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Sad, the society's double standard. ( )

Often called his best work, Boule de Suif is also Maupassant's first published short story. In my collection, as in many others, it is grouped with several works about the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent occupation of France.

In this story, Maupassant first describes the changing atmosphere of a town that first sees the retreat of their own army and then the arrival of an occupying force. The townspeople's mood moves from fear and despair, to acceptance and practical business dealings. Some even befriend the young men. Then, Maupassant shows the emotional and ethical accommodations that a small group of disparate people undergo when in a stressful situation. One informs and reflects the other. Although I did not find this story as tight and polished as some of his others, the impact of this story is particularly poignant.

Rouen has been occupied by the Prussians, and several wealthy citizens have procured much desired travel permits allowing them to leave for Le Havre, which is still in French hands. As the coach jounces along, the passengers eye one another and try to determine each other's social status. There are an upstart wine merchant and his wife, a well-established mill owner and his wife, a Comte and Comtesse, a politician, two nuns, and a woman of easy virtue, known as Boule de Suif (Ball of Fat or Dumpling). At first the passengers are careful to maintain their distances from one another based on social standing, but after many hours of travel beyond what they were expecting, they are ready and willing to take advantage of Boule de Suif's offer to share her generous feast, which she had the foresight to pack. Over chicken legs and bottles of claret, the group bonds and social distinctions cease to be the overriding concern.

At the inn where they stop for the night, a Prussian officer makes a pass at Boule de Suif, who rebuffs him. Stung, the officer refuses to let the party continue their journey until she sleeps with him. A staunch patriot, she continues to refuse, while the others slide from outrage on her behalf to frustration that they are being held hostage to her denial. The story that unfolds is both sad and seemingly inevitable. ( )

Personne ne la regardait ne songeait à elle. Elle se sentait noyée dans le mépris de ces gredins honnêes qui l’avaient sacrifiée d’abord, rejetée ensuite, comme une chose malpropre et inutile. Alors elle songea à son grand panier tout plein de bonnes choses qu’ils avaient goulûment dévorées, à ses deux poulets luisants de gelée, à ses pâtés, à ses poires, à ses quatre bouteilles de bordeaux ; et sa fureur tombant soudain comme une corde trop tendue qui casse, elle se sentit prête à pleurer. (p. 25-26).

Relecture de la seule nouvelle de Maupassant qui m’a laissé un souvenir après mes années de collège. Ayant d’abord lu Le Horla et étant à l’époque (et encore largement aujourd’hui) hermétique au fantastique, j’avais trouvé dans Boule de suif une nouvelle qui me parlait. C’est aussi une nouvelle qui m’avait révoltée par ce qu’elle dit de ce que nous sommes, quelle vénalité et bien-pensance nous anime.
Le plaisir a été moindre avec cette relecture, car j’en attendais la chute, que je connaissais, et l’ai finalement trouvée moins féroce que dans mon souvenir. Ou serait-ce que je suis plus fataliste aujourd’hui et que ce comportement de la société bien-pensante me paraît finalement tristement banal quand il me révoltait il y a une vingtaine d’années ?

Ongenadige observatie van de kleine, schamele mens, de hypocrisie; toch ook mogelijkheid tot geluk! ( )