The Life and Work of Guy de Maupassant - Research Paper Example

Guy de Maupassant The life and work of Guy de Maupassant Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5, 1850. As a young boy, Guy attended Yvetot School in Normandy and later schooled in Reoun where he gained most of his knowledge that would prove helpful in his writings. Guy was eleven years old when his parents separated. His mother retained his custody, an action that would prove to be significant in his life. His mom was close friends with the sister of Flaubert, a famous nineteenth century writer, whom Guy’s mother approached to offer advice on Guy and what she should do about him. Flaubert began teaching him different subjects, but the main interest of the tutorials was writing. Guy’s close association with Flaubert nurtured him into the literal circles of France. Guy attended the meetings even though initially did not want a career in writing. As a teenager, his interests were more aligned to sports especially rowing. During the Franco-Prussian war, Guy’s education was interrupted as he joined the army to serve as a member. His service was in the navy ministry where he turned musty papers and later joined the ministry of the public institution. The period between1873-1880, Guy served as a literary apprentice under the guidance of Flaubert. It is during this time as an apprentice that he realized his letdowns and weak points as a poet as his verses lacked melody. He exerted great effort towards developing his skills as a writer in prose fiction and wrote a collection of short stories. Later in 1880, he joined other writers Zola, Huysmans and a host of others and published a collection of short stories, ‘Soirees de Medan. Guy Maupassant contributed the famous ‘Boule de suif. His work outsmarted fellow writers by far and at this time, Guy was recognized as a writer. Guy Maupassant made a reputation quicker than any other French writer of romance. For the next ten years, Maupassant contributed exemplary articles and stories until 1887 when some of his articles began to suggest that he was suffering from hallucinations. He embarked on a sea voyage which seemed to temporarily bring him back to normality, but after some time he was diagnosed with a nervous disease which had been aggravated by the use of drugs and excessive physical workouts. He gradually deteriorated and unfortunately, sank into paralysis and insanity. In 1892, he attempted to commit suicide and in 1893, on July 6th he passed on. Albert Wallace brings out the unhappy life of Guy Maupassant. In a letter that Guy addresses to his mother, he speaks of his loneliness and the fear of winter arrival. He says, “I feel alone and my long lonely evenings are terrible. When I am alone at my desk with my lamp burning, I go through moments of distress that I no longer know where to turn.” Wallace says that Maupassant lived so much to himself that he formed thoughts whose inalterability was their venom. In the short story, Miss Harriot, loneliness leads to suicide; it was the solitude that led to her throwing herself into a well. Wallace quotes Guy, “We are the eternal playthings of renewing, stupid and charming illusions.” Wallace points out the disillusionment in Maupassant’s life. Other authors portray the disillusionment in Guy’s life. David Coward shows how Maupassant attempt on his life was related to the loss of illusions. About Guy’s writings in suicide, “The letter describes what Maupassant may have been thinking when he attempted suicide.” In his stories Maupassant character shows the disillusionment in him, this is also sprung up in his stories All over and The Stroll. In the Stroll, one is told of an old man Leras, a bookkeeper for Messieurs Labuze and company where he had worked for forty years since the age of twenty-one years. Leras is as industrious. Leras had a weird personality, he wakes up at precisely 6 o’clock in the morning after some rattling noise from the alarm clock and he desired nothing, a bachelor, a dreamer and lacked ambition. He was satisfied with what life had given him. He never took things easy as his had been uneventful, lacked emotions and had little hopes. The only time he relocated was when the proprietor increased rent rates. Nothing ever changed in his life. He performed his tasks no different from the previous day. One day, Leras broke routine and decided to take a stroll before dinner, something that he did four or five times a year. He went along enjoying the peace of the world until he reached Champs-Elysees. He strolled onto the Arc de Triomphe when he realized that he was hungry and went into a wine dealer for dinner. He was served with mutton, salad and asparagus. He also took coffee something he did rarely and a pong of brandy. After paying for a meal, he felt youthful and even commented on how fine the night was. He then continued with his stroll up to Bois de Boulogne. After a long walk, Leras grew tired and sat down on a bench. Almost instantly, a woman came and sat next to him and a conversation supervened. The woman slithered her hand into his and talked him into walking with her. Reluctantly and with sadness, he agreed. After a few yards, another woman came along and asked him to sit beside her. She asked him what him made take up life. Leras responded by asking the same question to her. The woman said that she wanted to live and then she walked away. He went back to the bench and started to reflect on what he knew and what he had been told. Leras sees himself different from other people. After some time, he stood up to go but felt tired and sat on the next bench. Thoughts of old age came to him. He thought how it would be to have little grandkids then he compared it with his empty and unhappy house, he saw nothing new about him and no hope in the horizon. That night, Leras committed suicide. He was seen dangling from his suspenders by a young woman. The story shows a lack of self believes and faith in oneself. He commits suicide because he feels lonely. Leras realizes how everyone else was happy while emptiness engulfed his life. Another story that portrays Guy Maupassant disillusioned life was All over, it is about Lormerin, a fine looking man, tall elegant who had nobility. As he finished dressing he shouted, “Lormerin is still alive!” a realization that he is not growing any younger. One could have confused him to be a gambler by the manner in which he spread the letters on the table. He scanned the handwriting and grouped the letters in three or four lots. He wondered what could be addressed even before he opened them. A simple letter caught his eye and he wondered of the sender. He attempted to read it through the envelope without even having any thoughts of opening it. He then took a magnifying glass and read the letter. He had been invited for dinner by Lise. Lormerin is seen to portray emotions. His heart began to throb and tears mount on his eyes. He loved her; he began to recollect memories of the past, how she had nicknamed him Jaquelet and the way she pronounced it. He concludes that he had to go and dine with Lise. He looked at the mirror and said, “she must look very old than I look.” He felt satisfied that he was still handsome, cool and fresh. That day he just thought of the dinner date. He made the toilet with feminine coquetry, put on a white waistcoat and had a hairdresser do his hair. When he went to meet her, she greeted him with both arms and kissed them. He then met Lise’s daughter, a spitting image of a younger Lise. She was younger and fresher. He left early and went along thinking about thus girl who had inflamed his blood. He went on to his house still haunted by a girl. However, that night as he passed by, with a candle, the mirror he had admired himself with, he saw an old, gray- haired man. He started to recall the old days he was young, handsome and charming. He then took the magnifier, saw the wrinkles and then he shouted, “All over Lormerin!” Lormerin’s self-confidence has been crushed by the sight of a young Lise’s daughter. He sees himself different from who he was earlier because he had the notion that none is more charming and handsome than lormerin. Lormerin’s self-esteem is on his appearance. Just like Lomerin, Guy may have been suffering from a loss in self-esteem. He shouts it’s over and maybe Maupassant was feeling that his life was over. Commonality exists in both stories. They portray disillusionment, loss of faith in the way they had lived their lives and the way they envisioned themselves. Lormerin feels that his life is all but over because he is no longer attractive and handsome as he used to be. Leras is opened up to reality of how he lived and realized that he had no hope of turning things around, he commits suicide. One questions whether a similar revelation occurred to Maupassant that led him to attempt suicide. Maupassant may have been expressing his thoughts in his writings. The choice of characters and their fate are a mirror of what Maupassant may have been going through. He may have died of the syphilitic paresis, but his cynicism was a contributing factor. Work cited Guy de Maupassant. By Albert H. Wallace. Twayne publishers. New York. 1973 Read More