Guy De Maupassant and His Double
A psychogenealogical approach
Being identified with an ancestor
A child’s identification with one of his ancestors can shape his destiny. This type of identification may have been programmed in advance, with a physical resemblance later confirming the role of substitute for an ancestor who died too soon. The fate of the French famous writer Guy de Maupassant is a perfect example.
The starting trio: Gustave Flaubert, Laure and Alfred Le Poittevin
Guy de Maupassant’s mother, Laure Le Poittevin, is Alfred Le Poittevin’s sister. Alfred and Laure Le Poittevin’s mother was a boarding-school friend of Gustave Flaubert’s mother. The two families were very close.
Of the passionate friendship between Alfred Le Poittevin, 5 years his senior, and Gustave Flaubert, the latter wrote, after Alfred’s death, in a letter to Laure Le Poittevin: “… how I loved him! I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone (man or woman) like him. When he got married, I had a very deep jealousy grief… For me, he died twice”.
Alfred Le Poittevin, therefore, much to the chagrin of his friend Gustave Flaubert, married Louise de Maupassant. Laure Le Poittevin, who also worshipped this brilliant brother, married Louise’s…
