"A Duel" - A Franco - Prussian War Short Story by Guy de Maupassant (1883, newly translated by Sarah Smith, 2015)

Paris In July - Hosted by Thyme for Tea

"A Duel" by Guy de Maupassant - in public domain translation





I cannot let July in Paris on The Reading Life pass without doing a post on a short story by France's master of the form,  Guy de Maupassant.  He is nearly universally considered one of the founders of the modern short story.  He wrote some three hundred stories.  De Maupassant supported himself by his writings and I am sure there was a big demand in 1883 for anything that made Germans look bad.  France was still smarting from German attack on France and occupation of Paris during the Franco Prussian War (July 1870 to May 1871).  Maupassant published a number of short stories in which German soldiers are depicted as boorish swaggering bullies.  The brief "A Duel" is a perfect example of such a work.

We are in a train compartment during the occupation.  The occupants are three Englishmen there to observe France, a Frenchman, and a German soldier.  The German is depicted as a Teutonic beast, bragging to all about he killed twenty French villagers more or less for sport.  The Frenchman knows at first to keep silent.  The German tells him at the next train stop he is to get of and buy him some pipe tobacco.  He tells the Frenchman he will give him a tip.  The Frenchman leaves the train but comes back with no tobacco.  The enraged German says ok I will take your mustache and smoke that.  The Frenchman has had enough and gives the German a sound thrashing.  The German demands a dual at the next train stop.  I won't totally reveal the ending but I bet it was very popular in Paris.

I read this in a collection of stories translated by Sandra Smith, the award winning translator of Irene Nemirovsky, The Necklace and other Stories:  Maupassant for Modern Times.  In her very informative introduction she tells us that most people in English now read his works in 100 year old translations and she wanted to reproduce him in contemporary English.  Of course contemporary does not mean better but Smith tells us de Maupassant wrote in the idiom of contemporary France.  She also talks very interestingly about literary translations.  You can read "A Duel" at the link above but if you want a new selection of her works, Sandra Smith's collection would work well.

In the interest of full disclosure I was given a review copy of this book.


Mel u

The Horla by Guy de Maupassant (trans. by Sandra Smith) - A Post for Paris in July # 6

Paris in July # 6. 

Paris in July # 6. , hosted by Tamarra of Thyme for Tea, a blog I have followed for years,is one of my favorite book blog events.  It covers much more than literature and there are lots of wonderful participant posts online.

Paris in July # 6. has motivated me to read some very interesting works.

1.  "Baum, Gabriel, 1935" by Mavis Gilbert - A wonderful set in Paris short story

2.  "Two Friends" by Guy de Maupassant- Paris in July # 6. Requires reading de Maupassant!

3.  "Mildred Larson" by George Moore- What Paris Meant to the Irish

4.  "The Parisian Stage" by Henry James - an illuminating essay

5.  "The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls" by Marcel Aymé- a new to me writer I will return to

6.   Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris, 1932 by Francine Prose - interesting 

7.  Shocking Paris Soutine, Chagall and the Outlaw Art of Montaparrne by Stanley Meisler-a 

     Well done account of Yiddish emigre artists in Paris

8.  Short Stories about Cats by Three Classic French authors 

9.  Suite Francaise by Iréne Némirovsky- a true masterwork. Paris under the Germans

10.  The End of Evil Ways by Honoré de Balzac

11.  Mademoiselle Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History by Rhonda K. Garelick- brilliant bio.

My second post for Paris in July # 6 was on the a short story by Guy de Maupassant, "Two Friends", set in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.  At that time I did not realize that the translator Sandra Smith was responsible for the magnificent works of Iréne Némirovsky being available to English language readers.  I have so far read three of her Némirovsky works and loved the beautiful elegant prose. This made me realize how lucky I was to be given a review copy of her soon to be published The Necklace and other Stories - Maupassant for Modern Times.  I had previously only read his work in sometimes 100 year old public domain translations.

For your review I have quoted Sandra Smith's Translation of a paragraph followed by a public domain translation (translator attribution not given in my source, The Delphi Edition of the Complete Works of Guy de Maupassant.  To me Smith's prose is a pleasure, the public domain version gets in the way.

                                                                          Two Translations

"May 18 I HAVE JUST COME FROM SEEING MY DOCTOR FOR I COULDN’T SLEEP any more. He found my pulse racing, my pupils dilated, my nerves on edge, but with no alarming symptoms. I have to take showers and drink potassium bromide."  Translation by Sandra Smith

"May 18. I have just come from consulting my medical man, for I can no longer get any sleep. He found that my pulse was high, my eyes dilated, my nerves highly strung, but no alarming symptoms. I must have a course of shower baths and of bromide of potassium." From public domain translation

I have no ability to judge which translation is more faithful to the original but for sure that of Smith reads more pleasantly, smoother, and does not feel old fashioned.  Her translation does not get in the way of savoring the story.  

