L'Esthetique Romanesque de Guy de Maupassant dans une Vie, Pierre et Jean, et Boule de suif
L'Esthetique Romanesque de Guy de Maupassant dans une Vie, Pierre et Jean, et Boule de suif
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Date
1998-09
Authors
Fiki-George, David Olatunde
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
Guy de Maupassant, a nineteenth century writer wrote varied types
of novels and stories, varied in subject, in length, in technique and in their
impact on the reader. To deal with this large body of work, we examined
carefully two of Maupassant's novels Une Vie, Pierre et Jean and Boule
de Suif which is an anthology of representative stories. We made reference to a good many others in order to discover for ourselves the full meaning and value of Maupassant's world. Behind these novels and
stories as well as others, is the general theme of betrayal-betrayal in the
form of marital infidelity, deceit of any sort in human relations. Closely
related thereto is the pervading sense of hypocrisy erected into a system of
pretence by the society for the conduct of its operations. We examined the
value of these novels and stories by exploring the hidden messages that lie
beneath the entertaining surface, and tried to reveal how the novels and the folktales can be used to portray the dignity of Man, and shape human
understanding of his existence based on insight into human condition. The study also attempted to expose the diversity and quality of Maupassant's creativity. He gives semblances of being clear and simple
yet, for all the apparent simplicity, or perhaps because of it, Maupassant is
an exceedingly difficult writer to deal with. His greatest virtue lies in the
fact that his narratives sustain the readers' interest and that he develops
them with economy and concision, selecting the precisely pertinent details
and excluding all verbal flourishes or elaborate enumeration. The study
exposes exactly the qualities that make him seem all too clear, quite simple
and possessing none of those particular asperities which offer a hand-hold
to critics and which abound in writers like Flaubert.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Postgraduate School, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts.
Keywords
L'Esthetique, Romanesque, Guy, une Vie,, Pierre et Jean, Boule de suif