Critique Bel Ami

In the cartography of French literature, Guy de Maupassant occupies a singular position, leaving an indelible mark with his short stories and novels which scrutinize and depict with surgical precision the upheavals of society at the end of the 19th century. Among these works, “Bel-Ami” stands out as a centerpiece, revealing ambitions and depravity beneath the veneer of bourgeois respectability. Maupassant, born in 1850 and died prematurely in 1893, was not only the witness but also the chronicler of his era, marked by galloping industrialization, social upheavals, and a Paris in full change, transformed by the great Haussmann works.

“Bel-Ami”, published in 1885, is fully part of this period of the Third Republic where traditional values clash with the new cult of money and success. The work echoes social ascension through the maneuvers of its protagonist, Georges Duroy, an ambitious and unscrupulous young man. This novel, often considered a novel of reverse learning, presents a hero who learns not to live better but to exploit the codes and vices of his time to his advantage.

Maupassant’s trajectory, marked by a journalistic career and an active social life, suggests an intimate knowledge of the workings of power and influence. He is himself a product and critic of the era he depicts. His relationships with eminent literary figures such as Gustave Flaubert, of whom he was a friend and protégé, and his membership in influential literary circles, undoubtedly nourished his keen vision of the human comedy that plays out in salons and restaurants. Parisian…