Smith in her introduction to the collection says she thinks de Maupassant is not much read anymore, and most who do read him do so because they feel they should, because the vast bulk of his stories are available in English only in sometimes 100 years old translations.  Maupassant as a living writer used the language of contemporary Paris and I think Smith has achieved her goal of bringing out a version of some of his best stories that are a pleasure to read, not a chore to get through.

Smith includes a number of stories in which the supernatural plays a big part.  The most famous of these is his "The Horla".  The story is structured as a journal.  A man begins to feel he may be losing his mind.  He imagines he sees intruders in his room at night.  He goes to his house in Paris hoping he will recover.  He gets worse, he begins to see things moved around in his locked bedroom.  He consults a priest who tells him there are many things that are real that we cannot see.  At first we think the man is just having mental issues, and we never throw off this idea completely.  He sees the being, he calls it "The Horla".  He begins to see it as part of an invading army coming from the spirit world to take over from humans.  

Maupassant does a great job closing the story, he adds plausibility to the suggestion The Horla is real but we do not know for sure.  I enjoyed reading this story.

Spiritualalism in various forms was very big in France, and elsewhere, in 1870 and Maupassant's story makes use of these themes.

I hope to read two more stories about life in Paris before Paris in July # 6.  ends.

Mel u

"Two Friends" by Guy de Maupassant ("Deux Amis", 1883, translated by Sandra Smith, 2015)

Paris in July # 6. 

I was very happy to see  Thyme for Tea's post announcing that she be hosting once again an event devoted to all things related to Paris, Paris in July # 6.   This will be my fourth year as a participant.  You can participate in a lot of ways  besides posting on literature related to Paris.  Pretty much anything tied into Paris is very welcome.  Her webpage has lots of suggestions. 

Guy de Maupassant published  just over 300 short stories and six novellas.  He is widely considered one of the founders of the modern short story.  His work and his life was very much Paris centered.

I was recently given a copy of a forthcoming soon anthology of selected short stories by Guy de Maupassant.  The stories are newly translated by Sandra Smith whose previous work was her award winning translation of Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovskyn.  Her objective is to take produce modern versions of the archaic translations of de Maupassant that have limited his readership in the anglophone literary world.  The publisher's blurb says the goal  is to do what Lydia Davis did for Madame Bovary.

The collection is well introduced and the translations are a delight to read.  Maupassant wanted to produce stories that would make people buy his work.  He lived from his writings.  I think Smith has caught this.  I do have an E Book of his complete works and the language in the 100 year old plus translations there is very old fashioned.  Smith divides the stories into three sections, French Life, Prussian War Stories and occult stories.  

"Two Friends", reading time five minutes, is set during the German occupation of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, 1870.  This was a terribly dark and traumatic  period  for Paris and some of his acknowledged master works are set in this period.  The story focuses on two middle aged men living in Paris during the occupation.  The men have not seen each other for a long time and have a chance encounter on the streets of Paris.  They talk briefly, they seem afraid to say too much, about his bad things are now but soon talk of happier times when they used on every Sunday to fish in the river.  On an impulse, it being Sunday, they decide to go fishing.  After going to their houses to get poles, each man has a family now, they proceed toward the river.  A French army officer in an unoccupied part of the city gives them the password they will need to give to French troops to get to the river.  As they fish happily and talk of the futility of war, a troop of twenty Germans take them captive.  The German Colonel chats in a cordial way with them about fishing then tells them unless they give him the password he will have them shot as spies.  I don't want to tell the close but it had to be hard for the French to read.

I think I will post on more of the stories in the new translations.  

Mel u

"Christmas Eve" by Guy de Maupassant (December 25, 1882)

An unconventional Christmas Eve Story 

My Posts on Guy de Maupassant

Guy de Maupassant is considered one of the greatest short stories writers of all time, a scion of French literature.  In reading the short stories of de Maupassant I have informally divided them into three categories.  The first is the ten or so stories universally considered great works, then there is a vast body of stories in the middle range mostly still read because he wrote them then there is a goodly number of stories in a category something like "what in the world were you thinking Guy" category that seemed aimed mainly to titilate and shock.  ( Frank O'Connor said in The Lonely Voice:  A Study of the Short Story that de Maupassant's best stories centered on prostitution.)

"Christmas Eve" opens on that day.  We are with a writer who has gotten behind in his work so he decides to stay in that night and work.  Soon he hears his neighbors having parties, hears revelers in the streets.  He gets restless and decides to go out and find a hooker to spend Christmas Eve with.  His taste ran to plus size women, with a special fondness for large breasts and big stomachs.  To his delight he quickly finds a huge swollen specimen and brings her home.  He orders in a Christmas meal and she devours it as if she was starving.  Knowing why she is there, she gets into bed and removed her clothing.  Then to his horror, she gives birth to a bady and all her wonderful bulk is gone.  He goes for a doctor, midwife and wet nurse.  Knowing his neighbors will all think the child is his, he provides for his schooling and maintenance.  To make it worse, the now slender woman falls in love with him and stalks him but he wants nothing to do with her anymore.  He only likes very big women. 

