'On Anticipation' af Alain de Botton, analyse

The short story by Alain de Botton, from 2002, takes place on the outskirts of Paris.

Firstly we are being presented to an elder French Duc, des Esseintes, who is our main and only character. Des Esseintes lives by himself in a villa, and prefers to be alone rather than among others. He rarely moves outside in public. Not since he once, in his younger days, went to a nearby village which only made him detest people even more. Since then he has always been at his home. Until one morning.

One day while reading a book by Dickens, the duc felt an intense desire to travel to London. He was inspired by the book because it showed visions of the English life, which he wished to see and experience. So he decided to get his bags packed and take the train to Paris, where he had to wait a while for the train to departure. Therefore he went to a bookshop and read a bit more about London. He then moved on to an English wine bar, where the atmosphere seemed a bit different than expressed in the book by Dickens. He ended up in an English tavern to get some food, and this is where he reached a turning point. The English women, the food, the atmosphere and the wooden tables gave him second thoughts about the trip, but when reaching the station, and time to board, des Esseintes made his final decision. Should he take the train, and let the dream of London become true? The thought of an unfamiliar bed, stand in queues and board the train made him change his mind, and he decided to stay, and never leave home again.