Realism in Paris:
A Partnership Between Guy de Maupassant
and Baron Georges Haussmann
by
Julie M. Patterson
A SENIOR THESIS
for the
UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE
Submitted to the
University Honors College
at Texas Tech University in
partial fulfillment of the
requirement for
the degree designation of
HIGHEST HONORS
December 2001
Approved by:
Dr."we~dell M·. KycocV
'
Associate Dean, Graduate School
L2. -
/~>- o
I
Date
9 ;, ~~~
Dr. Gary ~ell
Dean, Uni rsity Honors College
Date
~I
The author approves the photocopying of this document for educational purposes.
%0^
P
Teddle of Contents
Acknowledgements
2
Notes on Text
3
Section I
I.
Introduction
II.
Baron Georges Haussmann And His Public Works Progreuns
For Paris
7
A. ^^Les Reseaiix"
5
10
B. Haussmann, Realism, and Nineteenth-Century Paris...l3
Section II. Discussion of Short Stories
I.
Guy de Maupassant
17
II.
Haussmannization and Maupassant's Female Characters...21
III. Cemeteries and Parisians
29
IV.
Women's Roles and Haussmannization.
36
V.
Tradi t ion v. Haus smanni z at ion
41
Conclusion
52
Bibliography
54
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to several
individuals who have helped me with this project. Dr. Wendell
Aycock acted as my mentor professor for this project. He helped
me formulate many of my ideas, potential research avenues, and
acted as my main editor. He introduced me to Guy de Maupassant
and lent me anything I needed out of his own resource materials
for this project. Dr. Jill Patterson acted as my reviewing
professor and did wonders with the editing process. I would also
like to thank the Texas Tech Honors College for giving me the
opportunity to undergo this kind of project at the undergraduate
level.
Notes on Text
1. I took an Impressionism Art seminar during my year of
study in Paris, France in which I learned how
Impressionism and Realism are connected. French
artists during the Impressionist Era were closely
linked and connected to French authors and therefore
styles of writing.
2. I took a French Literature Seminar during my year of
study in Paris in which I learned the specific
connections French Realist and Naturalist writers have
to Paris and the historical happenings of that time
period.
3. For this note refer back to number 2.
4. For this note also refer back to number 2.
5. For this note refer back to number 1.
6. While in Paris I also took an Architecture Seminar
that involved site-guided tours of major and minor
historical architecture all around Paris. This Seminar
introduced me to Baron Georges Haussmann and what type
of architecture he created all over Paris.
7. My knowledge of Parisian cemeteries comes from a siteguided tour of Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
8. For this note refer back to number 6.
9. For this note refer back to number two
SECTION 1, CHAPTER I
Introduction
Paris as a city and a concept holds a kind of fantasy
and mystique that has yet to be paralleled. Paris embraces
the identity of France and has for many years. Throughout
history, during wartime, when Paris fell, France fell. The
fact that it is the capital of France was not and is not a
deciding factor for a French defeat. Paris is France. It is
the center for French thought and design. During the
Nineteenth-Century, Paris went through momentous changes in
design and concept alike. In this thesis, I will discuss
specific changes that Paris as a city underwent through the
programs of Napoleon III as implemented by Baron Georges
Haussmann, These design and structural changes in Paris
directly influenced the emerging literary movement of
Realism. Guy de Maupassant is a Realist that exposed,
questioned and challenged the new emerging ideas and
thinking that came out of "Haussmannization."
Five short stories of Maupassant's that specifically
demonstrate the architectural and cultural changes
occurring in Paris are: "The Signal," "The Graveyard
Sisterhood," "The Ruse," "A Duel," and "Two Friends." The
last two stories focus on the attack of traditional
Parisian and French values. Not all the changes France had
recently faced that Guy de Maupassant wrote about were
positive. These last two short stories echo the Parisian's
hesitation and resentment of Baron Haussmann's Public Works
Programs. The first three short stories reveal Paris's
architectural changes with their plot settings. Maupassant
mocks the new emerging Parisian thoughts and identities
with his characters' developments. Maupassant reveals the
effects Haussmannization had on Paris as a city, culture
and identity.
CHAPTER II.
Baron Georges Haussmann and His Public Works
Programs for Paris.
Baron Georges Haussmann is a man unknown to societies
other than Parisians. He is responsible for bringing Paris
into the competitive arena of modern day capitals. Before
Haussmann, Paris would have remained medieval in
architecture, layout, and functionality. In 1853 Haussmann
"received a telegram announcing that he had been appointed
Prefect of the Seine calling him to Paris immediately"
(Chapman 53). Haussmann could be considered the Mayor of
the City of Paris because the Prefect of the Seine held the
same powers a mayor would. He lacked the title because
Paris was ruled differently during this time period in
response to its record of violence.
Much of Paris had already been transformed during
Haussmann's predecessor the M. Berger with financial help
from a loan through the Marquis de Rambuteau. Haussmann
came into office largely because Louis Napoleon wanted to
have "a more pliant instr\iment" (Chapman 64) for carrying
out his ideas on the furthering restructuring of Paris, and
he wanted someone whose views ran more parallel to his own.
Haussmann pushed the idea of "productive spending," which
allocated the surplus from the year prior to Haussmann's
installment to eliminate the annual interest of a previous
long-term loan. By doing this, the city would then have a
very large amount of money for immediate use on projects.
Louis Napoleon began pushing his projects for Paris
immediately
after
Haussmann
was
installed
as
Prefect.
Haussmann spent much of his time trying to dissuade the
Emperor from being too direct in his goal of dissimulation
of power in order to keep a better unity among the Official
Commissions
for
Planning.
He
had
many
"victories"
in
working with the Emperor. Napoleon wanted to open up Paris
and therefore provide employment opportunities and better
living conditions. His underlying goal for -pursuing these
improvements was to eliminate possible political cesspools
of
rebellion.
attitudes
and
The
knew
Emperor
that
feared
the
ongoing
closed-in
areas
rebellious
of
Paris
contributed to underground counter political movements. If
he
"opened"
Paris he would not
only provide
employment
opportunities, but he would also eliminate these political
"cesspools"
of
rebellion
while
simultaneously
improving
everyday living conditions. The streets of Paris would be
cleaner
and
safer
with
better
sewage
systems.
boulevards would give Paris a much-needed
Opening
"facelift" and
allow fresh air into stagnant disease-prone districts. A
healthy Paris would be a happy Paris; Parisians would be
happy
with
the
new
jobs
created
and
happy
with
their
emperor for doing so.
