with him until the early morning. Nomad explains that everywhere he goes, he experiences nothing but hate. Sister Giselle shows him kindness and sympathy, proving that there is goodness in the world and that not everyone is as evil as the creature deems. She tells Nomad that she’ll speak to Father Guillaume in order to help him.

Later on, Father Guillaume is not pleased with the Creature staying in the stable, calling him soulless, a monster, and an abomination. Ultimately, the Father reluctantly allows Nomad to stay, as long as he doesn’t show himself. Before Sister Giselle leaves Father Guillaume’s room, he tells her that Germany has invaded the entirety of France and that the Nazis will come to take control.

Soon, Nazis waltz into town and round up all the civilians. After Father Guillaume talks to the commanding Nazi officer, he decides to go have a talk with Nomad. He manipulates Nomad by telling him to kill the Nazis in Chateau-sur-Lac, if not for the people, at least for Sister Giselle. As he possesses a soft spot for Sister Giselle, Nomad reluctantly agrees.

A little while later, Sister Giselle hears the sounds of gunfire and screaming and she assumes that Nazis are killing the townsfolk. However, the screams come from the Nazis as Nomad tears through them. Once Sister Giselle finds out the horrible truth from Father Guillaume, how he manipulated the Creature into doing a damnable deed, she grows furious. After the attacks, they go out and see the bodies of Nazis strewn around. Father Guillaume defends his actions by telling Sister Giselle that Nomad had no soul, therefore he wasn’t sacrificing anything.

By the end, Nomad shows up and tells Father Guillaume and Sister Giselle that he does have a soul and that through all his years of feeling hate and sorrow, that he has made it his goal to complete his soul before succumbing to death. His parting words leave Father Guillaume reeling in shame and Sister Giselle with tears in her eyes.

The central theme is whether Nomad or the humans around him are the real monsters. In Brian Hodge’s story, Nomad is depicted as a damaged, but gentle soul, while Father Guillame is depicted as cold and evil. It’s interesting that they made the true “monster” a Catholic Priest. In order to emphasize the potential for evil found in human nature, it makes sense to depict this evil in a religious figure who is held in high moral regard. The contrast between Nomad and Father Guillame is striking.

The themes revolving around androids, post-human, race/politics, and sympathetic monster are all present in “A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine”, much like they are in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. As a continuation of the Creature’s journey, much of the same themes are present here.

Administrative Notes: Ho Sun Lee, CSUF; Lee Koehler, CSUF (editing)