The kiss to the leper

"The Kiss to the Leper" by François Mauriac is a story from the early 1900s that zooms in on tricky ideas like love, not liking yourself, and tough choices. It mainly follows Jean Péloueyre, who really struggles with how he looks and feels left out. The story hints at looking into how he deals with others, especially Noémi d'Artiailh, as they try to handle what people expect of them, what society thinks is normal, and what they really want. We see Jean Péloueyre as a young man who is not special to look at, who really dislikes himself and feels unsure. He lives in a quiet home where his dad likes things a certain way. Jean thinks a lot about his life, shows he wants to connect with people, but feels totally separate from the exciting world around him. How he talks to his family and friends points out the mixed-up parts of love and being turned away, getting ready for the emotional and deep problems that will happen as he faces Noémi, someone he might like, while dealing with strict rules from society. Readers are left feeling like things are about to get intense as they wait to see the bigger moral and thinking problems that will most likely follow.