GUY DE MAUPASSANT: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2024

Guy de Maupassant (1850 -1893) was a 19th century French writer, famous for his short stories, but he was also the author of several novels. He followed the aesthetic current of French naturalism.

From childhood he was inclined to letters under the influence of his mother. He began law studies, but when the Franco-Prussian conflict broke out he enlisted as a volunteer. He then obtained a job as an employee of the Ministry of the Navy and was later transferred to the Ministry of Public Instruction.

Swim

He was a student of the writer Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary. Flaubert, one of Maupassant's role models, was a friend of his mother and therefore decided to collaborate with the young man's writing.

From an early age, Maupassant discovered that he suffered from syphilis, the same disease that killed his brother. Despite that, he never wanted medical treatment. Some sources claim that the author was very promiscuous during his youth in Paris.

His literary success came in 1880 with the publication of "Boulé de suif" (Ball of tallow), since then Maupassant resigned from his job at the Ministry of Public Instruction and devoted himself entirely to writing. He published in various magazines and newspapers of the time.

Guy de Maupassant was a very productive author, during the thirteen years in which he carried out his literary work he published approximately 300 short stories, six novels, a book of poetry, and several travel guides.

The recurring themes of Maupassant's work were an X-ray of French life at the turn of the century. Among these are the Franco-Prussian war, the Normandy camps, the bureaucracy, life in Paris and the problems of the different social classes in the country.

His literary work has inspired numerous works in film and theater, especially among the French and Spanish. Audiovisual work has also been done on Guy de Maupassant's own life.

Biography

Early years

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5, 1850, at the Château de Miromesnil, which is located in Tourville-sur-Arques, near Dieppe. There is a theory that suggests that he was born in Fécamp, in the Bout-Menteux. However, the first is generally accepted, as it is supported by his birth certificate and the testimony of his own mother.

He was the eldest of the children of Gustave de Maupassant and Laure Le Poittevin, both from Norman bourgeois families. The couple's next son was born in 1856 and was named Hervé.

Upon marrying in 1846, Guy de Maupassant's father applied to a civil court for approval to use the particle "de" in his surname, which in France denoted the noble ancestry of the individual who carried it.

Maupassant's parents legally separated when he was 11 years old. The two sons stayed with their mother, and the father was never attached to or worried about maintaining a close relationship with either of the boys.

Around this time, Laure Le Poittevin introduced her children to letters. When he turned 13, Guy de Maupassant was sent along with his brother to study at a private seminary in Yvetot.

Fed up with religious teaching, Maupassant caused him to be purposely expelled from this college and completed his studies at the Pierre-Corneille Lyceum in Rouen.

Public employee

Guy de Maupassant began his law studies in Paris in 1869, when he was 19 years old. But he had to interrupt his education when the Franco-Prussian war broke out, as he volunteered for the conflict.

At first he was sent to the front as a soldier. Later, at the request of his father, he was transferred to the barracks. The experiences he acquired at this time gave the future writer material and inspiration for his stories.

When he returned to Paris in July 1871, Maupassant got, thanks to his father, a job as an employee of the Ministry of the Navy, where he was employed for ten years. At this time his friendship with Gustave Flaubert strengthened.

Despite not being a lover of bureaucracy, Maupassant successfully served in various positions and even obtained various promotions during his years as a civil servant. In 1878 he was transferred to the Ministry of Public Instruction and remained there until he decided to dedicate himself entirely to writing.

Literary beginnings

Gustave Flaubert knew Guy de Maupassant from a young age, at the insistence of his mother. Alfred Le Poittevin, Laure's brother, was during his life a great friend of the consecrated writer and she kept their friendship and affection.

When Maupassant began to write, Flaubert agreed to have him as a student, since they met frequently and Flaubert corrected the boy's work, in addition to giving him advice and guidance in his writing.

Both came from families with separated parents, and their stories created a strong bond between the two authors. In fact, Flaubert claimed that he felt the same affection for Maupassant as for a son.

Through the author of Madame Bovary, Maupassant met famous writers from the Parisian literary scene, especially naturalism, such as Edmond Goncourt, Henry James, Émile Zola and also the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev.

While under the tutelage of Flaubert he wrote some stories which he published in small magazines under pseudonyms, such as "The dissected hand" (1875), which he signed as Joseph Prunier. The following year he wrote a series of poems under the name of Guy de Valmont.

He also wrote and privately performed a play that was not published while he was alive called “À la feuille de rose, maison turque”.

Literary work

His great entry into the literary scene was provided by "Boule de suif" ("Ball of tallow"), a story that was published in 1880, a month before the death of his friend Gustave Flaubert.

This story appeared in a publication called Les Soirées de Médan, in which 6 naturalistic accounts of the Franco-Prussian war were collected. In his text, Maupassant showed the attitude of French society towards the war.

From that moment on, Guy de Maupassant began to be named and requested by the most important literary magazines and newspapers in France. It was then that he decided to quit his job at the Ministry of Public Instruction and devoted himself to writing full time.

The following year he published his first volume of short stories, which he titled La Maison Tellier. In 1882 the second collection of stories by Maupassant appeared, which was named Mademoiselle Fifi.

The first novel Maupassant published was Une Vie (1883), which was a best-seller that year. It was followed by one of his most famous works, the novel Bel Ami, in 1885.

The 1880s were a very productive time for Guy de Maupassant, he published more than 300 short stories and six novels. His work was highly appreciated and consumed, and he produced works in large quantities, so during this time he amassed a small fortune.

