Henri Ren Albert Guy De Maupassant

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant

Born

on August 5, 1850 in Dieppe, France.
His mother separated from his father when he was 11 years old and they moved to Normandy.
His mother became the most influential figure in his young life.
In 1869, he received his Bachelier es lettres and went to study law in Paris but his studies were interrupted when he volunteered to serve in the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Many of his stories centered around this war, including one of his best short stories, Boule de Suif.








Guy de Maupassant was a rare thing- a writer who was successful in his own time, immensely popular. Guy de
Maupassant is considered to be one of the father’s of the short story. In his career he wrote over 300 short stories, 6 novels, and many newspaper articles.
His first published work, a book of poems, titles “Des Vers”, in
1880. He also published his first short story, “Boule de Suif”, which is considered to be one of his best works and a masterpiece. Although his literary career probably only lasted for about ten years, he was extremely successful.









In 1879, Guy de Maupassant resigned from a clerk job to pursue writing full-time.
When he became a writer, in an effort to separate himself from his father’s name, he used several pseudonyms: Joseph
Prunier, Guy de Valmont, and
Maufrigneuse.
Famous for his short stories, which paint a fascinating picture of French life in the 19th century. His most famous work for
English readers is probably
The Necklace.









By the later half of the 1880’s, Maupasant’s health was in decline. His friends remarked on his unusual behavior and his writing because shocking and, on occasion outrageous.
His work reflects his interest in the emotional problems of all classes and his passion for women.
La Maison Tellier (The House of Madame Tellier and Other
Stories) tells in a satirical and humorous manner the tale of an outing for the inmates of a provincial house of ill-repute. On the other hand, Le Horla and La Peur (The Fear) describe madness and with horrifying accuracy, which could have foreshadowed his insanity and finally brought about his death.
He was known to add twists to the end of his sort stories.








Guy de Maupassant didn’t believe in marriage or commitment and was an advocate of “free love”.
He lived a hectic life and caught syphilis in his 20’s, from one of his lovers. This led to his insanity, and he died in a mental asylum at the age of 42. He found marriage to be oppressive and compared it to slavery. He had an inability to love.
Stephen Kings famous novel “The Shining” has been compared to
Maupassant’s “The Inn”.









“Le Horla” was written in 1897, near the end of his life.
He had told friends of hallucinations and nightmares that he had been having, which were similar to the account described in “Le Horla”.
In 1892, he attempted suicide by slitting his throat, but was saved by his valet. After the attempt, he was sent to an asylum.
He lived in asylums for the rest of his life, until he died on
July, 6, 1893.