Boule de Suif 2011

Guy de Maupassant
BOULE DE SUIF
The Dumpling
Introduction
Chronology
PARALLEL TEXT
Notes
Further Reading and Links
Guy de Maupassant
1850-1893
[The word NOTE in the text indicates a particular
crux of translation, which is discussed further.
Click on NOTE to be taken to the relevant discussion,
and then on RETURN to come back to the translation.]
© www.tclt.org.uk 2008
INTRODUCTION
betrayal. It is this creative tension between specificity and generality that

gives the story much of its imaginative energy.
It is, though, Maupassant’s details, rather than his universal themes,

INTRODUCTION that raise significant issues in translation. However small or marginal
they may seem, the choice of one rather than another radically affects the
impact of the story as a whole.
This new translation of Maupassant’s Boule de Suif is the first piece of
prose fiction to appear on the web-site; and at first sight, prose fiction as a characters’ titles
genre may seem to present few of the difficulties encountered in
translating either poetry or drama. There are no problems of verse form to One immediate decision for the translator is whether to retain the French
be resolved – questions about stanzaic patterns, rhyme schemes, metrical titles that Maupassant gives his characters (Monsieur, Madame,
structures, visual and auditory effects, and so on. No problems, either, Mademoiselle), or whether to Anglicise them into Mr., Mrs., Miss. The
about a constant and complex interplay of different voices, through which names of his characters, however, have an unmistakably French ring
the characters in any play establish their separate and individual (Loiseau, Carré-Lamadon, Rousset); and a clear incongruity of both
personalities. But works of narrative fiction – novels, novellas, short sound and sense arises when an Anglicised title is placed before a French
stories – appear less obviously encumbered by form. Whereas Paradise name: Mrs. Loiseau, Mrs. Carré-Lamadon, and so on. Such cultural
Lost rendered as a series of ten thousand haiku, or King Lear as clashes have been avoided by retaining the French titles. In one instance,
vaudeville farce, would change the original text utterly, the exigencies of however, an Anglicisation of title has seemed natural and idiomatic, and
form seem to weigh less heavily with works of prose fiction. Take a therefore le comte et la comtesse Hubert de Bréville has been rendered as
simple, basic issue: that of length. How long is a short story? Is it 1000, ‘the Count and Countess Hubert de Bréville’.
3000, 6000, 10000 words? At what point does a long short story turn into
a short novella, or a long novella into a short novel? And how far are any geographical details
of these questions about length truly central to the genre? Prose fiction
seems driven, rather, by other, more easily translated features: the The names that Maupassant gives to particular streets and buildings have
narrative energy of a story being told, the urgency of expectation about led to similar differences of response. Street-names have almost always
what could happen next. So embedded is such a drive in stories the world sounded more convincing in the original French, rather than in some
over that it should not be difficult to render a story in one language into a hybrid collocation or total Anglicisation. And so, rue Grand-Pont is
story in another. retained, rather than altered to ‘Grand-Pont Street’ or (even worse) ‘Big-
Bridge Street’. But the names of the two hotels that feature in the story
This translation of Boule de Suif (and, running to over 13,000 words, (l’Hôtel de Normandie and l’Hôtel du Commerce) translate well into
is it a long short story or a short novella?) faces many of the questions English, as the ‘Normandy Hotel’ and the ‘Commercial Hotel’. The latter
above. First published in 1880, it immediately established Maupassant as name, in particular, evokes in English the second-rate, rather seedy
one of the finest short-story writers in Europe, a reputation that he surroundings of the establishment in which Maupassant’s characters are
consolidated in the over three hundred stories he wrote subsequently. Set obliged to remain.
in a specific time (the winter of 1870-71 immediately after the defeat of In terms of the geographical distances that Maupassant mentions,
the French by the Prussian army), in a specific place (the road from preference has almost always been given to a modern Anglicisation. And
Rouen to Tôtes, and then on to Dieppe), and in specific circumstances so, à deux ou trois lieues sous la ville has been translated, not archaically
(ten travellers trapped in a coach and then in a small hotel), the story as ‘two or three leagues from the city’, nor even unidiomatically as ‘six or
nonetheless expresses more universal themes: class divisions and social nine miles from the city’, but as ‘some few miles from the city’. Quatre
hypocrisy, group oppression and individual victims, emotional and moral lieues, similarly, has been rendered as ‘less than ten miles’, with some
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INTRODUCTION
licence allowed to the rather indeterminate length of the English

equivalent ‘league’.
money
Given the obsessive interest some of his characters have in material

wealth, it is scarcely surprising that Maupassant makes a number of
references in the story to money, mentioning both francs (i.e. the old
French franc, not the new franc or even newer euro), and also livres
(pounds). Two characters are believed to receive cinq cent mille livres de
revenu. Another sends six cent mille francs to England. Yet another
claims he would give mille francs for a bite to eat. The translation of such
sums into a convincing modern idiom is not easy, not least because of the
changing differences in value between English and French currency, and
the vast monetary inflation between 1880 and the present. There may be
economic historians who could compute the value of 600,000 old francs
in 1880 to the equivalent in pounds in the early 21st century. But of far
greater significance is the simple impact that any sum of money has upon
modern readers. And so, the two characters who are said to receive cinq
cent mille livres de revenu continue to bring in ‘five hundred thousand
pounds a year’, just as another character continues to promise ‘a thousand
pounds’ for the taste of a piece of ham. The translated sums do not need
to be needlessly inflated to have a comparable effect.
historical details
Elsewhere, physical details that establish the historical location of the

story (four-horse coaches, foot-warmers, watch-chains, cavalry officers,
lanterns, sabres, nightcaps, and so on) have been retained, without any
attempt to ‘contemporise’ them into a 21st century context – even if their
modern equivalents could be found, which is rarely the case. There is no
question that these details anchor Maupassant’s story in a specific time
and place, but it is important to recognise that they do not confine it there.
