Henry René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a 19th-century French writer and journalist. Today, alongside Stendhal, Balzac and his patrons Flaubert and Zola, he is considered one of the most important French authors of his time. Many of his novellas have been filmed.
Guy de Maupassant spent his childhood in Fécamp, France. His father was a nobleman whose expenses were reportedly always higher than his income and who, contrary to the marital vow of fidelity, liked to have an affair or two. In 1859 he had to earn his living as a bank clerk and the couple separated.
De Maupassant’s mother went with him to Normandy for his younger brother Hervé, who was to suffer from mental illness in later years. He went to a Catholic school but couldn’t find his way around. His first literary attempts date back to his school days, at the age of 17 he was expelled from school because of a poem. After school, De Maupassant first studied law in Paris in 1869 and lived with his father during this time. However, he had to give up his studies because he was drafted – France was at war with Prussia.
After returning home in 1872, he could have continued his studies, but instead decided to work as a middle civil servant. Various affairs sweetened his little challenging job until he fell ill with syphilis in 1877. Guy de Maupassant became acquainted with the writer Gustave Flaubert and, through him, with the great authors of the Paris of his time, and he now increasingly experimented – under Flaubert’s guidance – with various literary genres. It was not until 1880 that Guy de Maupassant achieved great success with his novella Fat Dumplings. The work appeared in an anthology (“Les soirées de Médan”) in which Emil Zola published, among others, and made him famous overnight.
Subsequently, De Maupassant began to write prolifically, publishing over 300 works, mostly short stories, thereby cementing his reputation as well as his income. In addition to novellas, he also published a few novels, travelogues and poems. He now earned his living as a writer, although of course not every work immediately became a bestseller.
Guy de Maupassant’s best-known work is probably the bestseller Bel Ami, published in 1885, but Une Vie also enjoys widespread popularity to this day. The writer usually wrote about Normandy and Paris, the two places with which he had a personal point of reference. The autobiographical work “Bel Ami” is a story of the rise of the middle-class provincial writer to the well-respected capital journalist and member of the better society.
The best-selling author was also politically active. For example, as a journalist he opposed current government policies in his articles and as an artist he opposed the construction of the Eiffel Tower, which he was unable to assert, to the delight of millions of tourists in subsequent generations.
De Maupassant had three children with different mothers and otherwise led a rather unsettled life. He lived temporarily in Étretat, Cannes, Antibes and undertook extensive trips to North Africa. The consequences of syphilis, the use of drugs in later years and also the fear of becoming insane like his brother led to the writer’s final years of frustration.
He spent his last months in a psychiatric hospital in Passy near Paris before dying in 1893. He was buried on Montparnasse in Paris.
What is Guy de Maupassant best known for?
Guy de Maupassant is regarded as the best French writer of short stories. His 300 stories were written in the naturalist style and often described the life of the lower and middle classes. “Boule de suif” (“Ball of Fat”) is regarded as his best story, while the best known is “La Parure” (“The Necklace”).
Who is the father of the short story?
Maupassant is often described as the father of the modern short story—a literary form that’s more condensed and immediate than the novel. His work was admired by his contemporaries and imitated by those who came after him.
What was Guy de Maupassant first short story?
He wrote 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, “Boule de Suif” (“The Dumpling”, 1880), is often considered his most famous work.
Why did Guy de Maupassant become a writer?
Through her parenting, he was exposed to literature, which would set him on the path to becoming a writer. Guy de Maupassant met Gustave Flaubert, another French writer, in high school in 1867. His mother, seeing his love for literature, encouraged him to connect with Flaubert, which paid off later in his life.
What is the theme of Guy de Maupassant?
Although Maupassant wrote on a wide variety of topics, the major recurring themes in his short stories are war, prostitution, and madness.
How do you read Guy de Maupassant?
Why Guy de Maupassant wrote The Necklace?
The author’s purpose for writing The Necklace was to show things happen for a reason. Mathilde did not know her own worth or value and ended up doing foolish things to feel satisfied. The new dress was not necassary but she just asked for more than the good things she didn’t cherish enough.
