Original Short Stories

In Short

This volume brings together eleven short stories depicting French life in the nineteenth century, spanning rural hamlets, provincial towns, and bustling Parisian boulevards. Guy de Maupassant charts the messy intersections of vanity, war, grief, and social hypocrisy through vivid vignettes. Characters navigate sudden tragedy, petty familial greed, absurd misunderstandings, and the lingering horrors of the Franco-Prussian War. Through concise observations and unsparing realism, Maupassant captures the sudden turns of fate that reveal human nature at its most vulnerable, selfish, or bizarre, creating tales that endure because their underlying truths remain instantly recognizable.

The Story

The volume opens in "The Colonel's Ideas" with an aging, gouty officer expounding to his companions on the supreme influence of women over French men, claiming that a pretty face could spur an entire army to impossible victories. This romanticized view of conflict quickly shifts into the grim realities of wartime in "Mother Sauvage." In a peaceful countryside setting, an elderly woman living alone learns that her only son has been killed on the battlefield. When four Prussian soldiers are quartered in her home, she feeds them calmly before barricading them inside and setting the cottage on fire. As they burn, she sits outside with her son’s rifle. Once the house collapses, she hands the officer a list of the dead men's names so he can write to their mothers, then faces execution by firing squad without flinching.

Atmospheric tension continues in "Epiphany," where a group of French soldiers enjoying a feast during a lull in fighting find their night interrupted when a deaf local shepherd is mistakenly shot by a nervous sentry. Death and public judgment reappear in "Madame Baptiste," where a young woman, ruined in the eyes of her conservative town by a past tragedy, drowns herself after a public insult; her non-religious funeral is shunned by the locals, leaving only a handful of men to follow her hearse.

Lighthearted absurdity briefly breaks the gloom in "The Question of Latin." A mischievous student convinces a naive old Latin usher, Pere Piquedent, that a pretty local laundress is madly in love with him, orchestrating an awkward boating date that alters the lonely teacher's life. Romantic confusion also drives "A Meeting," in which a divorced husband unexpectedly encounters his estranged wife on a night train to Nice, only to discover she has grown plump, radiant, and entirely unbothered by his presence.

Cruelty returns in "The Blind Man," detailing the wretched life of a sightless peasant abused by his own family, who view him as a useless burden and leave him to suffer in the winter cold. "Indiscretion" follows a newlywed bride who insists on hearing details of her husband's past affairs, only to feel crushed by the overwhelming number of women who came before her.

The centerpiece of the volume's social satire, "A Family Affair," focuses on Monsieur Caravan, a dull bureaucrat. When his ninety-year-old mother is found lifeless in her room, Caravan and his wife immediately begin ordering black-bordered notices and bickering over her inheritance with visiting relatives. The solemnity is shattered when the old woman simply wakes up from a deep fainting spell, leaving her disappointed family to awkwardly hide the mourning papers. Finally, "Beside Schopenhauer's Corpse" ends the volume with a chilling account of two young men guarding the philosopher's body, only to be terrified when his false teeth pop out of his mouth due to natural decomposition.

How It Unfolds

A veteran boasts of gallantry Colonel Laporte holds forth on how Frenchmen are driven to acts of bravery and devotion whenever a pretty woman is present, framing military courage as an extension of romantic gallantry.

A mother takes her revenge After receiving news of her son's death in battle, Mother Sauvage locks four enemy soldiers inside her home, sets the structure ablaze, and proudly confesses her deed to the enemy officer before being shot against her ruined walls.

An interruption at the feast Hussars celebrating an Epiphany supper are called away when a sentry shoots an approaching figure, only to discover the victim is a deaf local shepherd who could not hear the challenge.

A quiet procession in Loubain A stranger follows an unceremonious funeral procession and learns the sad history of a young woman who drowned herself after being ostracized by her conservative town.

A prank on an old usher A student tricks a quiet Latin teacher into pursuing a pretty laundress, arranging a river outing that brings the solitary academic out of his shell.

An encounter on the express A man travelling to Nice recognizes his estranged ex-wife in his carriage, marveling at her altered appearance and self-assurance before she departs without a word of explanation.

A family claims their inheritance Monsieur Caravan and his calculating wife prepare for his mother's burial, notifying relatives and organizing affairs, only for the elderly woman to walk downstairs perfectly alive after suffering a simple fainting fit.

A fright beside the dead thinker Two mourners keeping watch over Arthur Schopenhauer's body freeze in terror when a sudden sound and movement on the bed reveal that the philosopher's false teeth have slipped from his jaw.

The People

• Colonel Laporte: An old, gouty officer who views life through the lens of chivalric nostalgia, believing devotion to women drives all French bravery.
• Mother Sauvage (Victoire Simon): A harsh, solitary rural mother whose fierce maternal devotion transforms into cold, meticulous vengeance when her son is killed in war.
• Pere Piquedent: A gray, meek school usher obsessed with Latin literature, whose simplicity makes him the easy target of a schoolboy's romantic prank.
• Monsieur Caravan: A plump, unimaginative government clerk whose emotional life is dominated by routine, mild hypocrisy, and the overwhelming presence of his long-lived mother.
• Madame Caravan: Caravan's practical and sharp-tongued wife, who views her mother-in-law as a miserly burden and quickly moves to secure her estate upon her supposed death.
• Baron d'Etraille: An aging, self-conscious gentleman who suffers a blow to his vanity when he meets his thriving ex-wife on a train journey.
• Henriette: A curious young wife whose insistence on learning her husband's romantic history leads to bitter disillusionment.

In Its Own Voice

"The old 'Sauvage' stood before her ruined dwelling, armed with her gun, her son's gun, for fear one of those men might escape."

A mother watches the flames consume the soldiers who occupied her home.

"In my family, we last long, and I am sure that, unless I meet with an accident, I shall not die until I am very old."

Monsieur Caravan boasts to his doctor shortly before a family crisis unfolds.

"Schopenhauer was no longer laughing! He was grinning in a horrible fashion, with his lips pressed together and deep hollows in his cheeks."

A young watcher reacts with terror to a sudden shift in the dead philosopher's expression.

What It's Really About

Underneath their varied settings, these stories dissect the hidden motives behind everyday human behavior. Maupassant repeatedly contrasts grand public romanticism with small-minded self-interest. He explores how easily societal morality breaks down when challenged by fear, greed, or petty vanity. The collection questions whether people ever truly understand one another, showing married couples who remain strangers, families bound only by expectations of inheritance, and towns that punish the vulnerable while maintaining a veneer of respectability. Death acts as the ultimate catalyst in these tales, stripping away pretense and forcing characters to confront their own selfishness, isolation, and mortality.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers an unvarnished, sharply observed look at human weakness that feels surprisingly modern. Readers who appreciate psychological realism, dry irony, and taut storytelling will find Maupassant's technique masterful. He does not waste time on lengthy moralizing or floral description; every sentence moves the narrative forward with quiet authority.

The book does require an reader willing to engage with the bleak realities of nineteenth-century provincial life. The stories reflect the harsh social divides, rigid class structures, and period attitudes of their era, including brutal depictions of war, casual cruelty toward the disabled, and strict moral double standards applied to women. However, Maupassant’s precise, unsentimental style keeps the stories from feeling dated. His ability to capture a complete life, a fatal flaw, or a absurd turn of events in just a few pages makes this volume an ideal entry point for anyone interested in classic French short fiction.