The Awakening by Guy de Maupassant - Book Report/Review Example

Introduction

The passage is taken from a short story that is known as the awakening (reveil). The author of the story, Guy Maupassant published it in 1883 (De Maupassant, 1950: 56). The story has about five characters. The main character is a woman who is married and living with the husband in a quiet place away from Paris. The story talks about Jeanne reflecting the experiences she had as a married woman in a secluded and quiet environment away from city life. Jeanne had decided to travel from her home when she encountered a new life full of men who were attracted to her and tried to seduce her. This affected her emotions especially making her happy knowing that she was still desirable. However, the men she encountered and their trial of wooing her did not take away the faithfulness she had for her husband.

Plot

The story is very well organised regarding the events that occur around Jeanne’s life. The story starts with a description of the main character, Jeanne. She had been married for three years, and within those years, she had not moved out of the house that they lived with the husband. She had no children, and it is definite that her life was quiet and without drama. Her husband was out almost all the time because he had two cotton mills, which he ran. Jeanne’s husband was much older than she was and was not as charming as she expected him to be. Every summer Jeanne’s mother came to check on her.

She spent the summer at her home and when the winter season came, she went back to Paris. Jeanne’s health had deteriorated during the winter season. She had a weak chest which was vulnerable to cold that accompanied the winter season. Therefore, her physician advised that she spend the winter season in Paris because it was not as cold as in the valley of Cire.

While in Paris, her life changed. She started experiencing things that she had never experienced in her life. She started going out something that she was not used to. She got involved with two men who found her attractive and seduced her. The relationships she got into confused her because they were different from the relationship that she had with her husband. She resolved to go back to the valley of Cire to be with her husband because she was afraid that the attraction and seduction from the two guys especially monsieur Avancelle could destroy her marriage. In the story, the narrator depicts Jeanne as a strong willed woman capable of holding to the vows that she made. She was unmoved by the men who approached her and flirted with her because she loved her husband despite the fact that she felt nice to know that she was desired by other men. She was determined to love, respect and be faithful to her husband.

Characteristics of the main character (Jeanne)

Loving

Jeanne was married to a man who was much older than she was. She stayed with him in the valley of Cire for three years without going anywhere (De Maupassant, 1950: 83). When she went to Paris for winter, she met two men who wanted to have a romantic relationship with her. In particular, monsieur Avancelle was more appealing and for a moment Jeanne felt nice to be wanted. Despite this, her determination to keep the love for her husband became even strong. To her, the two men were attractive but were threatening the love she had for her husband. Therefore, she made a decision to go back to her husband before things got out of hand. She told her husband of her desire to go back home so that she can stay with him. Jeanne’s husband did not like the idea because of her health condition but she had already made up her mind to go back. This shows that she loved her husband and could sacrifice her health to be with him.

In Paris, she mingled with many men. She had fun going to dinner and parties. She attended dances and all sorts of entertainment (MacNamara, 1976: 296). Men flirted with her many times and gave her compliments. Though the compliments were appealing, she did not take them seriously. This is because she loved her husband and knew that eventually, she could go back to him. During the winter season in Paris, she was attracted to monsieur Avancelle, but because she loved her husband, she did not betray her love for him. We are also told from the passage that she loved her husband and was faithful to him.

Secretive

When she went to the Paris, she experienced things that she had not experienced for long. In particular, she went out for parties and dinners (Moore, 1918: 98). She got used to men flirting with her and men declaring their love for her. Jeanne enjoyed and cherished all the compliments and attention that she got men. The life in Paris was exciting and she mingled with people, engaged them and enjoyed their company unlike when she was at home. Despite this, she did not confide in anyone about her encounters. She also did not tell the men who wanted her that she was married. This showed that she was highly secretive.

Jeanne did not tell her husband about what was going on in Paris during the winter season because she knew this could wreck her marriage. She went home and never told her husband of her encounters with men (De Maupassant, 1950: 86). She only called her husband and told him that she wanted to go back. Her husband was puzzled by this but Jeanne only revealed that she wanted to be with him and nothing else.

Faithful

She had so much fun on her visit to Paris. She went out with men, and she enjoyed their company. She flirted with men, and many of them gave her compliments (MacNamara, 1976: 298). She loved this, but she did not take them seriously. She just took it for fun. This showed that she was faithful to her husband. In addition, she fell in love with two men and in particular one of the men. However, she did not fall for him to the point of leaving her husband. When she saw that the emotions were threatening her, she went back to her husband. This showed that she was faithful and loyal to her husband.