It is significant that the opening paragraphs of Boule de Suif focus upon
crowds of people (defeated soldiers, victorious soldiers, townsfolk) at a
particular moment in their lives (1870-71). The final words of the story,
though, present a single individual who has been used and betrayed, and
whose tears slip down into a darkness that seems timeless and universal.
‘Et Boule de Suif pleurait toujours; et parfois un sanglot, qu’elle n’avait
pu retentir, passait…dans les ténèbres.’
Tim Chilcott
September 2008
iv v
CHRONOLOGY
1870 upon the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, is called up

and posted to Rouen.
1871 leaves the army.

CHRONOLOGY
1872-3 starts his career as a civil service clerk, and is appointed to
the French Admiralty.
1850 is born on 5 August at the Château de Miromesniel, near 1874 begins to meet a number of celebrated French writers
Dieppe, into a comfortably middle-class though emotionally (Mallarmé, Huysmans, Zola), as well as the influential
unhappy family. His father, Gustave, and mother, Laure, are Edmond de Goncourt at Flaubert’s apartment. Confides to a
ill-suited to each other, in terms of both temperament and friend that he has contracted syphilis, which is later to cause
rank. him periodic seizures.
1854 the family moves to less palatial accommodation near Le 1875 his first story ‘La main d’écorché’ (‘The Shrivelled Hand’) is
Harve, where in 1856, his younger brother Hervé is born. published in February, under the pseudonym Joseph Prunier.
1859-60 a pupil at the Lycée Impérial Napoléon in Paris. After the 1878 begins work on his first novel, Une Vie. Through Flaubert,
effective separation of his parents, moves with his mother gains an appointment to the Ministry of Education and
and brother to Étretat, on the Channel coast. She reads him resigns from the Admiralty.
Shakespeare, and a priest instructs him in grammar,
mathematics, and Latin. 1880 in a collection entitled Les Soirées de Médan, which contains
stories by Zola, Huysmans and others, Boule de Suif is
1863 legal separation of his parents. First sexual experience with a published in April, to universal acclaim. But health problems
country girl one year his senior. Begins to attend Yvetot (heart, alopecia, poor vision) begin to show themselves, and
seminary, which he loathes for its bigotry and gradually worsen during the following decade. Becomes the
restrictiveness. literary executor for Flaubert, whose death in May affects
him deeply.
1866 saves the English poet Swinburne from drowning in the sea
off Étretat, and is several times invited to Swinburne’s villa, 1881 publishes his first volume of short stories under the title La
where he is presented with a mummified hand as a souvenir. Maison Tellier. The book reaches its twelfth edition within
The object is to feature in several of his later stories. two years.
1868 is expelled from Yvetot seminary for having composed an 1883 his first novel, Une Vie, is published, with 25,000 copies
allegedly obscene poem, and enters a lycée in Rouen. sold in less than a year. With his name increasingly well
Becomes known to the novelist Gustave Flaubert and his known and his writing in demand, writes a ceaseless flow of
friend the poet Louis Bouilhet, who take him under their short stories, finally numbering over three hundred.
wing and become his mentors, both personally and
professionally. 1884 relationships of varying intimacy with wealthy and
influential women in society: Comtesse Potocka (1852-
1869 moves to Paris to read law, and lives in the same building as 1943), Marie Bashkirtseff (1858-84). Begins to spend an
his father. increasing amount of time in the south of France.
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CHRONOLOGY
1885 his best-known novel, Bel-Ami, is published.
1886 continues an ever more prolific output of short stories.
1887 publication of Mont-Oriol, his third novel. Younger brother

Hervé begins to show signs of mental instability, and his
mother’s ill-health declines still further.
1888 publication of his novel Pierre et Jean.
1889 starts to supervise the anthologising and translation into

several European languages of his enormous number of short
stories. His fifth novel Fort comme la mort is published. His
brother Hervé is placed in a mental institution in Lyon, and
dies from syphilis in November.
1890 his last novel, Notre Coeur, is published; but the number of
short stories he is able to write decreases because of
growing illness.
1891 suffers from loss of memory and confusion. A general

paralysis begins to affect his body, and then his mind.
1892 attempts to commit suicide, and is voluntarily admitted to a

maison de santé in Passy, near Paris, under the care of one of
his friends, Dr Esprit Blanche.
1893 dies on 6 July, a month short of his forty-third birthday, and

is buried in the cemetery at Montparnasse in Paris.
viii ix
Boule de suif The Dumpling
Pendant plusieurs jours de suite des lambeaux d'armée en déroute avaient For several days in a row, the remnants of a defeated army had been
traversé la ville. Ce n'était point de la troupe, mais des hordes débandées. passing through the town. They weren’t disciplined troops, but a
Les hommes avaient la barbe longue et sale, des uniformes en guenilles, disorganised rabble. The men had long, dirty beards, with their uniforms
et ils avançaient d'une allure molle, sans drapeau, sans régiment. Tous in tatters; and they moved forward listlessly, without a flag, without a
semblaient accablés, éreintés, incapables d'une pensée ou d'une regiment. They all looked overwhelmed, worn out, incapable of thought
résolution, marchant seulement par habitude, et tombant de fatigue sitôt or resolve, marching only out of habit, and collapsing from exhaustion as
qu'ils s'arrêtaient. On voyait surtout des mobilisés, gens pacifiques, soon as they came to a halt. More than anything, you could see reservists,
rentiers tranquilles, pliant sous le poids du fusil; des petits moblots peaceful folk who’d been living on their incomes, now bending under the
alertes, faciles à l'épouvante et prompts à l'enthousiasme, prêts à l'attaque weight of their rifles; alert little conscripts, easily frightened and quickly
comme à la fuite; puis, au milieu d'eux, quelques culottes rouges, débris excited, as ready to run away as to attack; and then, in their midst, some
d'une division moulue dans une grande bataille; des artilleurs sombres regulars in red trousers, leftovers of a division pulverised in a great battle.
alignés avec des fantassins divers; et, parfois, le casque brillant d'un Mixed in with these diverse foot-soldiers were grim artillerymen, and,
dragon au pied pesant qui suivait avec peine la marche plus légère des occasionally, the gleaming helmet of a lumbering dragoon who could
lignards. barely keep up with the quicker pace of the rank and file.
