Bel-Ami: Analysis of Major Characters
"Bel-Ami," a novel by Guy de Maupassant, features Georges Duroy, an ambitious young journalist who rises through the social ranks of Parisian society. Known as Bel-Ami, Duroy is portrayed as charming yet unscrupulous, manipulating those around him to achieve his goals. His marriages and relationships with various women, including the calculating Madeleine Forestier and the devoted Clotilde de Marelle, reveal his self-serving nature and ability to enchant others, despite his moral shortcomings. The character of M. Walter, a wealthy newspaper owner, is pivotal as Duroy navigates both professional and personal landscapes, ultimately marrying Walter's daughter, Suzanne, while maintaining affairs with other women, including his first wife, Madeleine. Through Duroy’s interactions with these characters, Maupassant explores themes of ambition, infidelity, and the dynamics of power within relationships. The novel provides a critical lens on the societal norms of the time, illustrating how personal gain often overrides ethical considerations. Overall, "Bel-Ami" offers a complex portrayal of its major characters, emphasizing the interplay between ambition and morality in a rapidly changing society.
Bel-Ami: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Guy de Maupassant
First published: 1885 (English translation, 1889)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Paris and Cannes, France
Plot: Naturalism
Time: c. 1885
Georges Duroy (zhohrzh dew-RWAH), also called Bel-Ami (behl-ah-MEE), an ambitious young reporter and M. Walter's employee. A complete rascal, he later assumes the more aristocratic name of Georges du Roy de Cantel (dew rway duh kawn-TEHL), and he shrewdly manipulates his acquaintances as he continues to rise in prominent social circles. With the help of Madeleine Forestier, whom he marries after her husband's death, he receives an editorial position. Luckily for him, most women find the dashing ex-army officer irresistible; even the somewhat aloof Madame Walter is unable to resist his charms. At the opportune moment, Duroy accuses his wife of infidelity and wins a divorce, thus leaving him free to marry Suzanne, M. Walter's lovely and wealthy young daughter.
Madeleine Forestier (mahd-LEEN foh-rehs-TYAY), Duroy's wife after the death of her husband. A rather cool and calculating woman, she has the ability to evaluate accurately ambitious young men like Duroy. Knowing many prominent people, she shows him how to advance professionally and socially. But in him she finds her match. Before their divorce, he manages to assuage his “grief” with five hundred thousand francs from her fortune. Not one to look back in regret, Madeleine quickly discovers an ambitious young man to take Duroy's place.
Clotilde de Marelle (kloh-TEELD deh mah-REHL), Duroy's mistress. She, like most women, immediately falls under his hypnotic spell. Even when he neglects her, she is unable to stay away from him. After Suzanne's marriage to Duroy, Clotilde presses his hand warmly to indicate her continuing love for him.
Charles Forestier, Duroy's former brother officer and the editor who befriends him. Blessed with an intelligent wife and doomed by weak lungs, Forestier helps Duroy get a job as a reporter for M. Walter's newspaper. After the former's death and before his body is cold, Duroy proposes marriage to the dead man's wife.
M. Walter, the owner of the newspaper for which Duroy works. Using his powerful connections, this shrewd, avaricious man has become one of the wealthiest men in France, but he is unaware that he is a cuckold. When he learns of Duroy's intentions to marry his daughter, he dissents violently. Later, he realizes that Duroy has enough information to ruin him, and he consents readily to the marriage.
Basile Walter (bay-ZEEL), M. Walter's wife. Falling desperately in love with Duroy, she offers him anything in her power. All she desires is a little affection in return, even though she knows that he is increasingly bored with her. When she learns of Duroy's plans to marry her daughter, she almost goes insane from jealousy. As the marriage approaches, she is still unable to reconcile herself to losing her lover.
Suzanne Walter, Basile Walter's daughter. After Duroy wins his divorce from Madeleine, the naïve young girl is quite prepared to elope with him, even over the strenuous objections of her mother. She remains completely unaware of his numerous intrigues with other women.