An early version of the prose poem “Jean des Tilles” by Aloysius Bertrand first appeared in 1828 under the title “Les Lavandières” (“The Washerwomen”) in the Dijon literary review Le Provincial before it was published as part of Gaspard de la Nuit in 1842. Our reading of the two versions is based on the assumption that the changes which were made in the rewriting process are as much due to stylistic and generic constraints as to cultural adjustments, which themselves partly depend on conditions of production and reception. This is the interpretation that we are suggesting for the toning down of the legendary dimension in its rural, marvellous and Christian aspects. This “watered-down” text, which reads like a facetious tale, is a good example of the quest for poetic modernity through its cultural polyphony and ideological freedom. This article can thus be seen as an “ethnogenetic” study of the poem.