I pondered is Maupassant just making sales with a shocking for 1882 story or is this some sort of commentary on the fate of unmarried women on the streets of Paris.

"Christmas Eve" was fun to read and I admit I laughed when the girl gave birth in the man's bed. 

Ambrosia Bousweau 

"My Landlady" by Guy de Maupassant (1881)

Guy de Maupassant (1850 to 1893, France) is certainly France's highest regarded short story writer. He has a good claim on the title of second best short story writer born in the 19th century. He is considered a founding father of the modern short story. The last time I read him was during The Paris in July 2013 Event. Paris in Juy 2014 motivated me to read his set, and written, in Paris short story, "My Landlady".  Maupassant  wrote a lot of short stories, some short novels and a few plays.  

"The Landlady"  centers on a college student, in from Burgandy to study in Paris.  His parents decide if they give him a cash allowance he might squander it so they arrange to pay for room and board with a respectable Parisian ladylady.   The boarding house was five narrow stories, with four other students, the landlady and her helper living there.  The young man occupies two rooms on the fifth floor.  The ladylady, about forty, looks after the students like a strict mother, making sure their rooms are neat and feeding them well. They are required to be in by midnight.  The young man meets a shop girl in the streets.   He sneaks her into his room and just as he has her nearly naked the landlady walks in on him.  She goes nuts telling him she is not running a baudy house etc.  The humiliated girl dress runs out and refused to ever see him again.

I think the main point of this story, Maupassant wrote for magazines that paid him well once he became famous and which demanded constant content, is to produce the image at the end of the story.  He was probably pushing the limits of the allowable with this ending.  It was fun to read.  I do not know who translated it.

I am including this very Paris centered work    

as part of my participation in Paris in July, 2014.

Mel u

Guy de Maupassant Two Short Stories Set in Paris

"A Queer Night in Paris"

"An Affair in Paris".  

This is my third year as a participant in the Paris in July Reading Event hosted by Book Bath and Thyme for Tea.   I find this a very interesting and creative event of the sort that helps build the book blog community.  You will fund lots of reading ideas on the host blogs.

Guy de Maupassant wrote about 300 short stories.  By consensus about ten of them are among the very best ever written.    One of my long term Reading Life projects is to read all of his short stories.   He wrote fast and he wrote for money and to please magazine editors who often wanted clever surprise endings.   He loved Paris but he did not worship her.   

"A Queer Night in Paris"

Ok not the most politically correct translation of this title but it is a fifty year old public domain translation.   This story centers on a night out in Paris by a solidly middle class bachelor.   He is a notary and his biggest avocation is music.  He subscribes to the new offerings of leading music publishers and his big occasional night out is a train trip into central Paris to go to a concert of the latest stars.  He stops in at a tavern near the performance venue and a man near him is talking to his friends about a big party at his place set for tonight.   Many of the top musicians of the day will be there.  The man gets himself invited and is very excited.  He pays out of gratitude for the meals of his new acquaintances and goes to what the party host says is his house.   When he gets there nothing is prepared and the place looks pretty tawdry for the planned event.   Of course all is not what it appears to be and there is an O. Henry like close I enjoyed.   Not greatest of his  stories but I liked it a lot.

 "An Affair in Paris"  (some times translated as "An Adventure in Paris")

The story begins with some sure to offend 21th century sensibilities generalizations about what all women are like.   The central character in the story is the wife of a small town attorney.  She has never been to Paris but for years she has day dreamed about what life must be like their.  She has created in her imagination a city of amazing pleasures and complete decadence.   She makes up an excuse to go to Paris alone, knowing it is at a time when her husband cannot go, and takes the train to Paris.  In wide eyed amazement she imagines every woman she sees is a famous and scandalous actress and every man a person of great refinement and culture.  She wanders into a curio shop.  A well known author is bargaining with the shop keeper over a Japanese ceramic (very big in Paris at the time) but he declines saying he cannot afford it.  On an impulse the she buys it and offers it as a present to the shocked author.   He asks her how can he thank her.   She says she wants to spend the day with him.  She follows him on his walks, to his tavern haunt and to the theater.  Then in a scene that may have shocked his first readers (and sold a lot of magazines!) she goes home with him, when he retires she goes into his room, strips off and has sex with him.   Of course there is a moment at the end where her guilt overcomes her.   I enjoyed this story a lot.

I have in mind reading during July in Paris short stories by Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and if I can get to them a story by Colette and "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe.  

Mel u