Georges Haussmann did many things for Paris, but
Parisians did not necessarily welcome the prospects of
having Paris reordered, restructured, and basically turned
on its head. M. Berger, who had been Haussmann's
predecessor, blatantly opposed Haussmann's plans and ideas
for "public works" programs. Berger's main arg\iment was the
lack of financing. Napoleon refused to levy new taxes on
the Parisians in fear of further rebellious uprisings and
attitudes.
In working with Napoleon, Haussmann observed
"one important quality of the Emperor's—he could be an
excellent and intelligent listener" (Chapman 74).
Napoleon
wanted to be popular among the Parisians; therefore he
refused new taxes and actually preferred tax cuts.
^^Les Reseaiix"
Georges Haussmann opened wide and beautiful new
boulevards and was practical enough to recognize that these
"impressive new boulevards would only have to be dug up in
a decade or so to lay a comprehensive network of drains"
(Chapman 104). He had visions ahead of many of the people
that he had to work with, including the emperor.
He wanted
to give Parisians "the luxuries of air and light" and still
provide "necessities like piped water and drains" (Chapman
104). Haussmann's projects were separated into "reseaux" or
"networks."
The first reseau was "the initial program of
public works which was completed in 1858" (Chapman 179).
There were two other reseaux, but the first and the last
two made up two groups together because "Haussmann knew in
1858 that the ministers and parliament would never agree
that the entire network was 'in the public interest'"
(Chapman 179). Haussmann and the Ministers of Public Works
and Finance got together in order to discuss "a treaty
between the state and the City of Paris, whereby the state
would make some financial contribution to his public
10
works." Haussmann could "persuade them to include in the
treaty only the remaining part of the Emperor's plans and a
few other roads, for instance round the Opera, which he
slipped in with the rest" (Chapman 179). The third reseau
was mostly "complementary to that of the second" and
contained "the rest of Haussmann's schemes he kept back"
(Chapman 179). The first and second reseaux were mainly
financed by the state.
One of Haussmann's best discoveries
early in his work was his architect, Deschamps. Deschamps
"was apparently an untidy, unattractive young man, but
able, loyal and utterly incorruptible from above or below.
He was too rare a bird not to put in a key position"
(Chapman 77).
The first reseau began with the making of an official
map of Paris, which triangulated the whole area. This map
alone took several years to finish. The second "preliminary
operation was a general leveling of Paris, to eliminate the
minor h\imps and hillocks" which could interfere with road
intersection later in the project workings. After the
miscellaneous preliminary works were through, then came the
first official projects or what came to be known as the
"first reseau." The projects that were initially approved
"were the continuation of the rue de Rivoli, the completion
11
of the Louvre, the Halles Centrales--the wholesale food
market--and the replanning of the Bois de Boulogne"
(Chapman 78). The emperor had already approved these
projects. Of course, once the methodology of this program
was implemented (such as the tearing down of old
districts), "a howl of polemic went up" (Chapman 79).
Haussmann had many challenges from the start that he had to
accept, the first being the lack of new income. However,
through all the opposition Georges Haussmann experienced,
he managed to completely transform Paris into the city it
is today.
12
Haussmann, Realism, and Nineteenth-Century Paris
Haussmann could not have turned Paris on its head
without slipping by the watchful eyes of the authors and
artists of the day. The French, as a rule of thumb, hate
change, and then usually come to love it.
Then there are
those individuals who delight in writing some sort of
commentary, whether direct or circumventional about those
controversial changes.
The time period during which Maupassant wrote was
bursting with change, not only in the literary world with
its newly emerging Realist movement but also in the art and
architectural realms. The impressionist movement was taking
off in Paris, and artists were painting their subjects how
they appeared and were perceived, as opposed to a
photograph. After photography was invented, "art" was
forced to follow a different purpose; it could not longer
simply portray a subject in the most realistic way
possible. Photography's invention forced "art" to have a
different purpose than portraying a subject in the most
realistic way possible. The artists were in turn influenced
by their present surroundings, primarily Paris. Paris was
13
changing and growing and thus gave local artists and
authors endless inspiration. Paris was the center of
literature, culture and art during the end of the
Nineteenth-Century. Artists like Van Gough, Monet, and
Manet lived and worked in Paris during this time because of
the rich influences existing there. Authors such as Guy de
Maupassant and Emile Zola, both also found in Paris, were
forefront in the Realist movement in literature. Not
surprisingly, the artists and authors of the day associated
with one another in various cafes and bistros around Paris.
The Realist movement in literature was especially
strong in Paris because of the combination of change the
Parisians were experiencing and the authors and artists
that were documenting it. Maupassant especially had a very
"Parisian" attitude and tone throughout many of his short
stories. His mentor, Gustave Flaubert is considered the
father of Realism. American standards regard Maupassant as
a Realist; however the French consider him to be a
borderline Naturalist, with very unclear borders. Paris was
becoming a modern city, and the borders between old
Parisian ideals and fresh new unsettling ideas were
becoming less and less clear. Women were being painted in
the nude, but not as mythological Grecian goddesses. The
14
"everyday" lives of common people were becoming a subject
for literature and paintings.
Much of the allure and
seduction of Paris was created and invented during this
time of emerging new attitudes mixed with classic French
ideals, an era often called The Realist Movement.
Paris was in the third republic, which was ruled by
Napoleon III. The French had an emperor back in place and
felt more comfortable with a firm monarchy after all the
troubles of the previous republics. Paris was becoming the
artistic, cultural, literary, and fashion capital of the
world. The new changes taking place at this time brought a
widening scope of thinking for the French. Paris was being
modernized. Beautiful open boulevards had been constructed
giving everyday Parisians the luxury of open spaces with
views for the first time. Prior to this time period, only
royalty and simple country dwellers enjoyed open spaces and
aesthetically linear views. Guy de Maupassant revealed the
changing attitudes through simple details within his short
stories or with the baser natures of his characters. He
depicted some of the conflicts and beliefs that were taking
place during this time, a time that reflected the Realist
movement. Many influences affected the Realist movement,
but one catalyst triggered the new ways of thinking and
15
seeing that were expressed in the literature and art of the
day. This catalyst was the new Paris that Georges Haussmann
had opened up.
