Bel Ami
Encyclopedia
Bel Ami is French author Guy de Maupassant
's second novel, published in 1885. An English translation titled Bel ami, or, The history of a scoundrel: a novel appeared in 1903.
The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor ex-NCO
to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.
in the upper-middle class environment of the leading journalists of the newspaper La Vie Française and their friends. It tells the story of Georges Duroy, who has spent three years of military service in Algeria
. After six months working as a clerk in Paris, an encounter with his former comrade, Forestier, enables him to start a career as a journalist. From a reporter of minor events and soft news, he gradually climbs his way up to chief editor. Duroy initially owes his success to Forestier’s wife who helps him write his first articles and, when he later starts writing lead articles, she adds an edge and poignancy to them. At the same time, she uses her connections among leading politicians to provide him with behind the scenes information which allows him to become actively involved in politics. Duroy is also introduced to many politicians in Mme Forestier’s drawing-room. Duroy becomes the lover of Forestiers' friend Mme de Marelle, another influential woman. Duroy later tries to seduce Madeleine Forestier to get even with her husband, but she repulses Duroy’s sexual advances and offers that they become true friends without ulterior motives instead.
In a few months, Charles Forestier’s health deteriorates and he travels to the south of France to regain it. Soon afterwards, Duroy receives a letter from Madeleine imploring him to come to join her and help her bear the last moments of her husband’s life. As Forestier dies, Duroy asks Madeleine to marry him. After a few weeks to consider, she agrees. Georges now signs his articles Du Roy (an aristocratic style of French name) in order to add prestige to his name. The married couple travel to Normandy
, the region of Georges’s childhood, and meet his peasant parents. Finding the reality different than her romantic expectations, Madeleine feels very uncomfortable with his parents and so their stay with them is short. In the newspaper office, Duroy is ridiculed for having his articles written by his wife, just as the late Forestier had his articles written by her. His newspaper colleagues call him ‘Forestier’, which drives Georges mad and he suddenly becomes heavily jealous of Madeleine, insisting that she admit having been unfaithful to Forestier, but she never does.
In order to suppress the stings of jealousy
, Duroy starts an affair with Mme Walter, the wife of the owner of the newspaper. He especially enjoys the conquest as he is her first extramarital lover. Later on, however, he regrets the decision, for he cannot get rid of her when he does not want her. Duroy’s relations with his wife become chillier, and at one point he takes a police superintendent to a flat in which his wife is meeting a minister. They catch the two in the act of adultery
, which was then a crime punishable under the law.
In the last two chapters Duroy's ascent to power continues. Duroy, now a single man, makes use of his chief’s daughter's infatuation with him, and arranges an elopement with her. The parents then have no other choice but to grant their assent to the marriage. The last chapter shows Duroy savouring his success at the wedding ceremony at which 'all those who figured prominently in society' were present. His thoughts, however, chiefly belong to Mme de Marelle who, when wishing him all the best, indicates that she has forgiven him for his new marriage and that their intimate meetings can be taken up again.
. Duroy thus supplants his former friend, the one who enabled his career in journalism in the first place. The articles he then writes with his wife’s help are considered as good as those produced (officially) by Charles Forestier but ‘more factual, more vigorous, more virile’. Seeing that Madeleine was the one who has cowritten the articles of both Charles and Georges, the latter is spitefully addressed ‘Forestier’ by his colleagues; however, fortunately for him, his affairs remain always hidden. Duroy’s moustache is another symbol of his sexual prowess: it is this that women are said to find impossible to resist about him. The painting Monsieur Louis Pascal by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
is said to depict the character Duroy in Bel Ami.
to compete with the chief character’s mastery over the other sex. Analogously, no single character is immune to the sexual attraction that Duroy in Bel Ami and Nana in Nana inspire in the members of the opposite sex. What further connects these two chief characters of two realistic novels is that their origins are humble: Nana is born in a working-class family on the outskirts of Paris while Georges Duroy comes from a poor peasant family in Normandy. Considering the character's background and the quality of education that he received, the talents that he is endowed with which, together with the favours of women, enable his social rise are then all the more astonishing and difficult to believe.
, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
(starring George Sanders
; the first version in English) and the upcoming 2011 version, Bel Ami
, with Robert Pattinson
, Uma Thurman
, and Kristin Scott-Thomas and a 2005 French/Belgian version made for television, starring Sagamore Stévenin
.
. Thr Czech title is Milček. http://www.petrmikeska.estranky.cz/clanky/milacek---guy-de-maupassant.html
In July 2011, Bel Ami the Musical was staged at the White Bear Theatre, London. It premiered on July 12th. Produced by Ruby In The Dust, it was written and directed by Linnie Reedman, with the music and lyrics composed by Joe Evans.
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
's second novel, published in 1885. An English translation titled Bel ami, or, The history of a scoundrel: a novel appeared in 1903.
