GuydeMaupassant.
HenriRenéAlbertGuydeMaupassant(5August1850–6July1893)wasapopular19thcenturyFrenchwriter.Heisoneofthefathersofthemodernshortstory.Hisshortstories
arecharacterizedbytheireconomyofstyleandtheefficientwayinwhichthevarious
threadswithinthemareneatlyresolved.Healsowrotesixnovels.
Biography
MaupassantwasmostlikelybornattheChâteaudeMiromesnil,nearDieppeintheSeineMaritimedepartment.
TheMaupassantswereanoldLorrainefamilywhohadsettledinNormandyinthemiddle
ofthe18thcentury.In1846hisfatherhadmarriedayoungladyofthewell-to-do
bourgeoisie,LaureLePoittevin.WithherbrotherAlfred,shehadbeentheplaymateofthe
novelistGustaveFlaubert,whowasdestinedtohaveaguidinginfluenceonherson'slife.
Shewasawomanofnocommonliteraryaccomplishments,veryfondoftheclassics,
especiallyShakespeare.Afterseparatingfromherhusband,LePoittevinkepthertwo
sons,theelderGuyandyoungerHervé.
UntilhewasthirteenyearsoldGuylivedwithhismotheratÉtretat,intheVillades
Verguies,wherebetweentheseaandtheluxuriantcountryside,hegrewveryfondof
natureandoutdoorsports;hewentfishingwiththefishermenoffthecoastandspoke
Normanwiththepeasants.Hewasdeeplydevotedtohismother.Asheenteredjunior
highschool,hemetthegreatauthorGustaveFlaubert.
HefirstenteredaseminaryatYvetot,butdeliberatelymanagedtohavehimselfexpelled.
Fromhisearlyeducationheretainedamarkedhostilitytoreligion.Thenhewassentto
theRouenLycée,whereheprovedagoodscholarindulginginpoetryandtakinga
prominentpartintheatricals.
TheFranco-PrussianWarbrokeoutsoonafterhisgraduationfromcollegein1870;he
enlistedasavolunteerandfoughtbravely.
Afterthewar,in1871,heleftNormandyandcametoPariswherehespenttenyearsasa
clerkintheNavyDepartment.Duringthesetentediousyearshisonlyrecreationwas
canoeingontheSeineonSundaysandholidays.
GustaveFlauberttookhimunderhisprotectionandactedasakindofliteraryguardianto
him,guidinghisdebutinjournalismandliterature.AtFlaubert'shomehemetÉmileZola
andtheRussiannovelistIvanTurgenev,aswellasmanyoftheprotagonistsoftherealist
andnaturalistschools.Hewroteaconsiderableamountofverseandshortplays.
In1878hewastransferredtotheMinistryofPublicInstructionandbecamea
contributingeditorofseveralleadingnewspaperssuchasLeFigaro,GilBlas,LeGaulois
andl'EchodeParis.Hedevotedhissparetimetowritingnovelsandshortstories.
In1880hepublishedhisfirstmasterpiece,"BouledeSuif",whichmetwithaninstantand
tremendoussuccess.Flaubertcharacterizeditas"amasterpiecethatwillendure."This
wasMaupassant'sfirstpieceofshortfictionsetduringtheFranco-PrussianWar,andwas
followedbyshortstoriessuchas"DeuxAmies,""MotherSavage,"and"MademoiselleFifi."
Thedecadefrom1880to1891wasthemostfertileperiodofMaupassant'slife.Made
famousbyhisfirstshortstory,heworkedmethodicallyandproducedtwoorsometimes
fourvolumesannually.Hecombinedtalentandpracticalbusinesssense,whichmadehim
wealthy.
In1881hepublishedhisfirstvolumeofshortstoriesunderthetitleofLaMaisonTellier;
itreacheditstwelftheditionwithintwoyears;in1883hefinishedhisfirstnovel,UneVie
(translatedintoEnglishasAWoman'sLife),25,000copiesofwhichweresoldinlessthan
ayear.Inhisnovels,heconcentratedallhisobservationsscatteredinhisshortstories.His
secondnovelBel-Ami,whichcameoutin1885,hadthirty-sevenprintingsinfourmonths.
Hiseditor,Havard,commissionedhimtowritenewmasterpiecesandMaupassant
continuedtoproducethemwithouttheslightestapparenteffort.Atthistimehewrote
whatmanyconsidertobehisgreatestnovel,PierreetJean.
Withanaturalaversiontosociety,helovedretirement,solitude,andmeditation.He
traveledextensivelyinAlgeria,Italy,England,Brittany,Sicily,Auvergne,andfromeach
voyagehebroughtbackanewvolume.Hecruisedonhisprivateyacht"Bel-Ami,"named
afterhisearliernovel.Thisfeverishlifedidnotpreventhimfrommakingfriendsamong
theliterarycelebritiesofhisday:AlexandreDumas,filshadapaternalaffectionforhim;at
Aix-les-BainshemetTaineandfellunderthespellofthephilosopher-historian.
Flaubertcontinuedtoactashisliterarygodfather.HisfriendshipwiththeGoncourtswas
ofshortduration;hisfrankandpracticalnaturereactedagainsttheambienceofgossip,
scandal,duplicity,andinvidiouscriticismthatthetwobrothershadcreatedaroundthem
intheguiseofan18th-centurystylesalon.
Inhislateryearshedevelopedanexaggeratedloveforsolitude,apredilectionforselfpreservation,andaconstantfearofdeathandmaniaofpersecution,compoundedbythe
syphilishehadcontractedinhisearlydays.Hewasconsideredinsanein1891anddied
twoyearslater,amonthshortofhis43rdbirthday,onJuly6,1893.
GuydeMaupassantisburiedintheCimetièreduMontparnasse,Paris.
Significance
Maupassantisoneofthefathersofthemodernshortstory.Maupassantdelightsinclever
plotting,andservedasamodelforSomersetMaughamandO.Henryinthisrespect.His
storiesaboutrealorfakejewels("LaParure","LesBijoux")areimitatedwithatwistby
Maugham("MrKnow-All","AStringofBeads")andHenryJames("Paste").
TakinghiscuefromBalzac,Maupassantwrotecomfortablyinboththehigh-Realistand
fantasticmodes;storiesandnovelssuchas"L'Héritage"andBel-AmiaimtorecreateThird
RepublicFranceinarealisticway,whereasmanyoftheshortstories(notably"LeHorla",
citedasaninspirationforH.P.Lovecraft's"
ThesupernaturalinMaupassant,however,isoftenimplicitlyasymptomofthe
protagonists'troubledminds;Maupassantwasfascinatedbytheburgeoningdisciplineof
psychiatry,andattendedthepubliclecturesofJean-MartinCharcotbetween1885and
1886(seePierreBayard,Maupassant,justeavantFreud(Paris:Minuit,1994)).This
interestisreflectedinhisfiction.
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