Private life

Guy de Maupassant's sexual appetites and promiscuity were famous even in his day. The writer claimed to be able to control his sexual organ at will and frequently bet with his friends that he could get an instant erection.

In December 1876 Maupassant contracted one of the most feared diseases of the moment, syphilis. Despite the fact that his younger brother had died from this same condition, Maupassant never agreed to undergo treatment.

He always appeared to be a healthy man, but in reality he did have intermittent symptoms that diminished his physical capacity. The year after contracting syphilis, he suffered hair loss and then eye problems in 1880.

Despite his illness, Maupassant continued with an active and promiscuous sexual life, had several natural children, the first was born in 1883 and his name was Lucien Litzelmann, in 1884 he had Lucienne Litzelmann, and two years later Marguerite Litzelmann.

In 1885 Maupassant began to present hallucinations and personality changes. Five years later, his illness was much more serious and he also began to have olfactory disorders.

On January 1, 1892, Guy de Maupassant attempted suicide by cutting his throat. He was then admitted to Dr. Blanche's mental institution.

Death

Guy de Maupassant died on July 6, 1893 in Passy, ​​Paris, France. One month before his 43rd birthday the author had suffered from an episode of seizures.

His brother, Hervé, died in 1889 of the same disease, which is why some suggested that the Maupassant syphilis was congenital. However, the author's promiscuity seemed to indicate that he himself contracted the disease on some adventure.

Before dying he wrote his own epitaph that reads "I have coveted everything and I have not felt pleasure in anything." His remains were buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.

His latest stories have hallucinations as a frequent theme and some say that while Maupassant wrote them he was already a prey to dementia caused by syphilis, however they are correctly structured and nothing can corroborate that theory.

Style

Guy de Maupassant is considered the greatest French writer of short stories. He followed the naturalistic trend and managed to achieve a realistic aesthetic in his work. He was one of the first short story writers to achieve large-scale commercial success.

Young people who called themselves naturalists sought to show the lives of ordinary people during the 1880s. They wanted to portray the suffering, exploitation and frustration that the French of the time carried.

In Maupassant's literary universe the characters pursue their low desires, they are motivated by lust, ambition or greed. Those who try to reform or achieve a noble purpose do not have a good outcome.

Maupassant highlighted the hypocrisy of all French social classes, as he walked among peasants and prostitutes, in the same way that he did among the bourgeoisie and in the most famous salons.

He was not a lover of ornaments, in fact his work was very concise, but direct, and reflected in his work the experiences of the society in which he lived during the 19th century.

At the end of his life, he changed his narrative style, which used to be impersonal, to dedicate himself much more in detail to showing the soul and the internal processes that his characters lived through, introducing the hallucinations they suffered into the narrative.

Influence

Guy de Maupassant's work inspired many short story authors, including Chekhov, Leon Tolstoy, and Horacio Quiroga. It is said that he was one of the most plagiarized authors of the 19th century.

A large number of films and plays have emerged taking Maupassant's work as their central column. Countless authors were inspired by his work, including Luis Buñuel with Una mujer sin amor (1951), or Emilio Gómez Muriel with La mujer del puerto (1949).

Published works

Most famous tales

- "Boule de Suif" (1880).

- "Suicides" (1880).

- "La Maison Tellier" (1881).

- "Une aventure parisienne" (1881).

- "Conte de Noël" (1882).

- "La Peur" (1882).

- "Mademoiselle Fifi" (1882).

- "Pierrot" (1882).

- "Deux amis" (1883).

- "La Ficelle" (1883).

- "La Main" (1883).

- "La Mère Sauvage" (1884).

- "La Parure" (1884).

- “La Bête à Maît 'Belhomme” (1885).

- "La Confidence" (1885).

- "Le Rosier de Madame Husson" (1887).

Novels

- Une Vie (1883).

- Bel-Ami (1885).

- Mont-Oriol (1887).

- Pierre et Jean (1888).

- Fort comme la mort (1889).

- Notre Cœur (1890).

Story collections

- Les Soirées de Médan (1880) together with ÉmileZola, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Henri Céard, Léon Hennique and Paul Alexis.

- La Maison Tellier (1881).

- Mademoiselle Fifi (1883).

- Contes de la Bécasse (1883).

- Miss Harriet (1884).

- Les Sœurs Rondoli (1884).

- Clair de lune (1884), includes “Les Bijoux”.

- Yvette (1884).

- Contes du jour et de la nuit (1885), includes “La Parure”.

- Monsieur Parent (1886).

- La Petite Roque (1886).

- Toine (1886).

- Le Horla (1887).

- Le Rosier de Madame Husson (1888).

- La Main gauche (1889).

- L'Inutile Beauté (1890).

Travel publications

- Au soleil (1884).

- Sur l'eau (1888).

- La Vie errante (1890).

Poetry

- Des Vers (1880), contains “Nuit de Neige”.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Guy de Maupassant. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Dumesnil, R. and Turnell, M. (2018). Guy de Maupassant - French writer. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Bbc.co.uk. (2000). Remembering Maupassant - Arts and Entertainment - BBC World Service. Available at: bbc.co.uk.
4. Kuiper, K. (1995). Merriam-Webster's encyclopedia of literature. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, p.739.
5. Lycée Pierre Corneille Rouen (2018). Lycée Pierre Corneille de Rouen - The Lycée Corneille of Rouen. Available at: lgcorneille-lyc.spip.ac-rouen.fr.
6. Maupassant, G. and Armiño, M. (2007). The mask and other fantastic tales. Madrid: Edaf.
7. Douchin, Jacques-Louis. La vie erotique de Maupassant. Editions Suger. Paris 1986.