• Location: JSB 308
• Teacher: Kandy
• Teacher's Meetings

• Let's talk about “Boule de Suif”.
  • “Boule de Suif” was published in 1880 in a collection of short stories that included other prolific writers at the time, including Émile Zola and Joris-Karl Huysman.

• 1. What does it mean?
  • Boule de Suif translated variously as Dumpling, Butterball, Ball of Fat, or Ball of Lard, is a famous short story by the late 19th-century French writer Guy de Maupassant, first published on or about April 15th, 1880. It is arguably his most famous short story and is the title story for his collection on the Franco-Prussian War, titled Boule de Suif et Autres Contes de la Guerre (Dumpling and Other Stories of the War). As a collection, it included other prolific writers at the time, including Émile Zola and Joris-Karl Huysman. This implies the story has a theme related to the war, or is about the war in general – not just that it takes place during the war.

• 2. What is the story about?
  • The story is set in the Franco-Prussian War and follows a group of French residents of Rouen, recently occupied by the Prussian army. The ten travellers decide for various reasons to leave Rouen and flee to Le Havre in a stagecoach. Sharing the carriage are Boule de Suif or “Butterball” (lit. suet dumpling, also translated as ball of fat), a prostitute whose real name is Elisabeth Rousset; the strict Democrat Cornudet; a shop-owning couple from the petty bourgeoisie, M. and Mme. Loiseau; a wealthy upper-bourgeoisie factory-owner and his wife, M. and Mme. Carré-Lamadon; the Comte and Comtesse of Bréville; and two nuns. Thus, the carriage constitutes a microcosm of French society, representing different parts of the French population during the late 19th century.

• 3. Who is Guy de Maupassant?
  • Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives and destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.
  • Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, seemingly effortless dénouements. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, “Boule de Suif” (“The Dumpling”, 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.

• 3b. Brief Biography of Guy de Maupassant
  • In 1850, Guy de Maupassant was born into a middle-class family in northern France. Although comfortable financially, his mother and his father fought often and his parents divorced when Maupassant was 11. His upbringing was primarily shaped by his mother, a highly literary woman who would read him Shakespeare and who arranged a tutor to teach him Latin, math, and grammar. After attending a religious boarding seminary which he detested (enough to purposefully get himself expelled), Maupassant became a student at a specialized secondary school in Rouen. In 1868 he met Gustave Flaubert, who would prove to be a massive literary and life influence. Two years later, he left his studies temporarily to volunteer in the Franco-Prussian war. Maupassant wrote avidly in the ‘80’s and enjoyed commercial success, but by 1890 his health had deteriorated due to the syphilis he had contracted many years earlier. Maupassant died at 43, but he was able to produce over 300 pieces of writing in his lifetime. He is often referred to as the father of the (modern) short story. “Boule de Suif” is one of his earliest published pieces.

• 4. What happpens in the story?
  • Due to the terrible weather, the coach moves very slowly and by midday has only covered a few miles. The occupants initially snub Boule de Suif, but their attitudes change when she produces a picnic basket full of lovely food and offers to share its contents with the hungry travellers.
  • At the village of Tôtes, the carriage stops at the local coaching inn, and the occupants, hearing a German voice, realise they have blundered into Prussian-held territory. A Prussian officer detains the party at the inn indefinitely without telling them why. Over the next two days, the travellers become increasingly impatient, and are finally told by Boule de Suif that they are being detained until she agrees to sleep with the officer. She is repeatedly called before the officer, and always returns in a heightened state of agitation. Initially, the travellers support her and are furious at the officer's arrogance, but their indignation soon disappears as they grow angry at Boule de Suif for not sleeping with the officer so that they can leave. Over the course of the next two days, the travelers use various examples of logic and morality to convince her it is the right thing to do; she finally gives in and sleeps with the officer, who allows them to leave the next morning.
  • As they continue on their way to Le Havre, these “representatives of Virtue” ignore Boule de Suif and turn to polite topics of conversation, glancing scathingly at the young woman while refusing to even acknowledge her, and refusing to share their food with her the way that she did with them earlier. As the coach travels on into the night, Cornudet starts whistling the Marseillaise while Boule de Suif seethes with rage against the other passengers, and finally weeps for her lost dignity.

• 5. Historical Context of Boule de Suif
  • The key historical event surrounding “Boule de Suif” is the end of the Franco-Prussian War. From 1870 to 1871, France fought the German states (primarily the kingdom of Prussia) and lost, resulting in a short occupation and the solidifying of Germany as a country. Napoleon Bonaparte III was the French Emperor at the time, and his capture and subsequent death marked the end of the Second Empire of France and the beginning of the Third Republic. Despite suffering a resounding defeat, the Bonaparte name would still remain a symbol of patriotism to many French people in the years immediately following the war. Guy de Maupassant left his studies in Paris to volunteer as a soldier in 1870, and his experience explains the common theme of war in many of his writings.

• 6. Similar Works

Other Books Related to Boule de Suif Closely related to “Boule de Suif” are the works of Émile Zola, particularly his novel L’Assommoir. Zola was a friend of Maupassant, and his writing shares many thematic interests with Maupassant, such as a focus on class divisions and the difficulty of upward class mobility. Maupassant’s own short story “The Necklace” is also directly linked to “Boule de Suif,” because it similarly follows a kind woman with a lower-class position and concludes with an ironic tragedy. And, of course, there is Gustave Flaubert: Maupassant’s biggest literary influence (it is common to refer to Maupassant as Flaubert’s protégé). Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, set 20 years prior to the action in “Boule de Suif,” also takes place in Rouen, Normandy. Although not a critique of the inequity of war and not as firmly condemning of the bourgeois, Flaubert’s attention to character detail and his cool, omniscient narrative style can be seen throughout the works of Maupassant.

• No class today due to test.
• As I recall the same last week.

• 20min Teacher will introduce the topic using video instruction in Chinese.
• 15min Appledog will teach in English on how to make a script.
  • Start with simple A and B script, “It's a conversation, but it is intended for acting”.
  • Next, how to do stage direction. Use italics in brackets.

There are TWO PARTS.

• Dialogue
  • This is the speaking.
• Stage direction
  • This is the actions and emotions.

A: Aha! I have finally caught you! Now I will take the gold!
B: I don't think so!
A: Oh no!
B: Oh Yes!

Question: WHat's going on? We need to fix the script! We need to add stage direction.

     [Speak slowly, as if to a child.]

A: Aha! I have finlly caught you! Now I will take the gold!



     [Pull out a gun. "Click!"]

B: I don't think so!



     [A is suddenly afraid. Shakes hands.]

A: Oh no!



     [Shakes the gun aggressively.]

B: Oh Yes!