Biography of Guy de MaupassantPrepared by Miss Rose June Vargas Locsin

Name: Henri-Rene-Albert Guy de Maupassant

Date of Birth: August 5, 1850

Birthplace: Dieppe, Normandy, France

Date of Death: July 6, 1893

Place of Death: Paris, France

Father: Gustave de Maupassant

Mother: Laure Le Poittevin

•started schooling when he was 13 years old

•finished at a Rouen boarding school

•studied law at the University of Paris

•became a soldier in Normandy during the Franco-Prussian

War

•worked as a clerk in the Education Ministry

•resigned in 1880 and began a literary career

•imitated the style of his godfather Gustave Flaubert

•published his first story “Boule de Suif” (“Ball of

Fat”) in 1880

•established himself as a prominent writer of short

stories and novels

• wrote all of his great literature, including 6 novels

and over 300 short stories within a decade (1880-

1890)

• published “La Parure” (“The Necklace”) in 1884

Alongside his flourishing literary career, de

Maupassant’s health declined as a result of

syphilis, which he contracted in the 1870s.

He attempted suicide on January 2, 1892 but

was unsuccessful; consequently, he was

placed in a sanitarium. He died there a year

and a half later.

De Maupassant as Literary Genius

A. Theories of Realism and Naturalism

•influenced by Flaubert’s leaning toward

realism in his writings

•influenced by his friend Emile Zola and

his naturalistic perspective

B. Characters

Many of his characters are unhappy

victims of their greed, desire, or

vanity.

C. Writing Style

He presents the characters’ lives

without sermonizing. He would

usually “show” us, not “tell” us.