Le Passe-muraille: The intriguing story of a man who walked through walls

Le Passe-Muraille is a short story by Marcel Aymé (1902-1967) that is forever immortalised in a small square on the rue Norvins in Paris. Le Passe-Muraille loosely translates as “walking through walls”. The statue on the square Marcel Aymé, which walks through the wall, represents Dutilleul, the main character in Aymé’s short story.

On the way to Le Passe-Muraille

Le Passe-Muraille was easy to find by taking metro line 12 to the Lamarck-Caulaincourt stop. I arrived at the top of the Montmartre district and walked down the streets to Le Passe-Muraille via rue Girardon.

Passing by the beautiful Place Dalida, which was covered in autumn leaves, I just had to stop and take photos. At 8am I had the square to myself and it was incredibly peaceful.

The picturesque streets of Montmartre, which were not affected by the Haussmannian reorganization of the beginning of the century, offer much to explore. As you can see, the “corner” where Place Dalida is located is actually more of a curve than a corner.

In the story Le Passe-Muraille, the character Dutilleul gains the ability to pass through walls during a brief power outage. He is not particularly impressed by this newfound ability. Since it does not seem to pose an immediate problem for him, he keeps the pills given to him by the doctor in a drawer. He is basically unaware of his power, so when he finally begins to harness this power, it eventually overwhelms his common sense and integrity.

Le Passe-Mraille, the end of the story

Later, he makes a fatal mistake by mistaking the prescription pills for aspirin. The effect was devastating. Before taking the pills, Dutilleul literally slides down walls as if they were air. However, after swallowing the pills by mistake, he describes the sensation as a thickening as he tries to walk through the wall. As the effect of the pills increases, so does the thickening. There, on Norvins Street, he no longer has the ability to walk through walls and is forever trapped in the wall.

The story is an interesting read as it visits the various streets and places of Montmartre that you will explore in this very neighborhood. You can find an English translation here and the original French version here.

My story in French…

Le Passe-muraille, a new writing by Marcel Aymé, is immortalized for all eternity here on this Marcel Aymé square in Paris. Like the main character Dutilleul, the statue created by Jean Marais in 1989 passed through the wall.

You can easily find the Passe-muraille by following metro line 12 to the Lamarck-Caulaincourt stop and walking down the streets to Girardon Street.

In the new, Dutilleul reçu the ability to pass through walls during a brief interruption of the flow. Cela ne l’impressionne pas! Il essay d’ignorer ses pouvoirs. More enfin, il prend les pilules que le docteur lui a données. The medication progressively changes viscosity.

In short, the situation and the devient coincide on the wall of rue Norvins. The story is lyre fun and it is also interesting to me because the most locals from Montmartre are included. En peut lire este nouvelle ici: Le Passe-muraille