We get a sense at the beginning of this Guy de Maupassant story that the dead woman lying peacefully in her bed may not have led as ‘saintly’ a life as is described. She has been hiding something from her family for most of her life. When going through some old letters, her son and daughter discover the secret. The son, a sanctimonious magistrate, judges her harshly. The daughter, who has devoted herself to the Church, says nothing but may harbor a secret of her own. Themes: things are not always as they seem, passion, adultery, rash judgement, hypocrisy, forgiveness
Original Text / PDF / Audio (1,400 words)
General Comments
There are a number of possible interpretations of this seemingly simple story.
The most obvious is that the dead woman had an adulterous affair that broke up her marriage. We are told that the children’s father was named ‘Rene’, and that he had made their mother most unhappy. Their mother’s letters indicate that she had an intimate relationship with a man named ‘Henry’. The fact that she kept Henry’s letters for the rest of her life is a sign of her strong feelings for him.
As a Catholic, the woman could not have easily divorced Rene, even if he had treated her badly. She at some point ended the relationship with Henry, either because of her religious beliefs or for the sake of the children. Henry wrote back: I can no longer live without your caresses. This indicates that he may have contemplated suicide as a result
Unlike a good magistrate, the son judges his mother harshly for the affair without seeking further information. For example, if Rene had done something truly bad to make his mother unhappy, or had left his wife before the affair commenced, the ‘sinfulness’ of her adultery is somewhat mitigated.
There are also hints that there could be more to the story. The son reacts angrily to Henry’s letters. His sister, her eyes dry, simply stands near the bed with her head bent down. She may have found it in her heart to forgive her mother for the affair. Alternatively, she may know something more that she does not want to share with her brother. The answer may lie in the second paragraph. We are told that the reason she gave herself to the Church was not her love of God, but rather her loathing for man. Could a man have done something to her to make her hate all men? And did this have anything to do with her mother being most unhappy with Rene?
good