GUY DE MAUPASSANT

Guy de Maupassant was a great French master of the short story, Guy de Maupassant had a special gift for dramatic swiftness and naturalness. The Necklace, his most famous story, could be used as a model for short-story writers. Henri-Rene-Albert-Guy de Maupassant was born on Aug. 5, 1850 , near Dieppe in the French province of Normandy . His parents separated when he was 11, and he remained with his mother and younger brother at Etretat on the English Channel . Maupassant was educated at the Rouen lycee and at the University of Caen . After serving in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), he went to Paris where his father found him a job as a government clerk. He spent much of his spare time writing.  In Paris Maupassant attended literary gatherings at the house of the novelist Gustave Flaubert, an old friend of his mother. For ten years Flaubert tutored the young man, teaching him patience and the need for acute observation and realistic description. Maupassant was also influenced by Emile Zola.  Maupassant wrote about people and events he had known. At 30 he was so successful as a short-story writer that he gave up his government job. His earliest stories deal with the people of Normandy and scenes he knew so well in his youth--peasants, townspeople, and life by the banks of the River Seine. Later he wrote a few war stories and a group of tales about Paris . His travels on the French and Italian Riviera, in other parts of Italy , and in North Africa furnished backgrounds for other tales. Maupassant seems to have felt no compassion for his characters. His attitude was cold, detached, and cynical. Maupassant's last years were tragic. He became increasingly erratic, and early in 1892 he tried to commit suicide. His mother reluctantly had him placed in a mental institution in Paris , where he died on July 6, 1893 . Maupassant's enormous output of short stories appeared in various collections such as La Maison Tellier, Mademoiselle Fifi, Contes de la bicasse, and Clair de lune. His novels include Une Vie and Pierre et Jean.

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