16
SECTION II, CHAPTER I
Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant was an author during what Americans
consider the Realist Movement of literature in Europe. From
around 1870 to almost 1890 he produced over three hundred
-1.
short stories along with several novels and essays. Most of
his short stories have "style too simple to give scope for
scholarly commentary" (Colet 7). Lack of incredibly complex
style is not a criticism towards Maupassant, it is a
complement. Maupassant is known as one of the best short
story authors of all time, if not the best. Norman born,
Maupassant used much of his life experience in short
stories. Although he was not a native Parisian, the
attitude within many of his short stories holds a Parisian
identity. Much of his philandering and enjoyments took
place in Paris. Maupassant liked to put elements of actual
Parisian life to fiction; he was the embodiment of a true
Realist. France generally tended to be less prudish about
literature in Maupassant's time, thanks to Maupassant's
mentor, Gustave Flaubert.
17
Flaubert wrote a very controversial book entitled
Madame Bovary, scandalizing all of France. The book was, of
course, banned in France resulting in an avid public
curiosity towards the novel. The ban was soon lifted, and
Flaubert enjoyed a huge amount of sales. Luckily, by the
time Maupassant came along, France had calmed down towards
the Realist depiction of characters.
Guy de Maupassant is
thought to possibly be the illegitimate son of Flaubert
(Colet 8). This suggestion is widely accepted but not
proven. His family life is relevant to his work because of
this proposed fact and because of the dynamic of his family
life. Maupassant's father was "an easy-going gentleman of
leisure who made no secret of his preference for other
women" to Guy's mother (Colet 8), Maupassant sided with his
mother, and it is thought that the cuckolded men and
husbands in many of his stories mock his "father" (Colet
8) .
Guy de Maupassant did not shock the French with his
fiction so much as his mentor Flaubert had, but he did
introduce the short story into the literary scene. Before
Maupassant, short stories were not common or even
3
particularly popular. The Realist style started gaining
momentiim through Maupassant's work with his use of the
18
narrative. Maupassant basically furthered Flaubert's
invention of removing the personal or authorial voice from
the work, Maupassant took this technique and used it in his
short stories. By using this method Maupassant became very
popular as a Realist. He wrote about his experiences
through fiction and removed his personal narration, I will
show examples of this technique with five of his short
stories later in this paper.
However, although Maupassant
removed the personal commentary from his works, he still
managed to incorporate caustic wit and mockery into his
stories, making him a true Parisian.
As earlier mentioned, Guy de Maupassant wrote almost
three hundred short stories before contracting syphilis in
a Parisian brothel, Guy de Maupassant enjoyed this success
after gaining experience within a group "of the so-called
'Medan Group' made up of "four other young men with
literary ambitions who were united in their admiration for
Emile Zola, the most exciting and controversial novelist of
the decade" (Colet II), This group included Joris-Karl
Huysmans, Henry Ceard, Paul Alexis and Leon Hennique.
Maupassant's sudden interest in a group who classified
themselves as 'Naturalists' was not his regular style.
Maupassant did not like to be considered within the
19
Naturalist profile.
Naturalists were an extreme group that
emerged from Realism. Naturalists tended to be very
interested in bringing scientific methodology and concepts
into literature. They were concerned about the idea of
evolution and how it related to humanity. Literature can be
considered an interpretation of humanity, so the Naturalist
style tended to be very dry, pessimistic and lack-luster,
Zola was a very popular author while he was alive, making
him a minority among great writers. The French adored Zola,
but his naturalistic viewpoints can become heavy and
difficult to read. Modern French literature entertains the
possibility that Maupassant was indeed a true Naturalist,
whereas, as earlier mentioned, the American opinion slants
towards Maupassant being a Realist. Much of this debate can
be accredited to his affiliation with the Medan group.
Out of this association did come one of Maupassant's
greatest work, "Boule de Suif," After this success he
immediately broke away from the "Naturalist" coalition, and
began his professional writing career with the applause of
Zola and Flaubert.
20
CHAPTER II
Haussmannization and Maupassant's Female Characters
Many of Guy de Maupassant's stories involve issues
with women's sexuality. Women's sexuality became more of a
controversy with the restructuring of Paris because of the
simple fact that women became more visible, Maupassant
incorporates issues that came with women's more frequent
visibility in his short stories. His style of writing mocks
femininity while upholding the fact that women got away
with their machinations. His short story "The Signal,"
involves his famous mockery towards the upper class or
aristocratic women of the day and the ideals that were
supposed to go along with them. He brings to light the
undertone of deviance politely ignored outside of the
literal and figural bedrooms of society,
Maupassant begins the exposition with the slanderous
identification of a happily divorced Marquise, Maupassant
was a pessimist by nature, and all around him he saw
cruelty and greed and betrayal. He saw the faults of human
nature, and his stories reveal various flaws. When the
"little Baronne, looking very pale, nervous and excited"
21
comes to confess her troubles to the Marquise, Maupassant
has already begun mocking the idleness of the French
aristocracy,
Haussmannization is apparent in the initial conflict
of this plot. The Baronne inhabits a flat "overlooking the
Rue Saint-Lazare" (Colet 290), where she one day observes
her prostitute neighbor selling her wares. The area of
Saint Lazare was a favorite inspirational place of the
French impressionist painter Claude Monet. He did a series
of Impressionist works of the Saint-Lazare train station.
Prior to this period, basic everyday functions of a
Parisian were not considered a relevant subject matter for
art. Monet took these large modern and dirty machines and
turned them into mysterious, beautiful objects disappearing
into clouds of smoke. This area of Paris was very modern
for its time period, and the 8*^^ and 9*^*^ Arrondisements were
and still are considered a very lively section of Paris,
Much of the aristocracy of Paris and the "old money"
established itself near there. The Third Republic with
Napoleon III was known for the moneyed aristocracy who
loved to live life well and enjoy themselves just for the
sake of being nobility. Napoleon wanted to be well liked,
especially following the revolution of 1848.
