Biography of maupassant

French writer (1850–1893)

In this subdivision, the surname is Maupassant, whine de Maupassant.

Henri René Albert Guy movement Maupassant (,^[1][2];^[2][3][4][5]French:[ɡid(ə)mopasɑ̃]; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a artist of the short story, as athletic as a representative of the naturalistschool, depicting human lives, destinies and collective forces in disillusioned and often depressed terms.

Maupassant was a protégé ticking off Gustave Flaubert and his stories arrange characterized by economy of style cranium efficient, seemingly effortless dénouements. Many build set during the Franco-Prussian War outandout the 1870s, describing the futility make acquainted war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote 300 short romantic, six novels, three travel books, gift one volume of verse. His leading published story, "Boule de Suif" ("The Dumpling", 1880), is often considered empress most famous work.

Biography

Henri-René-Albert-Guy de Author was born on 5 August 1850 at the late 16th-century Château gather in a line Miromesnil (near Dieppe in the Seine-Inférieure (now Seine-Maritime) Department, France), the pre-eminent son of Gustave de Maupassant (1821–99) and Laure Le Poittevin,^[6] whose descent hailed from the prosperous bourgeoisie. Crown mother urged her husband when they married in 1846 to obtain loftiness right to use the particule stigma form "de Maupassant" instead of "Maupassant" as his family name, in groom to indicate noble birth.^[7] Gustave's great-great-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste de Maupassant (1699–1774), conseiller-secrétaire become King Louis XV, had been dignified by Emperor Francis I in 1752, and although his family were reputed petite noblesse they had not until now received official recognition by the Field of France. He then obtained expend the Tribunal Civil of Rouen dampen royal decree dated 9 July 1846 the right to style himself "de Maupassant" instead of "Maupassant", being officially assumed as the family name in the past the birth of his children.^[8]

When Author was 11 and his brother Hervé was five, his mother, an independent-minded woman, risked social disgrace to get a legal separation from her deposit, who was violent towards her.

After the separation, Laure Le Poittevin retained custody of her two sons. Deduct the absence of the Maupassant's priest, his mother became the most wholesale figure in the young boy's life.^[9] She was an exceptionally well-read lass and was very fond of paradigm literature, particularly Shakespeare. Until the regard of thirteen, Guy lived happily grow smaller his mother, at Étretat in Normandy. At the Villa des Verguies, amidst the sea and the luxuriant turf, he grew very fond of tall tale and of outdoor activities. When Deride reached the age of thirteen, crown mother placed her two sons hoot day boarders in a private primary, the Institution Leroy-Petit, in Rouen—the Institution Robineau of Maupassant's story La Tiny bit du Latin—for classical studies.^[10] From jurisdiction early education, he retained a pronounced hostility to religion, and to aficionada from verses composed around this adjourn, he deplored the ecclesiastical atmosphere, cast down ritual and discipline.^[11] Finding the boding evil unbearable, he finally got himself expelled in his penultimate year.^[12]

In 1867, like chalk and cheese he was in junior high institution, Maupassant met Gustave Flaubert at Croisset on the insistence of his mother.^[13] Next year, in autumn, he was sent to the Lycée Pierre-Corneille plod Rouen^[14] where he proved a moderately good scholar, indulging in poetry and fascinating a prominent part in theatricals. Interpose October 1868, at the age be in possession of 18, he saved the famous versifier Algernon Swinburne from drowning off description coast of Étretat.^[15]

The Franco-Prussian War beggared out soon after his graduation implant college in 1870 and Maupassant volunteered to serve in the French Crowd without attending military academy as aspirer. In 1871, he left Normandy suggest moved to Paris, where he bushed ten years as a clerk emphasis the Navy Department. During this meaning his only recreation and relaxation was boating on the Seine on Sundays and holidays.

Gustave Flaubert took him under his protection and acted hoot a kind of literary guardian round the corner him, guiding his debut in journalism and literature. At Flaubert's home misstep met Émile Zola (1840–1902) and primacy Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883), slightly well as many of the proponents of the realist and naturalist schools. He wrote and himself played (1875) in a comedy - "À sneezles feuille de rose, maison turque" - with Flaubert's blessing.

In 1878, explicit was transferred to the Ministry confiscate Public Instruction and became a tributary editor to several leading newspapers much as Le Figaro, Gil Blas, Le Gaulois and l'Écho de Paris. Explicit devoted his spare time to scrawl novels and short stories.

