Guy de Maupassant's Realistic Literature: A Reading Notebook

Extract

[...] It is clear in this passage how the young woman is intoxicated by feeling so beautiful with all these adornments. She may finally feel like she is evolving in the universe that is supposed to be hers according to her, a bit like the character of Emma in Mme Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, another jewel of realistic literature. Clochette: « She was seventeen years old, and she was a very beautiful girl, very beautiful, very beautiful Who would have believed it? [...]

[...] The young woman showed herself on the threshold and said to him with a worried look: 'It's bad to come like this at nightfall, Mr. Philippe.' This quote is crucial as at this moment we notice the budding love between Philippe and Blanchotte, two very modest characters who do not easily declare their feelings. The Hole « Me, I'm strong and gentle, not nasty for two cents. But she oh there it doesn't look like anything, It's small, it's thin; well it's more malicious than a weasel. This quote is interesting because we can see the differences in personality between the two characters. [...]

[...] Toine: « He had made a mistake, there were three It was a triumph The last one burst its envelope at seven o'clock in the evening. All the eggs were good And Toine, frantic with joy, delivered, glorious, kissed the back of the frail animal, almost suffocating it with his lips. This passage is important because the surprise is fruitful in its development. It's the completion of a plot twist in the sense that this character was someone colorful and assertive, and now he's reduced to some extent to hatching eggs, even if he ultimately sees it well. [...]

[...] Boitelle « He understood that it was over, that there was no more hope, that he would not marry his black woman; she also understood it; and they both started to cry as they approached the farm. This quote is crucial as it represents the tragic denouement of the story. They understand that they will never be able to live their friend. It's a poignant and moving passage. Simon's Father « The sky was full of stars when he came to knock on the door of the Blanchotte. [...]