Des légions de francs-tireurs aux appellations héroïques: «les Legions of irregulars with high-sounding names – ‘Avengers of
Vengeurs de la Défaite—les Citoyens de la Tombe—les Partageurs de la Defeat’, ‘Citizens of the Tomb’, ‘Brothers to the Death’ – would pass by
Mort»—passaient à leur tour, avec des airs de bandits. in their turn, looking like bandits.
Leurs chefs, anciens commerçants en draps ou en graines, ex- Their leaders – former drapers or corn-merchants, one-time dealers in
marchands de suif ou de savon, guerriers de circonstance, nommés tallow or soap, soldiers by circumstance, appointed as officers for their
officiers pour leurs écus ou la longueur de leurs moustaches, couverts money or the length of their moustaches, laden with weapons, flannel and
d'armes, de flanelle et de galons, parlaient d'une voix retentissante, gold braid – would speak in booming voices, discuss battle plans, and
discutaient plans de campagne, et prétendaient soutenir seuls la France behave as though they alone bore the agony of France on their braggart
agonisante sur leurs épaules de fanfarons; mais ils redoutaient parfois shoulders. But they sometimes went in fear of their very own men, who
leurs propres soldats, gens de sac et de corde, souvent braves à outrance, were often immeasurably brave, but who plundered and debauched, and
pillards et débauchés. deserved to be hanged. NOTE
Les Prussiens allaient entrer dans Rouen, disait-on. Rumour had it that the Prussians were about to enter Rouen.
La Garde nationale qui, depuis deux mois, faisait des reconnaissance’s The National Guard, which had for the past two months been
très prudentes dans les bois voisins, fusillant parfois ses propres reconnoitring with the utmost caution in the nearby woods, sometimes
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BOULE DE SUIF THE DUMPLING
sentinelles, et se préparant au combat quand un petit lapin remuait sous shooting their own sentries and preparing for action whenever a tiny
des broussailles, était rentrée dans ses foyers. Ses armes, ses uniformes, rabbit rustled the undergrowth, had now returned home. Their weapons,
tout son attirail meurtrier, dont elle épouvantait naguère les bornes des their uniforms, and all the murderous paraphernalia with which they had
routes nationales à trois lieues à la ronde, avaient subitement disparu. terrified every stone on the main roads for ten miles around, had
suddenly disappeared.
Les derniers soldats français venaient enfin de traverser la Seine pour
gagner Pont-Audemer par Saint-Sever et Bourg-Achard; et, marchant The last remaining French soldiers had finally crossed the Seine to
après tous, le général, désespéré, ne pouvant rien tenter avec ces loques reach Pont-Audemer by way of Saint-Sever and Bourg-Achard. Behind
disparates, éperdu lui-même dans la grande débâcle d'un peuple habitué à them, flanked by two staff officers, their general walked in despair.
vaincre et désastreusement battu malgré sa bravoure légendaire, s'en allait Powerless to do anything with this rag-bag of an army, he was
à pied, entre deux officiers d'ordonnance. bewildered by the total disarray that had befallen a nation used to victory,
yet now, despite its legendary courage, disastrously beaten.
Puis un calme profond, une attente épouvantée et silencieuse avaient
plané sur la cité. Beaucoup de bourgeois bedonnants, émasculés par le A profound calm, a sense of silent, terrified foreboding, hung over the
commerce, attendaient anxieusement les vainqueurs, tremblant qu'on ne city. Many of its portly middle-class inhabitants, emasculated by the
considérât comme une arme leurs broches à rôtir ou leurs grands world of business, awaited the conquerors anxiously, trembling lest their
couteaux de cuisine. roasting spits or long kitchen knives be taken as a weapon.
La vie semblait arrêtée; les boutiques étaient closes, la rue muette. Life seemed to have ground to a halt. The shops were closed, the
Quelquefois un habitant, intimidé par ce silence, filait rapidement le long streets quiet. From time to time, a figure would quickly scamper by,
des murs. frightened by the silence, keeping close to the walls.
L'angoisse de l'attente faisait désirer la venue de l'ennemi. The strain of waiting made everyone long for the enemy to arrive.
Dans l'après-midi du jour qui suivit le départ des troupes françaises, In the afternoon of the day following the departure of the French
quelques uhlans, sortis on ne sait d'où, traversèrent la ville avec célérité. troops, a few Uhlans, NOTE coming from who knows where, crossed the
Puis, un peu plus tard, une masse noire descendit de la côte Sainte- city quickly. Then, a little later, a black mass swept down St Catherine’s
Catherine, tandis que deux autres flots envahisseurs apparaissaient par les Hill while two other waves of invaders appeared on the roads from
routes de Darnetal et de Boisguillaume. Les avant-gardes des trois corps, Darnétal and Bois-Guillaume. The advance guards of the three corps,
juste au même moment, se joignirent sur la place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville; et arriving simultaneously, linked up in the square of the town hall; and
par toutes les rues voisines, l'armée allemande arrivait, déroulant ses along all the neighbouring streets, the German army was pouring, its
bataillons qui faisaient sonner les pavés sous leur pas dur et rythmé. battalions making the stones ring out under heavy, rhythmic steps.