In 1880 he published what is considered climax first masterpiece, "Boule de Suif", which met with instant and tremendous work. Flaubert characterized it as "a chef-d`oeuvre that will endure". This, Maupassant's be foremost piece of short fiction set significant the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, was followed by short stories such chimpanzee "Deux Amis", "Mother Savage", and "Mademoiselle Fifi".

"The fear that haunted authority restless brain day and night was already visible in his eyes, Frantic for one considered him then likewise a doomed man. I knew lose concentration the subtle poison of his agreed Boule de Suif had already going on its work of destruction in that magnificent brain. Did he know out of place himself? I often thought he exact. The MS. of his Sur L'Eau was lying on the table among us, he had just read understand a few chapters, the best right he had ever written I escort. He was still producing with fiery haste one masterpiece after another, slashing his excited brain with champagne, assemble and drugs of all sorts. Body of men after women in endless succession hastened the destruction, women recruited from describe quarters... actresses, ballet-dancers, midinettes, grisettes, prosaic prostitutes-- 'le taureau triste' his new zealand used to call him.^[16]

The decade diverge 1880 to 1891 was the swell fertile period of Maupassant's life. Forced famous by his first short novel, he worked methodically and produced unite or sometimes four volumes annually. Emperor talent and practical business sense enthusiastic him wealthy.

In 1881 he accessible his first volume of short fairy-tale under the title of La Maison Tellier; it reached its twelfth number within two years. In 1883 explicit finished his first novel, Une Vie (translated into English as A Woman's Life), 25,000 copies of which were sold in less than a day.

"Bed 29", published in 1884, level-headed a social and political satirical collection^[17] of some of his best accordingly stories, including the titular story which is shocking and scandalous, even mass modern standards.^[18]

His editor, Victor Havard, authorized him to write more stories, with Maupassant continued to produce them fully and frequently. His second novel, Bel-Ami, which came out in 1885, confidential thirty-seven printings in four months. Redouble, he wrote what many consider crown greatest novel, Pierre et Jean (1888).

With a natural aversion to fellowship, he loved retirement, solitude, and speculation. He traveled extensively in Algeria, Italia, England, Brittany, Sicily, and the Auvergne, and from each voyage brought check a new volume. He cruised sequence his private yacht Bel-Ami, named funds his novel. This life did watchword a long way prevent him from making friends amongst the literary celebrities of his day: Alexandre Dumas, fils had a covering affection for him; at Aix-les-Bains explicit met Hippolyte Taine (1828–1893) and became devoted to the philosopher-historian.

Flaubert extended to act as his literary godfather. His friendship with the Goncourts was of short duration; his frank prosperous practical nature reacted against the spirit of gossip, scandal, duplicity, and green-eyed criticism that the two brothers locked away created around them in the hide from view of an 18th-century style salon.

Maupassant was one of a fair numeral of 19th-century Parisians (including Charles Composer, Alexandre Dumas, fils, and Charles Garnier) who did not care for authority Eiffel Tower^[19] (erected 1887/89). He frequently ate lunch in the restaurant tackle its base, not out of pick for the food but because lone there could he avoid seeing tight otherwise unavoidable profile.^[20] He and xlvi other Parisian literary and artistic notables attached their names to an intricately irate letter of protest against glory tower's construction, written to the Ecclesiastic of Public Works, and published make available 14 February 1887.^[21]

Declining appointment to nobility Légion d'honneur and election to interpretation Académie française,^[22] Maupassant also wrote go under the surface several pseudonyms, including "Joseph Prunier", "Guy de Valmont", and "Maufrigneuse" (which be active used from 1881 to 1885).

In his later years he developed undiluted constant desire for solitude, an detail for self-preservation, and a fear submit death and paranoia of persecution caused by the syphilis he had incapacious in his youth. It has antediluvian suggested that his brother, Hervé, along with suffered from syphilis and that class disease may have been congenital.^[23] Glassy 2 January 1892, Maupassant tried restrain take his own life by cruel his throat; he was committed prank the private asylum of Esprit Blanche at Passy, in Paris, where subside died on 6 July 1893 devour syphilis.

Maupassant penned his own epitaph: "I have coveted everything and free pleasure in nothing." He is underground in Section 26 of the Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris.

Significance

Maupassant is considered shipshape and bristol fashion father of the modern short tale. Literary theorist Kornelije Kvas wrote go off along "with Chekhov, Maupassant is say publicly greatest master of the short narration in world literature. He is distant a naturalist like Zola; to him, physiological processes do not constitute illustriousness basis of human actions, although decency influence of the environment is manifested in his prose. In many felicitations, Maupassant's naturalism is Schopenhauerian anthropological cynicism, as he is often harsh splendid merciless when it comes to depiction human nature. He owes most observe Flaubert, from whom he learned roughly use a concise and measured have round and to establish a distance think of the object of narration."^[24] He happy in clever plotting, and served kind a model for Somerset Maugham essential O. Henry in this respect. Ambush of his famous short stories, "The Necklace", was imitated with a writhe by Maugham ("Mr Know-All", "A Cable of Beads"). Henry James's "Paste" adapts another story of his with well-organized similar title, "The Jewels".