The story chronicles journalist Georges Duroy's corrupt rise to power from a poor ex-NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
to one of the most successful men in Paris, most of which he achieves by manipulating a series of powerful, intelligent, and wealthy mistresses.
Synopsis
The novel is set in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the upper-middle class environment of the leading journalists of the newspaper La Vie Française and their friends. It tells the story of Georges Duroy, who has spent three years of military service in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. After six months working as a clerk in Paris, an encounter with his former comrade, Forestier, enables him to start a career as a journalist. From a reporter of minor events and soft news, he gradually climbs his way up to chief editor. Duroy initially owes his success to Forestier’s wife who helps him write his first articles and, when he later starts writing lead articles, she adds an edge and poignancy to them. At the same time, she uses her connections among leading politicians to provide him with behind the scenes information which allows him to become actively involved in politics. Duroy is also introduced to many politicians in Mme Forestier’s drawing-room. Duroy becomes the lover of Forestiers' friend Mme de Marelle, another influential woman. Duroy later tries to seduce Madeleine Forestier to get even with her husband, but she repulses Duroy’s sexual advances and offers that they become true friends without ulterior motives instead.
In a few months, Charles Forestier’s health deteriorates and he travels to the south of France to regain it. Soon afterwards, Duroy receives a letter from Madeleine imploring him to come to join her and help her bear the last moments of her husband’s life. As Forestier dies, Duroy asks Madeleine to marry him. After a few weeks to consider, she agrees. Georges now signs his articles Du Roy (an aristocratic style of French name) in order to add prestige to his name. The married couple travel to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, the region of Georges’s childhood, and meet his peasant parents. Finding the reality different than her romantic expectations, Madeleine feels very uncomfortable with his parents and so their stay with them is short. In the newspaper office, Duroy is ridiculed for having his articles written by his wife, just as the late Forestier had his articles written by her. His newspaper colleagues call him ‘Forestier’, which drives Georges mad and he suddenly becomes heavily jealous of Madeleine, insisting that she admit having been unfaithful to Forestier, but she never does.
In order to suppress the stings of jealousy
Jealousy
Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
, Duroy starts an affair with Mme Walter, the wife of the owner of the newspaper. He especially enjoys the conquest as he is her first extramarital lover. Later on, however, he regrets the decision, for he cannot get rid of her when he does not want her. Duroy’s relations with his wife become chillier, and at one point he takes a police superintendent to a flat in which his wife is meeting a minister. They catch the two in the act of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, which was then a crime punishable under the law.
In the last two chapters Duroy's ascent to power continues. Duroy, now a single man, makes use of his chief’s daughter's infatuation with him, and arranges an elopement with her. The parents then have no other choice but to grant their assent to the marriage. The last chapter shows Duroy savouring his success at the wedding ceremony at which 'all those who figured prominently in society' were present. His thoughts, however, chiefly belong to Mme de Marelle who, when wishing him all the best, indicates that she has forgiven him for his new marriage and that their intimate meetings can be taken up again.
Symbols
There are a few symbols in the novel.. The chief character’s name and nicknames are among them. The daughter of Mme. Marelle first calls him "Bel Ami" which continues to be the nickname used by the women he uses. Duroy starts to sign his articles Du Roy when he is about to marry Madeleine Forestier, ‘roi’ (the same pronunciation) meaning a kingMonarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
. Duroy thus supplants his former friend, the one who enabled his career in journalism in the first place. The articles he then writes with his wife’s help are considered as good as those produced (officially) by Charles Forestier but ‘more factual, more vigorous, more virile’. Seeing that Madeleine was the one who has cowritten the articles of both Charles and Georges, the latter is spitefully addressed ‘Forestier’ by his colleagues; however, fortunately for him, his affairs remain always hidden. Duroy’s moustache is another symbol of his sexual prowess: it is this that women are said to find impossible to resist about him. The painting Monsieur Louis Pascal by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
is said to depict the character Duroy in Bel Ami.
Form of the novel and comparison with Nana
The novel is composed of episodic chapters which frequently represent individual rungs of the social ladder that Duroy climbs. Thus one chapter is focused on a duel he has to undergo in order to defend the good name of Vie Francaise; another on the witnessing the death of a colleague of his (Forestier) which clears the way for his ascent within the newspaper; yet another tells of the preparation and realization of the discovery of Madeleine’s adultery which enables Duroy to make a more satisfying match with his chief’s daughter. There is no one to match Duroy’s appeal to women – just as there is no one in NanaNana (novel)
Nana is a novel by the French naturalist author Émile Zola. Completed in 1880, Nana is the ninth installment in the 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series, the object of which was to tell "The Natural and Social History of a Family under the Second Empire", the subtitle of the series.-Origins:A year...
to compete with the chief character’s mastery over the other sex. Analogously, no single character is immune to the sexual attraction that Duroy in Bel Ami and Nana in Nana inspire in the members of the opposite sex. What further connects these two chief characters of two realistic novels is that their origins are humble: Nana is born in a working-class family on the outskirts of Paris while Georges Duroy comes from a poor peasant family in Normandy. Considering the character's background and the quality of education that he received, the talents that he is endowed with which, together with the favours of women, enable his social rise are then all the more astonishing and difficult to believe.