Des commandements criés d'une voix inconnue et gutturale montaient Orders shouted out in a foreign, guttural tongue echoed along the
le long des maisons qui semblaient mortes et désertes, tandis que, houses, which seemed dead and deserted. From behind closed shutters,
derrière les volets fermés, des yeux guettaient ces hommes victorieux, eyes were watching these victorious men – masters, ‘according to the
maîtres de la cité, des fortunes et des vies, de par le «droit de guerre». rights of war’, of the city, of fortunes, and of lives. In their darkened
Les habitants, dans leurs chambres assombries, avaient l'affolement que rooms, the inhabitants felt the panic that cataclysms can bring, those
donnent les cataclysmes, les grands bouleversements meurtriers de la great deadly upheavals of the earth, against which all wisdom and
terre, contre lesquels toute sagesse et toute force sont inutiles. Car la strength are useless. The same feeling recurs each time the settled order
4 5
même sensation reparaît chaque fois que l'ordre établi des choses est of things is upset, when security exists no longer, and all that was
renversé, que la sécurité n'existe plus, que tout ce que protégeaient les protected by the laws of mankind or nature finds itself at the mercy of a
lois des hommes ou celles de la nature, se trouve à la merci d'une mindless, savage force. The earthquake that crushes an entire population
brutalité inconsciente et féroce. Le tremblement de terre écrasant sous les beneath the rubble of its houses; the overflowing river that sweeps away
maisons croulantes un peuple entier; le fleuve débordé qui roule les drowned peasants, together with the bodies of their cattle and the rafters
paysans noyés avec les cadavres des boeufs et les poutres arrachées aux torn off from their roofs; the glorious army that massacres all who defend
toits, ou l'armée glorieuse massacrant ceux qui se défendent, emmenant themselves, and takes others as prisoners, plundering in the name of the
les autres prisonniers, pillant au nom du Sabre et remerciant un Dieu au Sword and thanking God to the roar of the canon – all these are terrifying
son du canon, sont autant de fléaux effrayants qui déconcertent toute scourges that destroy any belief in eternal justice, any trust that we are
croyance à la justice éternelle, toute la confiance qu'on nous enseigne en taught to have in divine protection or human reasoning.
la protection du Ciel et en la raison de l'homme.
Small detachments of men were soon knocking at every door, then
Mais à chaque porte des petits détachements frappaient, puis disappearing inside the houses. After the invasion, this was the
disparaissaient dans les maisons. C'était l'occupation après l'invasion. Le occupation. The conquered had now to show their hospitality to their
devoir commençait pour les vaincus de se montrer gracieux envers les conquerors.
vainqueurs.
After some while, once the initial terror had subsided, a new calm was
Au bout de quelque temps, une fois la première terreur disparue, un established. In many houses, the Prussian officer would eat at the same
calme nouveau s'établit. Dans beaucoup de familles, l'officier prussien table as the family. He was sometimes very well-bred and, out of
mangeait à table. Il était parfois bien élevé, et, par politesse, plaignait la politeness, would sympathise with France, and speak of his repugnance at
France, disait sa répugnance en prenant part à cette guerre. On lui était taking part in the war. The sentiment was gratefully accepted; after all,
reconnaissant de ce sentiment; puis on pouvait, un jour ou l'autre, avoir some day or other, they might have need of his protection. By handling
besoin de sa protection. En le ménageant on obtiendrait peut-être him carefully, they might perhaps be given a few less men to feed. And
quelques hommes de moins à nourrir. Et pourquoi blesser quelqu'un dont why offend someone on whom you totally depend? To behave in that
on dépendait tout à fait? Agir ainsi serait moins de la bravoure que de la way would be less courageous than foolhardy. And foolhardiness was no
témérité.—Et la témérité n'est plus un défaut des bourgeois de Rouen, longer a failing of Rouen’s middle-classes, as it once had been when the
comme au temps des défenses héroïques où s'illustra leur cité.—On se city was acclaimed for its heroic defences. Last of all – in a masterly
disait enfin, raison suprême tirée de l'urbanité française, qu'il demeurait rationalisation of French notions of manners – they told themselves it
bien permis d'être poli dans son intérieur pourvu qu'on ne se montrât pas was perfectly permissible to be polite to the foreign soldier indoors, as
familier, en public, avec le soldat étranger. Au dehors on ne se long as they made no show of familiarity with him in public. Out of
connaissait plus, mais dans la maison on causait volontiers, et l'Allemand doors, they did not know each other. Inside the house, they would
demeurait plus longtemps, chaque soir, à se chauffer au foyer commun. happily chat away, and the German would stay a little longer every
evening, warming himself beside the family fire.
La ville même reprenait peu à peu de son aspect ordinaire. Les
Français ne sortaient guère encore, mais les soldats prussiens grouillaient The town itself gradually regained its old appearance. The French still
dans les rues. Du reste, les officiers de hussards bleus, qui traînaient avec scarcely ever went out, but the Prussian soldiers were teeming in the
arrogance leurs grands outils de mort sur le pavé, ne semblaient pas avoir streets. Indeed, the officers from the Blue Hussars, who arrogantly
pour les simples citoyens énormément plus de mépris que les officiers de dragged their instruments of death along the streets, didn’t seem to have
chasseurs, qui, l'année d'avant, buvaient aux mêmes cafés. that much greater contempt for the ordinary townsfolk than the French
cavalry officers who had sat drinking in the same cafés the year before.
6 7
Il y avait cependant quelque chose dans l'air, quelque chose de subtil And yet there was something in the air, something subtle and strange,
et d'inconnu, une atmosphère étrangère intolérable, comme une odeur an unbearable foreign atmosphere, like a spreading odour, the odour of
répandue, l'odeur de l'invasion. Elle emplissait les demeures et les places invasion. It permeated the houses and the public squares, altered the taste
publiques, changeait le goût des aliments, donnait l'impression d'être en of food, made people feel they were on a journey, far away, among
voyage, très loin, chez des tribus barbares et dangereuses. dangerous and barbaric tribes.
Les vainqueurs exigeaient de l'argent, beaucoup d'argent. Les The conquerors demanded money, a great deal of it. The people
habitants payaient toujours; ils étaient riches d'ailleurs. Mais plus un always paid; they were rich, after all. But the wealthier a Norman
négociant normand devient opulent et plus il souffre de tout sacrifice, de businessman becomes, the more he suffers from any kind of sacrifice,
toute parcelle de sa fortune qu'il voit passer aux mains d'un autre. from seeing any portion of his fortune passing into another’s hands.