22
The conflict
Maupassant arranges in the plot concerns subject matter
that noble ladies of the late Nineteenth-Century did not
discuss--prostitution. Haussmannization brought to light
these issues that the Parisians would rather have ignored.
The French could see each other and the hierarchy of class
structure was challenged with prostitutes living right
across from "old" nobility. The bored little baronne has
nothing better to do with her time other than stare out her
window and watch people. Maupassant's satire favors the
mockery of the rich and privileged in his stories. However,
he may mock his little Baronne's idleness, but the fact
that she gets away with her transgression is Maupassant's
method of tipping his hat to her, Maupassant ridiculed
cuckolded husbands. The little Baronne's husband is
definitely cuckolded and will probably continue to be so,
considering his wife's lack of purpose in life. Maupassant
allows his female characters to do as they like, and he
allows them to get away with it. He doesn't say their
actions are wrong, although he does make subtle hints
within the narration towards the female characters.
Through all their transgressions, he does not lose his
ruling pessimistic attitude. The little Baronne "thought
the best thing was to get rid of that man as quickly as
23
possible" (Colet 94). The baronne does not ameliorate her
situation with a staunch moralistic approach. She "rids"
herself of the situation by relinquishing her "charms" to
her "beau"—for a price. Her Marquise friend finds her
method of ridding herself of her unwanted suitor quite
hilarious, Maupassant only continues to refer to one
character's actual name throughout this story--the
husband's, Raoul, Maupassant introduces the Marquise de
Rennedon and the Baronne de Grangerie, yet he uses their
titles for a reference to their characters, not their first
names as with Raoul, Maupassant uses the ladies' titles to
ridicule the propriety of Parisian nobility. He mocks the
Baronne's tears, and manages to put her into a situation
where she feels terribly guilty, chiefly because she is
afraid of getting caught doing something beneath her. One
must assume of course she does not want her husband to
know, but her helplessness is only augmented by the more
corrupt mind of the divorce. The Marquise's main complaint
is that she only received two Louis for her trouble. So to
"make things all better" she suggests to the Baronne "in a
very serious voice: 'My dear, you must... you must buy your
husband a little present.... It's the least you can do'"
(Colet 296). This suggestion is very practical.
24
Maupassant knew French society very well. He knew that
the French nobility were more concerned with keeping up
appearances than with really worrying over the issue of
right and wrong. He does not judge the ladies in "The
Signal;" he simply allows them get away with their
accidental machinations. He removes the personal narrative
and presents a satirical and sardonic yet impersonal
narrative to authenticate Parisian life in the late 1800s,
He lets his characters be their indisputable and genuinely
flawed selves.
This shift in narration and the lack of judgment
escalated because of Haussmannization. Haussmann's
reorganization of Paris had the goal to improve Paris
structurally and culturally (by means of better health
conditions and the practicality of the city's layout.)
However, his shake-up of Paris scandalized the Parisians.
Maupassant was a Parisian, although Norman born. The old
architecture of Paris from the Latin Quarter to around the
Louvre was being modified or completely torn down. This
modernization of Paris complemented the modernization of
thought that was attempting to evolve inside Paris. The new
open boulevards gave ordinary Parisians the "privilege" of
enjoying fresh air and space. This new privilege gave the
25
"inferior" and "lesser" individuals of French society the
ability to see and to be seen. Maupassant along with the
rest of Paris observed these changes implemented by
Haussmann and incorporated them into his writings.
The issue of Haussmannization usually surfaces through
a story's setting.
Haussmann did not purposely or single-
handedly create the Realist movement in literature. He just
wanted to modernize Paris. He had his own motivations and
goals, but Realism was not one of them. The irony and
sarcasm that Maupassant exhibits in his work is the perfect
frame for portraying Realist issues. In "The Signal,"
Maupassant introduces the basic facts of Haussmannization
with his setting. The "little baronne" uses her "opera
glasses to study her [neighbor's] method" of snagging
customers (Colet 291). Haussmann did not modify the Rue
Saint-Lazare, but the areas of the 8*^^ and 9th Arrondisments
were expanded and improved by him during his time in
office. Just south of the Saint-Lazare train station is the
Les Halles complex, which until the latter part of this
century was the city market. Haussmann did many renovations
concerning the layout of this area. The small detail that
the baronne had to use her opera glasses in order to view
and study her neighbor implies that this boulevard over
26
which she lived was rather wide. Wide boulevards other than
a select few such as the Champs-Elysees did not exist in
Paris prior to Haussmann.
Haussmann created many large boulevards, especially in
the 5*^*^ Arrondisement or the Latin Quarter and the Opera
Gamier area during his Public Works Programs. Even though
he did not specifically open the boulevard where the
Baronne lived, this reference to her gazing out her window
in an area that was and is considered rather upper class
not to mention bustling part of Paris brings to mind
Haussmannization, The simple fact that both women could be
viewed from their windows is a Haussmann effect, A
consequence of Haussmann opening up Paris was that people
were really seeing each other for the first time. Women
were being viewed walking the streets in areas other than
their own "Quartiers" or Quarters.
Napoleon wanted to blot out any possible rebellion by
eliminating the condensed areas of Paris. In doing this,
much of the closed-in Quartier spaces that Paris was and is
famous for were either torn down completely, or they were
opened up for Parisians to see. The Saint-Michel fountain
and the Boulevard Saint-Michel are both "Haussmann
architecture," He gave the Parisians open spaces; before
27
that period, such openness was a privilege only for the
royalty. The art during Maupassant's time frequently
depicts scenes within these new open spaces, or out of
Haussmann-style apartments, Haussmann was finishing his
time in office just as Maupassant was getting started with
his professional writing career, Haussmann's influences had
just been "finalized" with the completion of his last
Public Works projects. Maupassant saw these influences
around him in the Parisians and the landscape. Women were
publicly out in the open for the first time in history.
28
CHAPTER III
Cemeteries and Parisians
A second short story of Maupassant's that brings to
mind the changes in attitude sweeping through Paris is "The
Graveyard Sisterhood."
The developed theme of sexuality in
many of Maupassant's short stories reflects a temperament
of French society, Parisians in particular, Paris was
physically opening up, literally and figuratively.