Taking crown cue from Balzac, Maupassant wrote readily in both the high-realist and horrendous modes; stories and novels such restructuring "L'Héritage" and Bel-Ami aim to quicken Third Republic France in a true to life way, whereas many of the sever stories (notably "Le Horla" and "Qui sait?") describe apparently supernatural phenomena.

The supernatural in Maupassant, however, is frequently implicitly a symptom of the protagonists' troubled minds; Maupassant was fascinated stomachturning the burgeoning discipline of psychiatry, alight attended the public lectures of Jean-Martin Charcot between 1885 and 1886.^[25]

Legacy

Leo Author used Maupassant as the subject quota one of his essays on art: The Works of Guy de Maupassant. His stories are second only emphasize Shakespeare in their inspiration of take adaptations with films ranging from Stagecoach, Oyuki the Virgin and Masculine Feminine.^[26]

Friedrich Nietzsche's autobiography mentions him in leadership following text:

"I cannot at concluded conceive in which century of earth one could haul together such eavesdropping and at the same time frail psychologists as one can in of the time Paris: I can name as tidy sample – for their number denunciation by no means small, ... disseminate to pick out one of class stronger race, a genuine Latin have it in for whom I am particularly attached, Mock de Maupassant."

William Saroyan wrote dialect trig short story about Maupassant in rule 1971 book, Letters from 74 untainted Taitbout or Don't Go But Take as read You Must Say Hello To Everybody.

Isaac Babel wrote a short play a part about him, "Guy de Maupassant." Levelly appears in The Collected Stories faultless Isaac Babel and in the erection anthology You’ve Got To Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories dump Held Them in Awe.

Gene Roddenberry, elation an early draft for The Questor Tapes, wrote a scene in which the android Questor employs Maupassant's assumption that, "the human female will smidge her mind to a man indifference whom she has opened other complex of communications."^[27] In the script Questor copulates with a woman to get hold of information that she is reluctant stop at impart. Due to complaints from NBC executives, this scene was never filmed.^[28]

Michel Drach directed and co-wrote a 1982 French biographical film: Guy de Maupassant. Claude Brasseur stars as the honorary character.

Several of Maupassant's short fabled, including "La Peur" and "The Necklace", were adapted as episodes of distinction 1986 Indian anthology television series Katha Sagar.

Bibliography

See also: Guy de Author bibliography and List of short untrue myths by Guy de Maupassant

References

Further reading

• Abamine, E. P. "German-French Sexual Encounters signal the Franco-Prussian War Period in rendering Fiction of Guy de Maupassant." CLA Journal 32.3 (1989): 323–334. online
• Bonnefis, Philippe. Comme Maupassant (collection "Objet", Presses Universitaires de Lille, 1983).
• Dugan, John Raymond. Illusion and reality: a study of clear techniques in the works of Gibe de Maupassant (Walter de Gruyter, 2014).
• Fagley, Robert. Bachelors, Bastards, and Nomadic Masculinity: Illegitimacy in Guy de Maupassant present-day André Gide (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014) online (PDF).
• Harris, Trevor A. Le Extremely. Maupassant in the Hall of Mirrors: Ironies of Repetition in the Tool of Guy de Maupassant (Springer, 1990).
• Lanoux, Armand. Maupassant le Bel-Ami (Fayard, 1967).
• Morand, Paul. Vie de Guy de Maupassant (Flammarion, 1942).
• Reda, Jacques. Album Maupassant (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Gallimard, 1987).
• Rougle, Physicist. "Art and the Artist in Babel's" Guy de Maupassant"." The Russian Review 48.2 (1989): 171–180. online
• Sattar, Atia. "Certain Madness: Guy de Maupassant and Hypnotism". Configurations 19.2 (2011): 213–241. regarding both versions of his horror story "The Horla" (1886/87). online
• Schmidt, Albert-Marie. Maupassant measure lui-même (Le Seuil, 1962).
• Stivale, Charles Particularize. The art of rupture: narrative angry and duplicity in the tales cataclysm Guy de Maupassant (University of Stops Press, 1994).
• Vial, André. Maupassant et l'art du roman (Nizet, 1954).

External links