III.

Works

Although Maupassant does not offer an explicit philosophy in his work, he portrays a consistent and honest vision. His is a grim, bleak, and pessimistic world in which human activity is futile and ultimately meaningless in a universe devoid of evidence of a merciful God. While he admired the courage and generosity of spirit of certain individuals, although they almost never belonged to the middle or upper classes, he usually depicted the human spirit as defeated by darker instincts. Thus in “Boule de suif,” a prostitute and the middle-class travelers who accompany her in a coach are caught by invading Prussians. The prostitute alone has the patriotism to resist, and then the selflessness to succumb to the advances of a Prussian officer in order to save them all. Afterward, in the coach, her companions’ attitude toward her reverts to disdain.

In “La parure” (“The Necklace”), perhaps Maupassant’s best-known story, a couple borrows a priceless diamond necklace from a friend for a ball. When the necklace is lost the couple sinks into poverty paying for an exact replica, only to discover years later from the original owner that the borrowed necklace was in fact a cheap imitation. The reader must decide if this tragedy is a result of fate or of the vanity and false pride of the borrower.

Best known for his short stories in Britain and the United States, Maupassant is generally better known in France for his novels. The best known of these are Une vie (1883; translated as A Woman’s Life, 1903), Bel-ami (1885; translated 1891), and Pierre et Jean (1888; The Two Brothers, 1890). Many critics consider the last of these his masterpiece. The work illustrates the author’s characteristically dark view of life and his keen psychological insight. A study of jealousy and suspicion, it recounts the discovery by Pierre that his more fortunate brother, Jean, is in fact the illegitimate offspring of their mother and a man heretofore considered a family friend, who has left Jean an inheritance. Not only does Jean become rich, he also marries Madame Rosémilly, the young widow whom both brothers have loved. By revealing his discovery to Jean, Pierre brings only more misery upon himself. The grey port city of Le Havre is the appropriate setting for this grim tale of enemy brothers.