Cependant, à deux ou trois lieues sous la ville, en suivant le cours de Meanwhile, some few miles NOTE from the city, downstream the river
la rivière, vers Croisset, Dieppedalle ou Biessart, les mariniers et les towards Croisset, Dippedalle or Biessart, bargees and fishermen would
pêcheurs ramenaient souvent du fond de l'eau quelque cadavre often haul up from the bottom of the water some German body, bloated
d'Allemand gonflé dans son uniforme, tué d'un coup de couteau ou de in his uniform, stabbed or kicked to death, or his head smashed in with a
savate, la tête écrasée par une pierre, ou jeté à l'eau d'une poussée du haut stone, or thrown in the water by a push from the top of a bridge. The mud
d'un pont. Les vases du fleuve ensevelissaient ces vengeances obscures, of the river covered up these secret acts of vengeance, savage and yet
sauvages et légitimes, héroïsmes inconnus, attaques muettes, plus justified, the unrecorded heroism, the silent attacks that were more
périlleuses que les batailles au grand jour et sans le retentissement de la perilous than battles in full daylight, and without the throb of glory.
gloire.
For hatred of foreigners will always rouse the fearless few, ready to
Car la haine de l'Étranger arme toujours quelques Intrépides prêts à die for an ideal.
mourir pour une Idée.
Although the invaders had imposed the strictest discipline on the
Enfin, comme les envahisseurs, bien qu'assujétissant la ville à leur town, they had not inflicted any of the horrors that rumour had attributed
inflexible discipline, n'avaient accompli aucune des horreurs que la to them throughout their triumphal march, and people at length became
renommée leur faisait commettre tout le long de leur marche triomphale, bolder. The need to do business once again exercised the hearts of the
on s'enhardit, et le besoin du négoce travailla de nouveau le coeur des local tradesmen. Some of them had major interests in Le Harve, which
commerçants du pays. Quelques-uns avaient de gros intérêts engagés au the French army still held, and they wanted to try and reach the port by
Havre que l'armée française occupait, et ils voulurent tenter de gagner ce going overland to Dieppe, and taking a boat from there.
port en allant par terre à Dieppe où ils s'embarqueraient.
Through the influence of the German officers whom they had come to
On employa l'influence des officiers allemands dont on avait fait la know, a permit to leave town was obtained from the general in command.
connaissance, et une autorisation de départ fut obtenue du général en
chef. And so, a large four-horse coach was hired for the journey, and ten
people signed up at the carrier’s. It was decided to leave one Tuesday
Donc, une grande diligence à quatre chevaux ayant été retenue pour ce morning, before dawn, so as to avoid any crowds.
voyage, et dix personnes s'étant fait inscrire chez le voiturier, on résolut
de partir un mardi matin, avant le jour, pour éviter tout rassemblement.
8 9
Depuis quelque temps déjà la gelée avait durci la terre, et le lundi, vers For some time now, the ground had been hard with frost, and on the
trois heures, de gros nuages noirs venant du Nord apportèrent la neige qui Monday, around three o’clock, great black clouds from the north brought
tomba sans interruption pendant toute la soirée et toute la nuit. snow that fell continuously all that evening and throughout the night.
A quatre heures et demie du matin, les voyageurs se réunirent dans la At half past four in the morning, the travellers met in the courtyard of
cour de l'Hôtel de Normandie, où l'on devait monter en voiture. the Normandy Hotel, where they were to board the coach.
Ils étaient encore pleins de sommeil, et grelottaient de froid sous leurs They were still half asleep and shivering with cold under their
couvertures. On se voyait mal dans l'obscurité; et l'entassement des blankets. It was hard to make each other out in the darkness; and the piles
lourds vêtements d'hiver faisait ressembler tous ces corps à des curés of heavy winter clothing they had on made them look like portly priests
obèses avec leurs longues soutanes. Mais deux hommes se reconnurent, in long cassocks. But two of the men recognised each other, a third then
un troisième les aborda, ils causèrent:—«J'emmène ma femme,»—dit joined them, and they chatted away. ‘I’m taking my wife out of this,’ said
l'un.—«J'en fais autant.»—«Et moi aussi.»—Le premier ajouta:—«Nous one. ‘I’m doing the same.’ ‘So am I.’ The first man added, ‘We’re not
ne reviendrons pas à Rouen, et si les Prussiens approchent du Havre nous coming back to Rouen. If the Prussians advance on Le Harve, we’ll make
gagnerons l'Angleterre.»—Tous avaient les mêmes projets, étant de for England.’ Being of a similar temperament, they all had the same
complexion semblable. plans.
Cependant on n'attelait pas la voiture. Une petite lanterne, que portait But the horses had not yet been harnessed. Every so often, a small
un valet d'écurie, sortait de temps à autre d'une porte obscure pour lantern carried by a stable-hand appeared from a darkened doorway, only
disparaître immédiatement dans une autre. Des pieds de chevaux to disappear immediately into another. Horses’ hooves stamped on the
frappaient la terre, amortis par le fumier des litières, et une voix d'homme ground, muffled by the dung in the stable. A man’s voice, talking and
parlant aux bêtes et jurant s'entendait au fond du bâtiment. Un léger swearing at the animals, could be heard from deep inside the building. A
murmure de grelots annonça qu'on maniait les harnais; ce murmure faint tinkling of bells signalled that the harness was being put on, and the
devint bientôt un frémissement clair et continu, rythmé par le mouvement tinkle soon became a clear and steady jingling, punctuated by the horse’s
de l'animal, s'arrêtant parfois, puis reprenant dans une brusque secousse movements – sometimes stopping, then starting up again with a sudden
qu'accompagnait le bruit mat d'un sabot ferré battant le sol. shake and the dull thud of an iron horse-shoe hitting the ground.
La porte subitement se ferma. Tout bruit cessa. Les bourgeois gelés Suddenly, the door closed. All noise ceased. The frozen townsfolk had
s'étaient tus; ils demeuraient immobiles et roidis. stopped talking and stood there, stiff and motionless.
