The Piece of String (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Guy de Maupassant
- First Published: 1883
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1880's
- Setting: Goderville in Normandy, France
- Principal Characters: Maitre Hauchecorne, M. Malandain, The Mayor of Goderville
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Criticism, Greed, Peasantry or peasants
- Locales: Normandy, France
The Story
Set in a little Norman village, “The Piece of String” concerns several months in the life of Maitre Hauchecorne, an old peasant. On an autumn market-day in Goderville, Hauchecorne is about to enter the square when he sees a piece of string on the ground and, being of the saving kind, retrieves it. As he does so, he becomes aware that an enemy of his, M. Malandain, the local harness maker, is watching. Ashamed to be seen picking up a remnant of string, the protagonist furtively hides it in his clothing and then pretends to be looking for something of value on the...
[The entire page is 1916 words long]
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