Mature

Jeanne has displayed a lot of maturity throughout the passage. This is especially when she was in Paris. She had led a quiet and lonely life in the valley of Cire together with her husband (MacNamara, 1976: 299). She stayed there for three years without changing the environment. However, when she moved to Paris for the winter, she made some friends. Life became fun, and she loved every experience there. She went to dinners, parties, dances and entertainment.

It was definite that life was good and that she enjoyed life. Since she was beautiful, men came after her trying to win her heart (De Maupassant, 1950: 56). She flirted with them and gave her compliments, which she loved. She loved to see men stammer as they tried to win her love. She even found a man that she truly loved. She could have easily left her husband for the man, but because she was mature enough, she did not do that. Life in Paris was fun, but she was mature enough to abandon the life and go back to his quiet and lonely life to be with his husband.

Resilient

Jeanne spent three years in the valley of Cire despite all the conditions that were there. During the winter seasons, the area was the most affected, and it was much colder there than other towns (De Maupassant, 1950: 99). Her health was affected by the winter season because she had a weak chest. However, she decided to stay and be with her husband. This showed that she was resilient. When she went to Paris, she was supposed to stay there until the winter season was over. This was because of her health concerns. She also interrupted her stay in Paris and went back to stay with her husband.

Literary devices

Symbolism

The author of the story has employed imagery throughout his story. She refers to the house that Jeanne was staying as chateau (Moore, 1918: 100). This applied to the house that they were staying in. The house is described as being hidden by trees. This is to show that the house was in rural place that was full of trees. It shows that they lived in an environment of the wood that had peace and tranquillity that is why it was referred to as a quiet place.

Symbolism has also been used when the author says that the mother of Jeanne visited them and left when the leaves began to fall. This is to signal the start of the winter season (De Maupassant, 1950: 96). When the winter starts, snow starts to form. The snow covers the trees and making the leaves to shed off the trees. In addition, the snow covers the trees from the roots making it difficult for the leaves to manufacture food hence the shedding of the leaves.

The author also says that the valley was a ghostly place. This is to signify the conditions that prevailed in the valley (MacNamara, 1976: 300). It was also to describe how the place looked like. The valley of Cire was in a place that was full of trees. Nothing much happened there, and there were not as many people staying there. The place was terrifying, and this is supported by the silence that was in the place and its quiet nature.

The people who were in the place could bypass each other without recognizing each other. This was especially during the winter season (Moore, 1918: 118). This was to show how intense the winter season was in the valley of Cire. During winter, a lot of snow is formed, and there is lots of colds. Because of the intense cold, people have to wear heavy clothing to keep them warm, and that explains why they cannot be able to recognize each other.

The author also says that the river was covered by mist and fog. This was to show that the winter season was very intense in the valley of Cire (De Maupassant, 1950: 101). All this was to explain why Jeanne had chest problems during the winter season. It was because the winter season was more intense in the region, which contributed to her chest problems.

Symbolism has also been employed in the form of similes. It is used to describe the winter season when the author compares the cloud to a rising tide (MacNamara, 1976: 301). This is to show that during the winter season, the snow rose and covered everything just like the clouds. Symbolism is also used to refer to her behaviour when she was in Paris. That she was experiencing what people experience during the stage of adolescence.

Effect on the reader

There are lessons that the reader can learn from the story. For instance, there is a lesson of the faithfulness. All the while that Jeanne was in Paris where she interacted with men and had lots of fun with them, she did not betray her husband by being unfaithful to him. She never took them seriously, and any suggestion of them to take her to bed left her disgusted. This showed how faithful she was to her husband. The story also shows the reader that one should not fall or give into every flirtation or approach made towards him or her no matter how good it is because the current situation could be better than the one that is being promised. People should learn to be content with the decisions they make and be determined to remain faithful to people they commit to love.

Conclusion

The short story is a narration that employs many styles such as symbolism. Some lessons are learnt from the short story. The main themes are faithfulness and love. Its setting helps in bringing out the agenda of the story. The short story is told from a third person point of view showing Jeanne’s faithfulness to her husband. Despite the fact that she was faithful, she loved to hear men tell her good things about her and expressing their admiration of her. However, this did not change her determination to love and be faithful to her husband. She knew her worth and could not betray this for any amount of flirtation that came her way.

Reference List

De Maupassant, G., 1950. Selected tales of Guy de Maupassant. Random House.

MacNamara, M., 1976. A Critical Stage in the Evolution of Maupassant's Story-Telling. The Modern Language Review, pp.294-303.

Moore, O.H., 1918. The Romanticism of Guy de Maupassant. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, pp.96-134.