Un rideau de flocons blancs ininterrompu miroitait sans cesse en All the while, an unbroken curtain of white flakes sparkled as it fell to
descendant vers la terre; il effaçait les formes, poudrait les choses d'une the ground, blurring shapes and powdering everything with a foaming of
mousse de glace; et l'on n'entendait plus, dans le grand silence de la ville ice. In the deep silence of the town buried in wintry stillness, you could
calme et ensevelie sous l'hiver, que ce froissement vague, innommable et hear nothing but a vague, indescribable, floating rustle of falling snow –
flottant, de la neige qui tombe, plutôt sensation que bruit, entremêlement more a sensation than a sound – a mingling of weightless atoms that
d'atomes légers qui semblaient emplir l'espace, couvrir le monde. seemed to fill up space, and cover the world.
L'homme reparut, avec sa lanterne, tirant au bout d'une corde un The man reappeared with his lantern, leading at the end of a rope a
cheval triste qui ne venait pas volontiers. Il le plaça contre le timon, sorry-looking horse that came out unwillingly. He stood it against the
attacha les traits, tourna longtemps autour pour assurer les harnais, car il coach’s shaft and fastened the traces, spending a long time going round
10 11
ne pouvait se servir que d'une main, l'autre portant sa lumière. Comme il and round to secure the harness, since he could use only one hand, the
allait chercher la seconde bête, il remarqua tous ces voyageurs other one carrying the light. As he was about to fetch the second animal,
immobiles, déjà blancs de neige, et leur dit:—«Pourquoi ne montez-vous he noticed the travellers standing motionless, already white with snow,
pas dans la voiture, vous serez à l'abri, au moins.» and said to them, ‘Why don’t you get into the coach? At least you’ll have
some shelter.’
Ils n'y avaient pas songé, sans doute, et ils se précipitèrent. Les trois
hommes installèrent leurs femmes dans le fond, montèrent ensuite; puis They’d apparently not thought of this, and rushed towards the coach.
les autres formes indécises et voilées prirent à leur tour les dernières The three men settled their wives in the back and then got in themselves.
places sans échanger une parole. Then the other vague and shrouded figures clambered on to the last seats
in turn, without exchanging a word.
Le plancher était couvert de paille où les pieds s'enfoncèrent. Les
dames du fond, ayant apporté des petites chaufferettes en cuivre avec un Their feet sank into the straw that covered the floor. The ladies in the
charbon chimique, allumèrent ces appareils, et, pendant quelque temps, à back, having brought along little copper foot-warmers that ran on some
voix basse, elles en énumérèrent les avantages, se répétant des choses chemical fuel, lit the devices, and spent some time enumerating their
qu'elles savaient déjà depuis longtemps. advantages, repeating things they all had known for ages.
Enfin, la diligence étant attelée, avec six chevaux au lieu de quatre à At last the coach was harnessed up, with six horses rather than four
cause du tirage plus pénible, une voix du dehors demanda:—«Tout le because of the more difficult conditions. A voice from outside called, ‘Is
monde est-il monté?»—Une voix du dedans répondit:—«Oui.»—On everybody in?’ A voice inside answered, ‘Yes.’ They were off.
partit.
The coach moved forward slowly, slowly, at a snail’s pace. The
La voiture avançait lentement, lentement, à tout petits pas. Les roues wheels sank into the snow; the whole body of it groaned with dull creaks;
s'enfonçaient dans la neige; le coffre entier geignait avec des craquements the animals slipped and panted and gave off steam; and the coachman’s
sourds; les bêtes glissaient, soufflaient, fumaient; et le fouet gigantesque massive whip kept cracking on and on, darting about on every side,
du cocher claquait sans repos, voltigeait de tous les côtés, se nouant et se knotting and then uncoiling like a thin snake, as it gave a sudden sting to
déroulant comme un serpent mince, et cinglant brusquement quelque some chubby rump that then would tense up for greater effort still.
croupe rebondie qui se tendait alors sous un effort plus violent.
Yet imperceptibly, it was getting lighter. Those feathery flakes that
Mais le jour imperceptiblement grandissait. Ces flocons légers qu'un one of the passengers – a Rouen man born and bred – had likened to a
voyageur, Rouennais pur sang, avait comparés à une pluie de coton, ne rainfall of cotton-wool, were no longer falling. A murky light was
tombaient plus. Une lueur sale filtrait à travers de gros nuages obscurs et filtering through vast, dark, heavy clouds, that made the whiteness of the
lourds qui rendaient plus éclatante la blancheur de la campagne où countryside more dazzling still. Sometimes, there would appear a line of
apparaissaient tantôt une ligne de grands arbres vêtus de givre, tantôt une tall trees covered in frost, sometimes a cottage with a hood of snow.
chaumière avec un capuchon de neige.
Inside the coach, by the melancholy light of dawn, they eyed each
Dans la voiture, on se regardait curieusement, à la triste clarté de cette other curiously.
aurore.
Right at the back, in the best seats, Monsieur and Madame Loiseau,
Tout au fond, aux meilleures places, sommeillaient, en face l'un de wholesale wine merchants on the rue Grand-Pont, were dozing opposite
l'autre, M. et Mme Loiseau, des marchands de vins en gros de la rue each other.
Grand-Pont.
12 13
Ancien commis d'un patron ruiné dans les affaires, Loiseau avait Formerly clerk to a merchant who had failed in business, Loiseau had
acheté le fonds et fait fortune. Il vendait à très bon marché de très bought up the concern and made his fortune. He sold very bad wine at
mauvais vin aux petits débitants des campagnes et passait parmi ses very low prices to small country shopkeepers, and was considered by his
connaissances et ses amis pour un fripon madré, un vrai Normand plein friends and acquaintances to be a wily old rascal, a typical Norman, full
de ruses et de jovialité. of tricks and joviality.
