Herodias

Herodias is the retelling of the beheading of John the Baptist. It starts slightly before the arrival of the Syrian governor, Lucius_Vitellius, which coincides with a huge birthday celebration for Herodias' second husband, Herod Antipas. Herodias has a plan to behead John, unknown to her husband. According to Flaubert, this plan entails making her husband fall in love with her daughter, Salomé. The story first appeared in Flaubert's book, Three Tales.