List of characters
- Georges Duroy (Du Roy), an ex-soldier, journalist and a social climber
- Charles Forestier, Duroy's former friend in the army, a journalist
- Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy), Charles's and later Georges's wife who helps her husbands write their articles and has lots of connections among the powerful
- Monsieur Laroche-Mathieu, a friend of Madeleine Forestier, a deputy, later a minister who owes his position and sudden wealth to Vie Francaise, Madeleine Forestier's lover
- Comte de Vaudrec, an old longtime friend and protector and probably also lover of Madeleine Forestier (Du Roy)
- Clotilde de Marelle, the Forestiers' friend whose husband is away for long periods of time, Duroy's main lover
- Laurine de Marelle, their young daughter, who comes up with the nickname Bel Ami.
- Jacques Rival, a journalist
- Norbert de Varenne, an old single bitter life-tired poet who is among the Vie Francaise staff
- Monsieur Walter, the owner and chief editor of the Vie Francaise
- Virginie Walter, his wife, later Duroy's lover
- Suzanne Walter, their marriageable daughter, later Madame Du Roy
- Rachel, a prostitute to whom Georges turns in times of financial crisis
Films
The novel was turned into several films, including Bel Ami (1939 film)Bel Ami (1939 film)
Bel Ami is a German film version of Guy de Maupassant's novel Bel Ami directed by Willi Forst and released in 1939.- Plot :In Paris, in about 1900, George Duroy, just returned from Morocco, spends a night with the singer Rachel, who is rehearsing the song Bel Ami. Later at a party he tells the...
, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami is a 1947 drama film which stars George Sanders as a ruthless cad who uses women to rise in Parisian society...
(starring George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
; the first version in English) and the upcoming 2011 version, Bel Ami
Bel Ami (2011 film)
Bel Ami is an upcoming film starring Robert Pattinson and Uma Thurman. The film is directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod and is based on the 1885 French novel of the same name by Guy de Maupassant...
, with Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
, Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
, and Kristin Scott-Thomas and a 2005 French/Belgian version made for television, starring Sagamore Stévenin
Sagamore Stevenin
Sagamore Stévenin is a French actor, sometimes also listed Thomas Stévenin in film credits. Sagamore's father is the actor Jean-François Stévenin. Also in the acting profession are his brother Louis-Robinson Stévenin and his sister Salomé Stévenin. He began his career in the early 80s as a child...
.
Stage version
Directed by Pavel Khek, a stage version of the story premiered on 11th April, 2008 in City Theatre, Mladá BoleslavMladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...
. Thr Czech title is Milček. http://www.petrmikeska.estranky.cz/clanky/milacek---guy-de-maupassant.html
- Georges Duroy .... Petr Mikeska
- Charles Forestier .... Roman Teprt
- Madeleine Forestier .... Jana Kovalčíková
- Joselle Walter .... Ota Jirák / Marin Hrubý
- Virginie Walter .... Karolina Frydecká
- Suzanne Walter .... Dagmar Teichmannová
- Clotilda de Marelle .... Petra Nakládalová
- Laurine de Marelle .... Alžběta Matoušková
- Klepsydra .... Petr Prokeš
- Norbert de Varenne .... Petr Halíček
- Jacques Rival .... Ivo Theimer
- Laroche - Mathieu .... Petr Bucháček
- De Vaudrec .... Milan Koníček
- Rachel .... Pavlína Jurková / Lucie Matoušková
- Courtesan .... Veronika Kubařová / Lucie Matoušková
- Homeless - Lackey - Priest - Comisseur .... Miroslav Babuský
- Banana fish .... Dáša Bělanská
- Barman - Cop .... Michal Kopčan
In July 2011, Bel Ami the Musical was staged at the White Bear Theatre, London. It premiered on July 12th. Produced by Ruby In The Dust, it was written and directed by Linnie Reedman, with the music and lyrics composed by Joe Evans.
- Georges Duroy .... Gary Tushaw
- Clotilde de Marelle .... Holly Hinton
- Jacques Rival .... Darren Munn
- Charles Forestier - Police Commissioner .... Edward Cartwright
- Madeleine Forestier .... Kate Marlais
- Suzanne Walter .... Julie Gilby
- Monsieur Walter .... Owen Nolan
- Madame Walter .... Penelope Dudley
- Laroche - Priest - Waiter .... Matthew Crowfoot
- Norbert de Varenne .... Peter Saracen
- Rachel .... Morna Young
External links
- Bel Ami, free e-book at Project Gutenberg.
- Free audiobook : Bel-Ami (in French)
- Městské divadlo, Mladá Boleslav
- Bel Ami Film