Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
4 out of 5 stars.
The originality and allure of Maupassant’s novel ‘Bel-Ami’ lies not only in its reconfiguration of the themes and structures present in French 19th century realist literature, but rather in it’s inclusion of the archetypal masculine figure so atypical of Maupassant’s previous works. Much like in Wilde’s character of Dorian Gray, Georges Duroy’s narcissism and pride did not hinder my love for the character but instead added to my appreciation of the novel in its entirety.
In what can be described as one of the ‘nastiest’ pieces of French literature, we follow Georges Duroy, lowly son of two farmers, in his coldblooded and ruthless climb to power. His expert manipulation of society is by no means gentle, nor is it strictly political; instead, it weaves itself around delicate names of the likes of Madeleine, Clotilde, Suzanne… Duroy’s success is precisely due to his skill in decoding and exploiting social conventions, and of course, his aptitude with women. The novel opens onto Georges' meeting with previous friend, Charles Forestier, who gives him the lucky ticket out of his misery when he employs him as journalist for the political and renowned Parisian newspaper 'La Vie Francaise'. When Georges discovers Mrs. Forestier is the one writing her husband's articles, he realizes the power and influence women truly hold, in a world where words can either do a great deal of harm or a great deal of good.
With ‘Bel-Ami’, Maupassant indubitably managed to create an energetic and fresh novel out of a plot that could easily be dismissed as popular, melodramatic, or superficial. Although at points he does resort to caricatural aspects and stereotype in order to define his characters’ motives, the reader is ceaselessly compelled and engaged with the novel, each page a strand of this rich tapestry of Parisian society Maupassant describes as “filthy with money”, where “even the whores are getting rich”.
What is most intriguing about the novel is its uncanny resemblance to Maupassant's own life. Like Duroy, Maupassant was born in a provincial town and sought to make his name in Paris; and like his fictional counterpart, he understood the power women held, who Forestier denotes are "still the quickest way to succeed" early on in the novel. Maupassant is not the writer who enjoys moralising, and neither is he one to side with nor object to his characters. However the moral of 'Bel-Ami' is clear and perhaps best summed up in the following excerpt: “Life is a slope. As long as you’re going up you’re looking towards the top and you feel happy; but when you reach it, suddenly you can see the road going downhill and death at the end of it all. It’s slow going up but quick going down,” especially when one is alone. And loneliness is where most of the characters in Bel-Ami are headed. Tragically, this bears similarity to Maupassant’s own abject end, alone in an asylum after attempting suicide twice, where he meets solitude despite having been loved and revered.
Women, money, society, and power put aside, 'Bel-ami' does a brilliant job at delivery Parisian topography and 19th century life in one of its most beautiful and literary forms. Maupassant was known for being a writer who perpetually made notes while observing people and his surroundings. In this novel it certainly shows, in the sense that we are profoundly opened to Maupassant's deep and intuitive understanding of the workings of human psyche.
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