Sa réputation de filou était si bien établie, qu'un soir, à la préfecture, So well established was his reputation as a crook that, one evening at
M. Tournel, auteur de fables et de chansons, esprit mordant et fin, une the County Hall, NOTE Monsieur Tournel, a local celebrity of clever,
gloire locale, ayant proposé aux dames qu'il voyait un peu somnolentes biting wit, and the writer of stories and songs, proposed to the ladies, who
de faire une partie de «Loiseau vole», le mot lui-même vola à travers les seemed to him a little drowsy, that they should play a game of ‘L oiseau
salons du préfet, puis, gagnant ceux de la ville, avait fait rire pendant un vole’. NOTE The joke spread like wildfire through the Council Leader’s
mois toutes les mâchoires de la province. NOTE drawing rooms, and from there to those in the town. The jaws of
the entire province were in stitches for a month.
Loiseau était en outre célèbre par ses farces de toute nature, ses
plaisanteries bonnes ou mauvaises; et personne ne pouvait parler de lui In addition, Loiseau was famous for pranks of all kinds, and for his
sans ajouter immédiatement:—«Il est impayable, ce Loiseau.» jokes, good and bad. No one could speak of him without at once adding,
‘He’s priceless, that Loiseau.’
De taille exiguë, il présentait un ventre en ballon surmonté d'une face
rougeaude entre deux favoris grisonnants. A squat figure, he presented a paunch belly, topped with a ruddy face
that was framed by two greying muttonchops.
Sa femme, grande, forte, résolue, avec la voix haute et la décision
rapide, était l'ordre et l'arithmétique de la maison de commerce, qu'il His wife – tall, stout, determined-looking, with a loud voice and brisk
animait par son activité joyeuse. manner – provided the order and arithmetic for the business, which he
kept bubbling through his happy bonhomie.
A côté d'eux se tenait, plus digne, appartenant à une caste supérieure,
M. Carré-Lamadon, homme considérable, posé dans les cotons, Next to them, more dignified and belonging to a higher class, sat
propriétaire de trois filatures, officier de la Légion d'honneur et membre Monsieur Carré-Lamadon, a man of considerable substance, firmly
du Conseil général. Il était resté, tout le temps de l'Empire, chef de established in the cotton trade, the owner of three textile mills, officer of
l'opposition bienveillante, uniquement pour se faire payer plus cher son the Legion of Honour, and member of the General Council. NOTE
ralliement à la cause qu'il combattait avec des armes courtoises, selon sa Throughout the Empire, NOTE he had stayed the leader of a benevolent
propre expression. Mme Carré-Lamadon, beaucoup plus jeune que son opposition, solely to gain a better price for switching to the cause that he
mari, demeurait la consolation des officiers de bonne famille envoyés à had opposed with ‘gentlemanly weapons’, as he phrased it. Madame
Rouen en garnison. Carré-Lamadon, very much younger than her husband, remained a
consolation to those officers from good families who found themselves
Elle faisait vis-à-vis à son époux, toute petite, toute mignonne, toute stationed at Rouen.
jolie, pelotonnée dans ses fourrures, et regardait d'un oeil navré l'intérieur
lamentable de la voiture. Very dainty, very demure, very pretty, she sat opposite her husband,
cuddled up in her furs, as she looked round disconsolately at the shabby
Ses voisins, le comte et la comtesse Hubert de Bréville, portaient un interior of the coach.
des noms les plus anciens et les plus nobles de Normandie. Le comte,
vieux gentilhomme de grande tournure, s'efforçait d'accentuer, par les Her neighbours, the Count and Countess Hubert de Bréville, bore one
of the noblest and oldest names in Normandy. The Count, an old
gentleman of distinguished bearing, tried as hard as possible, through his
14 15
artifices de sa toilette, sa ressemblance naturelle avec le roy Henri IV qui, dress and grooming, to emphasise the resemblance he bore to Henry IV.
suivant une légende glorieuse pour la famille, avait rendu grosse une The latter, according to proud family legend, had fathered a child on a
dame de Bréville dont le mari, pour ce fait, était devenu comte et lady from Bréville, whose husband, as a result, had become a count and
gouverneur de province. governor of the province.
Collègue de M. Carré-Lamadon au Conseil général, le comte Hubert A colleague of Monsieur Carré-Lamadon on the General Council,
représentait le parti orléaniste dans le département. L'histoire de son Count Hubert represented the Orléanist party in the county. NOTE The
mariage avec la fille d'un petit armateur de Nantes était toujours story of his marriage to the daughter of a small Nantes shipowner had
demeurée mystérieuse. Mais comme la comtesse avait grand air, recevait always been shrouded in mystery. But since the countess had a
mieux que personne, passait même pour avoir été aimée par un des fils de distinguished air about her, was a finer hostess than anyone, and was
Louis-Philippe, toute la noblesse lui faisait fête, et son salon demeurait le even said to have been loved by one of the sons of Louis-Philippe, she
premier du pays, le seul où se conservât la vieille galanterie, et dont was celebrated by all the nobility; and her drawing-room, with its
l'entrée fût difficile. exclusive access, remained the foremost in the land – the only one to
preserve old gallantries.
La fortune des Bréville, toute en biens-fonds, atteignait, disait-on, cinq
cent mille livres de revenu. The Bréville’s fortune, all of it in landed property, was said to bring in
five hundred thousand pounds a year.
Ces six personnes formaient le fond de la voiture, le côté de la société
rentée, sereine et forte, des honnêtes gens autorisés qui ont de la Religion These six people occupied the back of the coach, representing well-
et des Principes. to-do society, serene and strong – respectable, upright people who had
both religion and principles.
Par un hasard étrange, toutes les femmes se trouvaient sur le même
banc; et la comtesse avait encore pour voisines deux bonnes soeurs qui By a strange coincidence, all the women found themselves sitting on
égrenaient de longs chapelets en marmottant des Pater et des Ave. L'une the same side; and the Countess also had as neighbours two nuns,
était vieille avec une face défoncée par la petite vérole comme si elle eût fingering their long rosaries and muttering their Our Fathers and Hail
reçu à bout portant une bordée de mitraille en pleine figure. L'autre, très Marys. One of them was old, with a face so pitted by smallpox that she
chétive, avait une tête jolie et maladive sur une poitrine de phtisique seemed to have taken a hail of shrapnel at point-blank range. The other,
rongée par cette foi dévorante qui fait les martyrs et les illuminés. very puny-looking, had a pretty but sickly countenance, and a
consumptive chest eaten away by that all-devouring faith that creates
En face des deux religieuses, un homme et une femme attiraient les martyrs and visionaries.
regards de tous.
