Three Tales

In each of the titular "Three Tales", Flaubert studies the nature of humanity and spirituality: the loyal servant who dies alone, having served her masters all her life, not once complaining of the tragic losses she has suffered therein; the young man sanctified at birth whose bloodlust leads him to inadvertently fulfil the curse placed on him by a stag; and the tale of John the Baptist, told unlike ever before.

His overwhelming conclusion is that of the significance of humility in the face of lasting glory.