A new trend among the Parisians occurred when several
new cemeteries were opened early in the Nineteenth-Century.
Cemeteries in Paris were considered areas of recreation as
well as resting-places, Paris was a very crowded, old and
sometimes noisy city. Cemeteries provided a quiet refuge
from the traffic of everyday life, and were also spots of
green in a concrete city, Parisian's fascination with their
dead relatives still exists today. Cemeteries are still
considered a quiet "garden areas" where a Parisian can
spend his or her afternoon walking or reading in leisure.
However adored, cemeteries in Paris have always
generated a health issue. In 1865, a cholera epidemic
occurred in Paris and about a quarter of the fatalities
29
happened in Montmartre.
The common graves, which contained
75% of the everyday Parisians, flooded and thus apparently
added to the health problems.
Water from a "well at
Clignancourt was infected by the Montmartre cemetery and
there were frequent letters to newspapers complaining that
householders near the cemeteries could not sit out of doors
or even sometimes open their windows in warm weather
because of the smells emanating from the graves" (Chapman
128) .
Cemeteries in Paris were beginning to constitute a
public problem by the time Guy de Maupassant began his
serious writing career. Haussmann attempted to rectify this
dilemma with his plans to build a new cemetery located a
short train ride outside of Paris, but Parisians liked to
have their dead inside Paris walls. When Pere-Lachaise
cemetery was built, it was primarily located outside of
Paris, and was therefore not very popular with the
Parisians, To gain public interest, two very prominent
authors--Voltaire and Moliere--were transplanted from their
original gravesites to Pere-Lachaise. Haussmann correctly
predicted that Parisian cemeteries, which were already in
serious need of renovation and expansion, would fail to be
a resting-place for all of Paris's dead,
30
The location for a new cemetery chosen from the three
approved by his commission "was a plateau some fourteen
miles north of Paris in the commune of Mery-sur-Oise." This
location "could be set up without detriment to Paris or to
the surrounding countryside" (Chapman 128). However,
Haussmann's plan did not come to fruition because of
Napoleon's reservation about pursuing the project to
completion after the public outcry. Haussmann did not use a
completely legal procedure to accumulate the land. He
purchased the land before ever receiving official approval
for his plans. He thought this course of action quite
practical, because, when his plans were approved, the price
of the land would dramatically increase and the
administration would have difficulty in acquiring it.
Cemeteries held and hold an obsession for the
Parisians.
They were infatuated with them, and there were
idiosyncrasies of opinion when it came to the locale of
their dead relatives, no matter the complaints of bad
smells,
Maupassant's "A Graveyard Sisterhood" introduces
the Parisian's rapture with cemeteries as places of refuge.
Maupassant combines the basic historical interest in
cemeteries with the theme of women's sexuality in "A
Graveyard Sisterhood,"
The narrator of the story within
31
the actual story is the bachelor Joseph de Bardon. "He
lived the Parisian life in the most thorough and whimsical
fashion, without being either debauched or depraved" (Colet
77). Maupassant describes the Parisian man with perfection
through this character.
He "possessed a great deal of wit without much depth,
varied knowledge without real erudition, and quick
understanding without serious penetration; and his
observations and adventures, his experiences and encounters
furnished him with amusing anecdotes of a comical and
philosophical nature which earned him a considerable
reputation in society as an intelligent man" (Colet 77).
Maupassant furthers his mockery of polite society with
Bardon. The reader might even question whether Joseph was
an interpretation of Maupassant himself because of his
debauchery. The story opens with a tale from Bardon of a
romance he becomes involved in after meeting a grieving
"widow" in Montmartre cemetery. He describes his wandering
through Montmartre cemetery with great detail noting, "they
[the cemeteries] sadden and soothe him" (Colet 78). Bardon
likes to sometimes get away from the busy Parisian life and
walk through the cemeteries because they remind him of
little towns and neighborhoods. The woman he encounters,
who is violently mourning her recently deceased "husband"
becomes his lover for a few weeks. He pitied her and was
32
struck by her helpless and unfortunate circumstance.
However, after "about three weeks, men grow tired of
everything, and especially of women" (Colet 84). He
dictates that he moved on and formed other interests in no
time; however, he never forgot her,
Maupassant waits to direct his satirical irony into
this story until the closure of Bardon's tale, "One day it
occurred [to him] that he might find her in the Montmartre
Cemetery" because he had never forgotten her. He discovers
her with another man "about fifty years old, distinguished
and well-dressed, with the rosette of an officer of the
Legion of Honour" (Colet 85), She merely blushes at Joseph
and invites him back with her eyes while simultaneously
asking him to keep still. The narrator inside the narration
of this story admires her technique for snagging customers.
He wonders if her profession is one of a "graveyard
sisterhood." Once again the woman in Maupassant's story
gains respect for her perfidious actions. The unsuspecting
bachelor did not condemn her, he marveled at her ingenuity.
Maupassant combines the issue of women being visible to the
public eye with the traditional Parisian interest in
cemeteries.
33
Cemeteries caught the attention of Haussmann primarily
because of the initial water pollution threat they
presented. Eventually, the initial health threat the
cemeteries created lessened because of the "good water that
flowed into Paris from the Dhuys and the Vanne" (Chapman
130). Although never coming to realization, Haussmann's
ideas about cemeteries caused public concern and complaint.
Parisians had and still have a close to fretful anxiety
over the locale of their dead relatives. Pere-Lachaise
today is so popular with the Parisians that there are
requirements for being buried there, Haussmann's mere
suggestion about burying Parisians outside of Paris caused
much opposition, and more and more material was brought "to
justify" [the administration's] policy, supported by a body
of press correspondence. The cemetery issue was dropped.
Napoleon decided not to pursue the matter after all the
debate and the improved water conditions. Maupassant wrote
during this whole ordeal. He liked to incorporate
controversial issues into his writing. He did not make the
Haussmann's cemetery his focal point for contentious
subject matter in his story. He merely used Montmartre
Cemetery, which was in question by Haussmann, for his
setting just as he used a wide boulevard in "The Signal" in
34
a fluid part of Paris. These issues--the opening of Paris,
the change in perception towards women, and the mockery of
Parisian values such as the silly infatuation with
cemeteries—surrounded Guy de Maupassant and influenced his
writing style—Realism.
