Carmen

Prosper Mérimée’s short novel introduces the fiery Andalusian gypsy Carmen, whose free spirit and refusal to be possessed destroy the soldier Don José, who abandons duty, honour, and finally his sanity for her. Told as a traveller’s recollection, the tale is spare, sensual, and merciless in its view of jealousy and fate. It became world-famous as the source of Bizet’s opera, but Mérimée’s original is darker and cooler than its musical descendant.