The protagonist of Guy de Maupassant’s ‘‘Boule de Suif’’ learns that virtuous acts do not always reap rewards. In fact, her altruism or self-sacrifice jeopardizes, rather than improves, her own life. Boule de Suif is a victim of her own good nature. In her acts of charity she refuses to see how others have treated her. Such acts only win her even more disdain or hatred from the group.
Much of the interaction among the group of travelers in Maupassant’s story revolves around the character nicknamed Boule de Suif. Throughout the narrative, she is put in a...
Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 1835 words.)
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