Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant
"Boule de Suif" is a renowned short story by French author Guy de Maupassant, set during the Franco-Prussian War. The narrative follows a diverse group of passengers traveling in a coach towards Havre, who are initially united by their shared discomfort of traveling with Boule de Suif, a round and robust woman labeled as a courtesan. Their journey becomes complicated when they are detained at an inn by Prussian soldiers, who demand that Boule de Suif submit to the advances of a Prussian officer in exchange for their freedom.
As the days drag on, the psychological dynamics among the passengers shift dramatically. Initially united in their moral outrage, the group begins to pressure Boule de Suif to comply with the officer's demand, employing various arguments regarding sacrifice and patriotism. Ultimately, Boule de Suif, overwhelmed by guilt and the manipulation of her fellow passengers, capitulates to their demands. Afterward, as they continue their journey, the passengers turn against her, displaying disdain despite having benefited from her sacrifice. The story highlights themes of hypocrisy, social class, and the complexities of human nature in times of crisis.
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Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant
First published: 1880 (English translation, 1903)
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: About 1870
Locale: On the road between Rouen and the port city of Havre, France
Principal Characters:
Elizabeth Rousset , "Boule de Suif," a prostitute and the protagonistMonsieur and Madame Loiseau , wholesale wine merchantsCornudet , a dissolute man with political ambitionsPrussian officer
The Story
A coach is making its way along the icy road to Havre. Its passengers are silently eyeing one another, trying to reach the port in spite of the war-torn countryside and the advancing Prussian troops. Self-conscious of respectability, they are uncomfortable sharing a coach with "a member of the courtesan class," who is nicknamed "Boule de Suif" (ball of fat) because she is so round. The journey is long and tedious, so that when Boule de Suif takes some food from her traveling basket and good-heartedly offers to share it among the others, the passengers—begrudgingly at first and then avidly—eat and drink their fill; even the two nuns indulge with comic delicacy. Before long, they are all talking amiably about patriotism and the evil Prussians.
That night, the coach stops at an inn behind the Prussian lines and the passengers are given separate rooms. During the night, officious Monsieur Loiseau keeps his eyes to the keyhole of his door, trying to observe "the mysteries of the corridor." He sees the rogue Cornudet make advances to Boule de Suif, but she rebuffs him, insisting on maintaining her dignity in the midst of the enemy. A Prussian officer, the presiding "law" in that part of the country, has set up his headquarters in the inn and is staying in a room just down the hall. Under such circumstances, she tells Cornudet, one must keep one's self-respect.
The next morning, the passengers find the coach unharnessed and themselves detained. They learn that the Prussian officer has forbidden them to leave until Boule de Suif gives herself to him. She is shocked and angry at the proposal, and, for a while, so are the other passengers. Days pass. The Prussian waits. Soon the passengers grow impatient, and the Prussian's tactic of wearing down their shallow moral indignation begins to work. They begin to hatch their own strategy for getting Boule de Suif to capitulate. The wives talk to her of romantic self-sacrifice; the nuns, too, are enlisted, preaching to her of purity of motive. The men talk of war and glorious patriotism. Throughout lunch and dinner and into the evening hours the psychological assault on Boule de Suif continues. Ironically, only Cornudet, the old rogue, refuses to have anything to do with the scheme.
Finally, exhausted, confused, and burdened with guilt over being the cause of the group's internment, Boule de Suif yields and gives herself to the Prussian. That night, the passengers celebrate victory. Loiseau "stands champagne all round." Only Cornudet is sullen. "You have done an infamous thing," he tells them.
Next morning, the passengers find the coach ready for their departure. Boule de Suif is the first to climb in, and at last they resume their journey. Now, however, the passengers snub Boule de Suif. They talk among themselves, showing her their disdain. Chatting amiably, they do not seem to care that in the dark corner of the coach Boule de Suif is silently weeping.