--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A boat with an awning and containing four…" description: "\"“A boat with an awning and containing four women came slowly downstream towards them. The woman at the oars was small, lean, and past her prime. She wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/guy-de-maupassant-1364_femme-fatale_a-boat-with-an-awning-and-containing-fou_2235585.jpg" --- # A boat with an awning and containing four women came… ![“A boat with an awning and containing four women came slowly downstream towards them. The woman at the oars was small, lean, and past her prime. She wore her hair pinned up inside an oilskin hat. Opposite her a big blonde dressed in a man's jacket was lying on her back at the bottom of the boat…” quote by Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/guy-de-maupassant-1364_femme-fatale_a-boat-with-an-awning-and-containing-fou_2235585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/guy-de-maupassant-1364_femme-fatale_a-boat-with-an-awning-and-containing-fou_2235585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/guy-de-maupassant-1364_femme-fatale_a-boat-with-an-awning-and-containing-fou_2235585.jpg) > ““A boat with an awning and containing four women came slowly downstream towards them. The woman at the oars was small, lean, and past her prime. She wore her hair pinned up inside an oilskin hat. Opposite her a big blonde dressed in a man's jacket was lying on her back at the bottom of the boat with a foot resting on the thwart on either side of the oarswoman. The blonde was smoking a cigarette and with each jerk of the oars her bosom and belly quivered. At the very stern of the boat under the awning two beautiful, tall, slender girls, one blonde and the other brunette, sat with their arms round each other's waists watching their two companions. A shout went up from La Grenouillere: "Aye-aye! Lesbos!" and suddenly a wild clamor broke out. In the terrifying scramble to see, glasses were knocked over and people started climbing on the tables. Everyone began to chant "Lesbos! Lesbos! Lesbos!" The words merged into a vague howl before suddenly starting up again, rising into the air, filling the plain beyond, resounding in the dense foliage of the tall surrounding trees and echoing in the distance as if aimed at the sun itself.”” [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, chaotic scene of revelry and desire, highlighting sensuality and collective frenzy in a rural setting. **In simple terms:** A wild, sensual crowd celebrates and chants, creating a feverish atmosphere. Key Takeaway Observe the power of collective emotion in shaping experience. Themes desire chaos ritual gender nature Mood intense exuberant raw Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - festival - rural gathering - public spectacle - spontaneous chant Key Concepts sensuality collective hysteria ritualistic chant Questions to Reflect On - How does communal chanting amplify personal desire? - What does the setting reveal about gender dynamics? A Different Perspective The portrayal may romanticize objectification and overlook individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Femme fatale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/femme-fatale/) ## Related quotes > [“The men came to mind as mostly idle between nights of running wild or time in the pen, cooking moon and gathering around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-woodrell/the-men-came-to-mind-as-mostly-idle-between-nights-of-running-wild-or/) [Daniel Woodrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-woodrell/) > [Even if women came with Terms & Conditions, you still wouldnt read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/even-if-women-came-with-terms-conditions-you-still-wouldnt-read-them/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who-with their hands, their intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/america-did-not-tell-the-millions-of-men-and-women-who-came-from/) [Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/) > [“beating. 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We cannot plumb its depths with our feeble senses - with eyes which cannot see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/how-fathomless-the-mystery-of-the-unseen-is-we-cannot-plumb-its/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [“‟Whatever we may do or attempt, despite the embrace and transports of love, the hunger of the lips, we are always alone. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/whatever-we-may-do-or-attempt-despite-the-embrace-and-transports-of/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [She was the temptress who had ensnared the first man, and who still continued her work at damnation; she was the being who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/she-was-the-temptress-who-had-ensnared-the-first-man-and-who-still/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [Since governments take the right of death over their people, it is not astonishing if the people should sometimes take the right of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/since-governments-take-the-right-of-death-over-their-people-it-is-not/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [“For some years he had felt weighing on him the burden of loneliness which sometimes overwhelms old bachelors. He had been strong, active and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/for-some-years-he-had-felt-weighing-on-him-the-burden-of-loneliness/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) [Explore all 189 Guy de Maupassant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) ## More Femme fatale quotes > [“As the bartender struck a match to light her cigarette, she put her hand on his wrist to steady it. Travis saw him jump,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/as-the-bartender-struck-a-match-to-light-her-cigarette-she-put-her/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [I don't think we're the screaming femme fatale running away from danger as much as we used to be. I think people are seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-crampton/i-don-t-think-we-re-the-screaming-femme-fatale-running-away-from/) [Barbara Crampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-crampton/) > [“…my new name, Buffalo Zeta Brown. General Zeta was the hero of an old movie classic…A combination of Zapata and Villa and Maria Felix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-zeta-acosta/my-new-name-buffalo-zeta-brown-general-zeta-was-the-hero-of-an-old/) [Oscar Zeta Acosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-zeta-acosta/) > [“I ripped all her clothes off. She twisted and turned, slow, so they would slip out from under her. Then she closed her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/i-ripped-all-her-clothes-off-she-twisted-and-turned-slow-so-they/) [James M. 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I'll tell you what type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-moennig/let-s-call-a-spade-a-spade-when-people-look-at-me-they-say-oh-she-s/) [Katherine Moennig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-moennig/) > [I feel a strong affinity to Ke$ha and Katy Perry and a lot of these women who are really pushing the girl power femme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-miller/i-feel-a-strong-affinity-to-ke-ha-and-katy-perry-and-a-lot-of-these/) [T. J. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-miller/) > [“Siri, what’s a femme fatale?” Chloe asked her phone. “It’s a dishonest woman who uses feminine wiles to manipulate men,” Emily responded just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-brogan/siri-what-s-a-femme-fatale-chloe-asked-her-phone-it-s-a-dishonest/) [Tracy Brogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-brogan/) [Browse all 64 Femme fatale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/femme-fatale/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A boat with an awning and containing four women came slowly downstream towards them. The woman at the oars was small, lean, and past her prime. She wore her hair pinned up inside an oilskin hat. Opposite her a big blonde dressed in a man's jacket was lying on her back at the bottom of the boat with a foot resting on the thwart on either side of the oarswoman. The blonde was smoking a cigarette and with each jerk of the oars her bosom and belly quivered. At the very stern of the boat under the awning two beautiful, tall, slender girls, one blonde and the other brunette, sat with their arms round each other's waists watching their two companions. A shout went up from La Grenouillere: \"Aye-aye! Lesbos!\" and suddenly a wild clamor broke out. In the terrifying scramble to see, glasses were knocked over and people started climbing on the tables. Everyone began to chant \"Lesbos! Lesbos! 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