35
CHAPTER IV
Women's Roles and Haussmannization
A final short story that develops the theme of
sexuality is "The Ruse." This story also demonstrates
Maupassant's criticism of moral values. Maupassant did not
believe in a pure spirit, especially for females. He
acknowledged that the male species would stray from the
straight and narrow with many of his characters such as the
"society gentleman" in "A Graveyard Sisterhood." Men would
be unfaithful. However, The recurrent irony within many of
Maupassant's stories deals with the "woman." Women in old
French polite society were meant to be frail creatures
unable to seriously think for themselves or stray from
their husbands. This ideal of women dominated not only the
French society in the late Nineteenth-Century, but also
most of Europe and the United States, As earlier mentioned,
Maupassant loved to illustrate controversial issues of
society. The perfect vehicle for revealing his topics of
controversy--prostitution, public health issues and a
flagrant aristocracy, was his depiction of his women
characters with a concentration on their foibles.
36
Flaubert depicted this model of women in Madame
Bovary. The idea that women are capable of all sorts of
machinations against men is not a new literary topic.
However, Emma in Madame Bovary does not reflect the "norm"
for women. She could be considered an isolated case—a woman
with many personal problems...not an everyday unsatisfied
wife. Maupassant takes the image of the bored or
unsatisfied woman and goes as far as to suggest that all
women become this. He does not blame the man for their
lethargy; he just merely presents this behavior as a state
of womanhood, Maupassant's focus on the role of the woman
in French society challenges the traditional values that
women are expected to conform to. Haussmannization brings
these issues to light, literally, and Maupassant parallels
and questions them with his women characters.
In "A Ruse," the old doctor informs the young lady
whom he is treating what she can expect from married life
by sharing an experience of his with her. He knows the
tendencies of married women well.
He knew "she was not really ill, but merely suffering
from one of those feminine ailments which often afflict
pretty young women: a touch of nerves, a little anaemia,
and a hint of fatigue, that fatigue which a newly married
couple normally experience at the end of their first month
of married life, when they have made a love match" (Colet
123) .
37
This doctor recognizes the direction that this newly
wed young lady is headed. As the doctor's story of the
deceptive woman progresses, his patient is horrified. The
Parisian lifestyle grants women the ability to better
deceive their poor husbands with all the evening
distractions available for men. This doctor has seen it all
before and has the knowledge that women don't "think about
all those little niceties" such as promises and vows and
the immorality of concealing her treachery "when she takes
it into her head to stray off the straight and narrow path"
(Colet 123), The doctor's young lady in question panicked
and needed his aid because her lover died in her marriage
bed. Her husband was out at a local club, which closed at
midnight, and he was due home any minute. The young woman
knew to send for her doctor even though she knew her lover
was dead. She sent her maid for the doctor, and he at first
ignored the summons because of the late hour. Once he
learned it was none other than the Madame Lelievre herself
comes to see him after his denial, he was more willing to
help, Madame was beyond herself with fear and grief,
exclaiming that if the doctor "only knew" how she had been
suffering after been "madly" in love with this man for six
38
whole months. Six months is not a very long amount of time,
testifying to this woman's fickle nature towards her lover
and her husband. The doctor managed to help thoroughly
cuckold the husband and save the wife's reputation and
lifestyle.
His young patient to whom he recounts this tale is
horrified, thinking this story "dreadful," and wants to
know what was his purpose in telling her this horrific
tale. He replies he merely wanted "to offer her his
services in case of need" (Colet 129),
Paris provides the perfect setting for this episode.
Maupassant obviously had no faith in the loyalties of
women, no matter how heartfelt or genuine. In other words,
Maupassant was a realist when it came to his views of
women. He knew what was expected of them versus what was
expected of men, and the two did not come up equal. He gave
women a kind of liberation with his writing. He
acknowledged them as sexual creatures while at the same
time revealing their desire to keep their families and
husbands content. They did not wish to sacrifice their
lifestyles or reputations, but they also did not want to
sacrifice those of their husbands. These women were bound
39
mxvr^t^E^amr^m
to deception because of what society expected of them and
because of what they were.
Liberation for women did not come about because of
Haussmann influences. Haussmann merely opened Paris, the
place where literature and culture happened with notice.
People looked at Paris. Napoleon wanted Paris to be able to
compete in the world as a major capital city. He wanted it
to outshine London, which at the time would be a great feat
if accomplished. What he did not expect was that
influential authors and artists would take an interest in
what Haussmann was doing for the city. He did not visualize
the societal effects that would take place because of his
plans through Haussmann and later Haussmann's own ideas. He
wanted a safer and cleaner Paris. Paris mutated under these
changes, becoming a place where the true Parisians could
not hide. The lack of hiding places due to a more "open
Paris" brought out much of the accurate Parisian culture
that polite society did not want to admit, except of course
Guy de Maupassant and the rest of the Realist world that
followed him.
40
CHAPTER V
Tradition v. Haussmannization
Maupassant did not merely confront women's sexuality
within the themes of his short stories. With
Haussmannization, one must remember what was actually
happening to Paris architecturally. Paris was changing, for
the better many would argue, but the Parisians did not like
it. Much of the "old" Paris would be lost.
A major outcry occurred with the first reseau
Haussmann executed. The first reseau was made up mainly of
Napoleon's plans, A major element of the first reseau was
to extend the Rue de Rivoli and the completion of the
Louvre. All of the first reseau, with the exclusion of the
Bois de Boulogne project, "dates from before the advent of
Louis Napoleon, and for this, among other reasons, it was
always set apart by the critics" (Chapman 79).
The Rue de
Rivoli in Paris is now a very long and wide boulevard that
connects many parts of Paris, and runs right through the
Paris's center, next to the Louvre. This location is key
because it gives access to the Louvre area and the old part
41
of Paris—"La City," and many other major districts. Before
Haussmann, "at the beginning of 1853 the rue de Rivoli
skirted the gardens of the Tuileries as far as the Pavilion
de Marsan (now the place de Pyramides) and there it
stopped" (Chapman 79). The lack of expansion was due to a
thickly populated area that no one "had the courage to
clear" (Chapman 79).
