Guy de Maupassant
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Transcript of Guy de Maupassant
Biography of Guy de MaupassantPrepared by Miss Rose June Vargas Locsin
Name: Henri-Rene-Albert Guy de Maupassant
Date of Birth: August 5, 1850
Birthplace: Dieppe, Normandy, France
Date of Death: July 6, 1893
Place of Death: Paris, France
Father: Gustave de Maupassant
Mother: Laure Le Poittevin
•started schooling when he was 13 years old
•finished at a Rouen boarding school
•studied law at the University of Paris
•became a soldier in Normandy during the Franco-Prussian
War
•worked as a clerk in the Education Ministry
•resigned in 1880 and began a literary career
•imitated the style of his godfather Gustave Flaubert
•published his first story “Boule de Suif” (“Ball of
Fat”) in 1880
•established himself as a prominent writer of short
stories and novels
• wrote all of his great literature, including 6 novels
and over 300 short stories within a decade (1880-
1890)
• published “La Parure” (“The Necklace”) in 1884
Alongside his flourishing literary career, de
Maupassant’s health declined as a result of
syphilis, which he contracted in the 1870s.
He attempted suicide on January 2, 1892 but
was unsuccessful; consequently, he was
placed in a sanitarium. He died there a year
and a half later.
De Maupassant as Literary Genius
A. Theories of Realism and Naturalism
•influenced by Flaubert’s leaning toward
realism in his writings
•influenced by his friend Emile Zola and
his naturalistic perspective
B. Characters
Many of his characters are unhappy
victims of their greed, desire, or
vanity.
C. Writing Style
He presents the characters’ lives
without sermonizing. He would
usually “show” us, not “tell” us.