The White Dove (World Literature Library)

Author: [French] Guy de Maupassant, translated by Liu Mingjiu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: A representative work of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. During the Franco-Prussian War, a group of French nobles, politicians, merchants, nuns, and other high-ranking individuals, along with a prostitute named Fatima, flee the occupied zone in a carriage and are stopped at a checkpoint. A Prussian officer demands to spend the night with Fatima, who refuses, causing the high-ranking individuals to express great anger. However, after the carriage is detained, the high-ranking individuals resort to various tricks to force Fatima to comply, yet she ultimately receives only their contempt. The novel contrasts sharply, builds suspense, and is captivating, portraying the different attitudes of various French social classes in the face of the occupiers. It exposes the selfishness, hypocrisy, and shamelessness of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie while praising Fatima's spirit of sacrifice. Guy de Maupassant was one of the greatest writers of the late 19th-century naturalist literary movement, second only to émile Zola. He inherited the tradition of French realist literature while also being influenced by Zola, exhibiting clear naturalist tendencies. In his relatively short life, he achieved remarkable literary accomplishments. He was not only the author of a series of famous novels but also a master of short story writing. The artistic level of his vast number of short stories was outstanding not only in French literature but also in world literature, holding a certain exemplary significance, earning him the title "King of the Short Story."
Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) was born on August 5, 1850, in Normandy as the descendant of a noble family, though his grandfather was merely a tax official during the Restoration period, and his father was a shiftless, unsteady. Maupassant spent his childhood in the countryside and towns of Normandy. From 1859 to 1860, he lived briefly in Paris with his parents and attended Napoleon High School. Due to his father's misconduct and the divorce of his parents, he returned to Normandy with his mother. The life in his hometown and the beautiful natural scenery deeply influenced Maupassant, becoming an important source for his later literary creations.
Maupassant's mother, Louise Le Pottier, had a strong literary background, and Maupassant was deeply influenced by her from a young age. Louise's brother, Alfred, was a well-known writer in his youth and had studied with Gustave Flaubert and Louis Bouilhet, a member of the Parnassian poets. While studying at the Lycée Corneille in Rouen, Maupassant met these two old friends of his uncle. By then, he had already developed a love for literature and had begun writing poetry. He received "concise guidance" and "profound insights into technique" from these predecessors, along with the "strength to keep trying," though unfortunately, Louis Bouilhet died in 1869. That same year, Maupassant enrolled at the University of Paris to study law. Soon after, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and Maupassant was drafted into the army, serving as a clerk and messenger. During this disaster, he witnessed the shameful defeat of the French army, the depravity of those in power and the bourgeoisie, as well as the patriotic enthusiasm and heroic resistance of ordinary people. These experiences deeply moved him and became another important source for his literary creations.
After the war, he was discharged from the army. Due to financial difficulties at home, Maupassant began working as a junior clerk in the Ministry of the Navy in March 1872. Seven years later, he transferred to the Ministry of Public Education and remained there until his full retirement in 1881. In the monotonous and tedious life of a junior clerk, Maupassant unfortunately developed bad habits, leading to a dissolute private life, which ultimately contributed to his early death. However, on the other hand, he worked diligently, studied under Flaubert, and, under his specific guidance, honed his skills tirelessly. During this period, he also met young writers such as Alexandre Dumas, Georges Sarrazin, Hennique, and Paul de Saint-Victor, who all admired émile Zola and often gathered at Zola's villa in Mézières in the suburbs of Paris, forming the "Mézières Group." In 1880, the six writers of the Mézières Group published a collection titled "La Nuit des Mézières" based on the Franco-Prussian War, with Maupassant's "Boule de Suif" being the most outstanding. The brilliant success of this novella made Maupassant instantly famous in the Paris literary scene.
"Boule de Suif" was written in 1879 and marked the complete maturation of Maupassant after years of writing practice. Following this novella, a flood of short stories and novellas poured out. From 1880 to 1891, when he ceased writing due to illness, he published over 300 short stories and novellas, with a significant number of outstanding works appearing almost every year. Especially in the first few years, the quality of his works appeared with great density: in 1881, there were "Une Vie," "Une Soirée d’Automne," and "La Maison Tellier"; in 1882, "Mademoiselle Fifi," "Un Fils," "La Femme au Chaise Longue," "Pierre et Pierrot," "Un Normand," "La Lune," and "Le Testament"; in 1883, "à Cheval," "Sur la Mer," "Deux Amis," "Les Bijoux," "Père Milon," "Mon Oncle Jean," and "La Médaille d’Or"; in 1884, "La Fille aux Quinze Ans," "La Joie," "La Fortune," "Le Cabinet des Fées," and so on. In 1885, the number of outstanding short stories in Maupassant's work slightly decreased, but there were still many excellent pieces, such as "Mademoiselle Perle" (1886), "L’Hermite" (1887), "Le Port" (1889), and "Les Jardins" (1890).
Even before gaining fame for his short stories, Maupassant had already begun writing novels. His first novel, "Une Vie," was completed after years of effort and published in 1883. From then on, he gradually shifted his focus from short stories to novels, publishing several renowned works in the following years: in 1885, "Bel-Ami"; in 1886, "Les Vignes de Marly"; in 1888, "Pierre et Jean"; in 1889, "Bel-Ami"; in 1890, "Le Docteur Pascal."
Maupassant had long suffered from neuralgia and struggled with illness for years while persisting in writing. The immense workload and his unrestrained dissolute life gradually weakened him, and by 1891, he could no longer write. After enduring cruel suffering from his illness, he died on July 6, 1893, at the age of only 43.
I. Short Story Creation
Maupassant was the most prolific and accomplished short story writer in French literary history, with over 300 short stories—a feat unparalleled in 19th-century literature. The lives depicted in his stories are incredibly diverse, essentially forming a comprehensive social portrait of late 19th-century France. More importantly, he elevated the art of the realist short story to an unprecedented level, and his significance in literary history is primarily established by his achievements in this genre.
The themes of Maupassant's short stories are rich and varied. In his works, he vividly portrays all aspects of social life, such as the defeat of war, the revelry of the upper class, gatherings in bourgeois salons, bureaucratic routines, the daily lives of petty bourgeois families, scenes from provincial towns, the labor and life of farmers, religious rituals and ceremonies, and the chaos of taverns and brothels. All social classes and strata—from the aristocracy, officials, and entrepreneurs at the top to the middle class of civil servants, freelancers, and small proprietors, and the lower class of workers, farmers, vagrants, beggars, and prostitutes—are sharply depicted. The landscapes and customs of France, from the bustling streets of Paris to the provinces, remote villages, and wild wilderness, are also vividly portrayed. With his broad artistic vision and wide range of subjects, Maupassant's short stories clearly surpass those of Mérimée from earlier times and his contemporary, Alphonse Daudet. Among his extensive portrayals, three stand out: the Franco-Prussian War, the life of small-town civil servants in Paris, and the scenery and anecdotes of the Normandy countryside.
II. Novel Creation
Maupassant wrote six novels in total: "Une Vie," "Bel-Ami," "Les Vignes de Marly," "Pierre et Jean," "Bel-Ami," and "Le Docteur Pascal." Among these, "Une Vie" and "Bel-Ami" are the most important, while "Pierre et Jean" is also highly.