Haussmann had no qualms about attacking this
neighborhood under the planning of the Emperor. To extend
Rivoli, this area of living would have to be demolished.
Along with the Emperor and the experts he consulted for the
city's planning, Haussmann agreed this area of Paris could
go.
It consisted of "a dozen of so houses with crumbling
facades, which the landlords never repaired and which were
the reiraiants of an old quarter condemned since the days
when Napoleon decided to finish the Louvre. The inhabitants
were probably ghosts for none were ever seen." It was
thought that "someone has no doubt found it useful and
necessary to keep this cut-throat den, to symbolize in the
heart of Paris the intimacy of misery and splendor which
characterizes the queen of cities" (Chapman 79).
Napoleon wanted to clear these close-knit areas to squelch
any possible spirit of rebellion. However, these areas were
"the heart of Paris" both geographically and
metaphorically. Some believed they made up the true culture
42
of Paris, Haussmann and Napoleon disagreed, and the area
around the Louvre was brought down.
Opening Paris to itself, so it could be seen and loved
even more seems like a noble and pure notion and goal.
However, all of this leveling of Paris—the roads and the
demolition of old buildings—was a painful facelift for the
Parisians. The Emperor came under attack--being accused of
"turning the poor out of their homes because he was afraid
to live with them on his doorstep, and of having no respect
for the historic past" (Chapman 80). The "Old" Paris was
dying,
Construction during the Nineteenth-Century did not
advance as quickly as it does today. These public works
projects took quite awhile to complete, and many of them
were still in the workings well into Maupassant's writing
career. As I earlier broached, Maupassant incorporated
issues of the day into his writings. Maupassant liked to
include not only day-to-day activities, but also the
debatable topics of women's sexuality and old values being
disregarded and forgotten by society. He loved using the
settings of his stories as implications of current topics
along with his characterizations and plot complications. He
used Haussmann's wide boulevards, Paris's lively nightlife,
43
and problematic cemeteries within his short stories because
they not only provided wonderful and interesting settings,
but they also gave perfect facets for his plots. They
hinted of controversial issues that were happening around
him as he wrote.
The demolition of old districts of Paris could be
considered one of the most contentious acts of
Haussmannization. Parisians felt more than just threatened
by Haussmann's restructuring of Paris. Many of their fears
have roots in the Franco-Prussian war. Parisians felt that
Haussmann would tear down their old Paris just as the
Prussians would have destroyed the city.
Maupassant
attacked the values of "Old" Paris in many of his short
stories by depicting how the women conducted themselves and
the existence of deception on the part of women. However,
he also brought up this controversy independent of his
female characters. In Maupassant's short story "A Duel,"
the setting is not Paris and not a hint of Parisian life is
given,
Maupassant depends solely on the direct actions and
thoughts of the characters to be the vehicle for the
advertisement that the "Old" Paris was under attack, and
was losing.
44
Traditional values in Paris, with roots in sexuality
and clandestine traits of human nature, came under scrutiny
by Maupassant. He found it quite funny that these "values"
existed in the first place when the truth behind all the
Parisian propriety was quite the opposite of what Paris
liked to present. However, not every part of the "Old"
Paris deserved to be forgotten. The Parisians were very
touchy about having their beautiful capital reorganized.
This hesitation, known to have roots in the Franco-Prussian
war, was shared by all of France because Paris was France.
As previously mentioned, Maupassant loved to probe and
exploit conventional Parisian values. However, when "Paris"
came under attack, not the aristocracy of Paris or the
women or the emperor, but Paris itself, Maupassant uplifted
those traditional Parisian values, values held by all
Parisians. This uplifting of Old Parisians values by
Maupassant links into Haussmannization because Guy de
Maupassant for foremost a Parisian. He liked to criticize
and mock Parisian aristocracy and backwards ideals, but he
too felt a bit threatened by Haussmann's "attack" on the
old Paris. Maupassant served in the Franco-Prussian war was
a true Parisian. He shared the fear of Paris being weakened
or brought down. The true power of Paris lies in the
45
Parisians, but being Parisian constitutes to a complete
horror of any kind of modification to Paris itself.
His short story "A Duel" recreates the sentiments that
the French held while the Prussian army occupied France.
The Frenchman, Monsieur Dubuis, becomes the sole defender
of French pride and prestige in the plot. The war had
already been fought and France had lost, but they still
held their pride and values, or in other words, the French
were still entirely French. The Prussian officer who
antagonizes M, Dubuis makes the incredulous comment that
"if he had been in command, he would have taken Paris,
burned everything, killed everybody. No more France!"
(Colet 195) . Paris as an entity was under attack. Above all
things, Maupassant was Parisian. This quote embodies the
French ideal that Paris was France; without Paris, there
would be no France. M. Dubuis tried to avoid the Prussian
officers absurd request to "go and buy some [tobacco] when
the train stops" (Colet 196). M, Dubuis has his pride, and
he does not wish to cater to this officer's whim simply
because he thinks he can bully any Frenchmen. The conflict
between the two characters intensifies leading to an all
out combat in which the Prussian officer becomes the
victim. He demands the satisfaction of a duel, and M.
46
Dubuis promptly shoots him, although the Frenchman had
never even held a gun before.
The small detail concerning
M. Dubuis's amateur knowledge of guns reflects a "good vs.
evil" attitude in regard to the Prussians. The French
upheld this attitude in that they believed good would
conquer evil and civility would conquer brutality no matter
what odds existed. The French upheld the ideal that their
polite way of doing things, their manners and societal
beliefs--all of which were threatened by the Prussians-should and would overcome any threat to which they were
presented.
Poor M. Dubuis never even saw Prussian soldiers
until that fateful train ride. His polite society battle
experience included serving in the "National Guard
throughout the siege of Paris. He had prudently sent
abroad" to Switzerland "his wife and daughter before the
invasion"
(Colet 193). This man personifies the French
gentlemen, just as Joseph in "A Graveyard Sisterhood" did.
He did not like his sensibilities offended by this arrogant
Prussian soldier. France itself felt offended by the
Prussian invasion not just because it meant war, but also
because its principles were being challenged,
Paris felt challenged by Napoleon's plans and
Haussmann's implementations of those plans. Parisians still
47
held fast to their old fears of Paris becoming a target of
political aims. Paris remained a cultural center during and
after the Franco-Prussian war, making it a natural target.
