Bel-Ami

Ask the average reader of classic literature who Guy de Maupassant was, and the chances are that the answer will be either “a famous short story writer,” or “the author of The Necklace.” This is true, insofar as it goes--Maupassant is generally considered to be one of the greatest short story writers of all time, and The Necklace is one of the most famous examples of the genre. Maupassant was, however, far more than just a superbly skilled author of short stories.  His output included, in addition to hundreds of short stories, six novels, three travel books, a volume of verse, a large number of newspaper articles, and a fair sprinkling of miscellaneous works.

Among the novels, all of which should have more than passing interest to those curious souls with a literary bent, is one which stands out as a particularly fine example of nineteenth-century French Literature:  Bel-Ami.  Written in 1884, two years after divorce became legal in France, Maupassant took full advantage of the fact that, with the passage of the new law, France’s Parliament had opened to her writers “a California of new situations.” The new novel gave the author the opportunity to explore virgin territory, and he did so with a vengeance, producing an elegant and engaging work in which there are neither heroes nor heroines--but neither are there classic evildoers or innocent victims, either.  Instead, Maupassant focused on that segment of French society, which is often referred to as “Society” (with a capital “S”), and not always with the kindest of connotations. He observed the wealthy and near- wealthy in their environment of drawing rooms, carriages, candlelit dinners and clandestine meetings--an environment which had changed little with the passage of decades, even centuries--and inserted a twist:  What if an unhappy or inconvenient or boring (the reader is invited to choose his or her own adjective) marriage didn’t have to last forever? 

The result is not necessarily a philosophical treatise, nor does it lead to a conventionally happy ending--or at least not for everyone. What Bel-Ami does do, both skillfully and seamlessly, is provide the reader with an intriguing and unsentimental “fly on the wall” view of life in the 1880’s at upper crust addresses in France--a style of life facing the first of a series of challenging changes which would cause it to fade into memory by the end of the Great War. 

This book may or may not be a “great read,” but it’s a darned good one, and absolutely perfect for anyone who has never really explored the literary output of Flaubert’s godchildren and Zola’s contemporaries. The Adult Book Discussion Group, which meets from 7:00-9:00 P.M. on the Third Wednesday of every month at the Westerville Public Library, had an animated and far-reaching discussion about this novel, which touched upon many of the issues and specific controversies surrounding divorce today, over a century after its publication. Highly recommended.