Another story by Maupassant that attacks the Prussian
occupation and upholds Parisian culture and ideals, and
even directs comments towards those ideals, is the story
"Two Friends."
Maupassant immediately introduces his two
characters, the "two friends,"
to the scene. He identifies
Monsieur Morissot as "a watchmaker by trade but an idler by
necessity," labeling him as a true Parisian according to
his previously set standards within his other short
stories. He and Monsieur Sauvage, the other gentleman, are
friendly because of their joint appreciation for fishing.
Since the siege of Paris, however, neither of them could
participate in their shared hobby of fishing. "They had
never seen any of the Prussians, but for months they had
been aware of their presence around Paris, bringing ruin on
France, looting, murdering, starving, invisible and
irresistible" (Colet 150). These Parisian gentlemen would
not let the Prussians take over their sensibilities no
matter how horrible the circumstances. Their "mocking
Parisian humour, which had survived in spite of
everything," managed to emerge and the casual everyday
48
leisure of having an absinthe together did not seem absurd,
A bit "tipsy," these gentlemen decide to resume their
Sunday occupation of fishing. They head out geared for a
long day of fishing, and begin to enjoy themselves
completely.
An interesting political slant that Maupassant
interjects into the dialog is the Parisian view on
Monarchies, Morissot believes that "with kings, one has war
abroad; with republics, you have war at home" (Colet 152),
Louis Napoleon gave back to Parisians the reassurance of a
solid monarchy and the strength his name had represented
earlier in the century. Unfortunately, the two gentlemen
friends did not receive the merciful fate that M, Dubuis
enjoyed. They are executed as spies by the Prussian army
because they will not give up a password they supposedly
used to get past Colonel Dumoulin around Colombes. The two
men "slipped" past this post simply because they knew the
Colonel. The two friends are presiomably too afraid to
respond to the Prussian officer's questions. One concludes
that no matter what their answer, they would die anyhow.
Maupassant directly attacks the present government with his
dialogue between the friends as well as the Prussians.
49
The hatred for Prussia, later named Germany, did not
fade directly after the Franco-Prussian war. Maupassant
actually fought in the war and most likely used personal
experience and interpretation within his short stories to
deal with that issue. However, Maupassant was always trying
to single out controversial matters with his writings. Even
as France was under siege, Maupassant criticizes the
government. He knew that traditions, such as two friends
fishing together on any given Sunday, were under attack not
only by events such as war, but also by societal changes.
In "A Duel" the traditional values overcome the presented
threats of change and disrespect. In "Two Friends," the
threat of destruction of the Parisian way of life becomes
the victor. The life of having a drink with a good friend
and going on a fishing trip to recount "the good old days"
is over for Paris, at least for a time. The Parisians felt
this same acute fear when Haussmann started trying to
implement all these chaotic reseaux by Napoleon, and later
himself as with the third reseau. Parisians did not want
their Paris, their beloved city, under siege--even if by
the emperor himself, Georges Haussmann, or Guy de
Maupassant. Parisians did not want change. They had an
emperor with a powerful name back in place, an Emperor who
50
was making sure he would stay in place. Parisians did not
want to stop to consider that, if another rebellion
occurred, their beloved emperor would not be in control and
that their way of life would again be threatened.
Maupassant knew the fears well--being a Parisian himself.
He mocked his fellow Parisians and empathized with them
through these two short stories. He uplifted the moral
ideal that the "French" would rule in full over France. He
ridiculed the Parisians with "Two Friends," revealing that
traditional values meant nothing to the changes occurring
in and around Paris. Maupassant valued the "old" ways of
the "two friends," but he was also realistic and
pessimistic because he knew change would occur. Paris was
not a safe haven from that change, even if Parisians did
not see it coming, as with the unseen threat of the
Prussian soldier.
51
Conclusion
The restructuring and architectural reformation of
Paris during the mid 19*^^^ century, which came to be known as
"Haussmannization," was the last major renovation of Paris
until around the mid 20*^^ century. Even so, no other
remodeling project of the city since then can compare to
Haussmannization. Paris undergoes constant preservation
efforts and endeavors, but mainly with the goal to
maintain, not create. Parisians were bound to catch on to
modern thinking because many more innovations were
occurring around the world, initially improving and
modifying traditional thought. They were forefront in the
movement towards Realism because Haussmann catalyzed the
movement in Paris with his Public Works projects. He
created an era out of cement, plaster and sewer pipes,
Haussmann and Napoleon can be credited for making
Paris the city it is today, Guy de Maupassant actually
preferred living away from Paris, but he loved to write
about Paris, and he couldn't seem to stay away for too
9
.
.
.
long. He captured the Parisian magnetism and charm by
revealing "the real" Paris, Parisians didn't like all that
52
he had to say, especially about the aristocracy (that is
the aristocracy didn't like it), and they hated Haussmann.
The French liked Napoleon for bringing back their spoiled
way of life, but didn't support his politics concerning
Haussmann. Of course, now Parisians admire Haussmann and
realize the faults of Louis Napoleon, and adore Guy de
Maupassant. Paris is still "France," and Parisians are
still hard to please, Paris remains a major center of
culture and art; it carries on an enigmatic magnetism.
Baron Georges Haussmann opened Paris and Guy de Maupassant
came in through those open spaces and wide boulevards with
Realism. Maupassant challenged and examined issues that had
remained closeted up until Haussmann threw them into the
light of day. The two movements—one in architecture, one
in literature--are directly linked together, and are
responsible for making Paris that indefinable something it
is today.
53
Bibliography
Chapman, j.^^ and Brian. The Life and Times of Baron Haussmann,
Paris in the Second Empire. London, England: Weidenfeld and
Nicolson, 1957.
Colet, Roger. Guy de Maupassant, Selected Short Stories.
England: Penguin Classics. 1971.
"Histoire de Paris avec son Architecture," Cours de Civilization
a la Sorbonne. Paris, France. Fall 2000.
"Impressionism." The British Institute. Paris, France. Fall
2000.
"Romans et Poesies." Cours de Civilization a la Sorbonne. Paris,
France. Spring 2001.
54
J.