Opposite the two nuns, a man and a woman attracted everyone’s
L'homme, bien connu, était Cornudet le démoc, la terreur des gens attention.
respectables. Depuis vingt ans, il trempait sa grande barbe rousse dans les
bocks de tous les cafés démocratiques. Il avait mangé avec les frères et The man, Cornudet, was a well-known democrat and the terror of all
amis une assez belle fortune qu'il tenait de son père, ancien confiseur, et respectable people. For twenty years, he had been dipping his great red
il attendait impatiemment la République pour obtenir enfin la place beard into the beer glasses of every pro-democratic café around, and with
méritée par tant de consommations révolutionnaires. Au Quatre the help of comrades and friends, had run through a fairly sizable fortune
Septembre, par suite d'une farce peut-être, il s'était cru nommé préfet, inherited from his father, a former confectioner. Now, he was waiting
mais quand il voulut entrer en fonctions, les garçons de bureau, demeurés impatiently for the Republic, so that he might at last obtain the position
seuls maîtres de la place, refusèrent de le reconnaître, ce qui le that so many revolutionary drinks had surely earned him. On the fourth
of September, perhaps as the result of a practical joke, he’d thought he’d
been appointed Council Leader. But when he’d tried to take up his duties,
the office workers, the only ones in charge of the place, refused to
16 17
recognise his authority, and he’d been forced to beat a retreat. He was a good-natured sort, nevertheless, harmless and obliging, and had busied
contraignit à la retraite. Fort bon garçon, du reste, inoffensif et serviable, himself with matchless enthusiasm in organising the town’s defences.
il s'était occupé avec une ardeur incomparable d'organiser la défense. Il He’d had pits dug in the open country, all the saplings in the
avait fait creuser des trous dans les plaines, coucher tous les jeunes arbres neighbouring forests felled, and traps set up on all the roads. At the
des forêts voisines, semé des pièges sur toutes les routes, et, à l'approche enemy’s approach, he had quickly doubled back into town, satisfied he’d
de l'ennemi, satisfait de ses préparatifs, il s'était vivement replié vers la done all he could to prepare.
ville.
Now, he thought, he could do more good in Le Harve, where new
Il pensait maintenant se rendre encore plus utile au Havre, où de defences were going to be needed.
nouveaux retranchements allaient être nécessaires.
The woman, one of those known as ‘loose’, was famous for a
La femme, une de celles appelées galantes, était célèbre par son premature portliness that had earned her the nickname Dumpling. NOTE
embonpoint précoce qui lui avait valu le surnom de Boule de Suif. Petite, Small, as round as a barrel, as fat as a pig, with puffy fingers tightly
ronde de partout, grasse à lard, avec des doigts bouffis, étranglés aux jointed that looked like strings of small sausages, her stretched and shiny
phalanges, pareils à des chapelets de courtes saucisses; avec une peau skin, and the enormous bosom that bulged under her dress, made her
luisante et tendue, une gorge énorme qui saillait sous sa robe, elle restait desirable and sought after nevertheless, such was the pleasure at seeing
cependant appétissante et courue, tant sa fraîcheur faisait plaisir à voir. her freshness. She had a rosy apple of a face, a peony bud just bursting
Sa figure était une pomme rouge, un bouton de pivoine prêt à fleurir; et into bloom. At the top there opened up two magnificent dark eyes,
là-dedans s'ouvraient, en haut, deux yeux noirs magnifiques, ombragés de shaded by thick black lashes that cast a shadow inside; lower down, a
grands cils épais qui mettaient une ombre dedans; en bas, une bouche small charming mouth, moist for kissing, with tiny, gleaming teeth. NOTE
charmante, étroite, humide pour le baiser, meublée de quenottes luisantes
et microscopiques. She was said, moreover, to be full of inestimable qualities.
Elle était de plus, disait-on, pleine de qualités inappréciables. As soon as she was recognised, there was hurried whispering among
the respectable women, and the words ‘prostitute’ and ‘public disgrace’
Aussitôt qu'elle fut reconnue, des chuchotements coururent parmi les were whispered loudly enough for her to look up. She cast such a direct
femmes honnêtes, et les mots de «prostituée», de «honte publique» furent and challenging look at her neighbours that total silence reigned at once,
chuchotés si haut qu'elle leva la tête. Alors elle promena sur ses voisins and everyone looked down apart from Loiseau, who was titillated as he
un regard tellement provocant et hardi qu'un grand silence aussitôt régna, gazed at her.
et tout le monde baissa les yeux à l'exception de Loiseau, qui la guettait
d'un air émoustillé. Soon, though, conversation resumed between the three ladies, whom
the presence of this ‘woman’ had suddenly made almost intimate friends.
Mais bientôt la conversation reprit entre les trois dames, que la It seemed to them they had a duty to present a united front of marital
présence de cette fille avait rendues subitement amies, presque intimes. dignity in front of this shameless harlot. Legitimised love always looks
Elles devaient faire, leur semblait-il, comme un faisceau de leurs dignités down upon its easy-going colleague.
d'épouses en face de cette vendue sans vergogne; car l'amour légal le
prend toujours de haut avec son libre confrère. The three men as well, drawn together by an instinct of preservation at
the sight of Cornudet, began to talk about money in the kind of way that
Les trois hommes aussi, rapprochés par un instinct de conservateurs à showed no regard for the poor. Count Hubert spoke of the damage that
l'aspect de Cornudet, parlaient argent d'un certain ton dédaigneux pour the Prussians had made him suffer – the losses that would result from
les pauvres. Le comte Hubert disait les dégâts que lui avaient fait subir
les Prussiens, les pertes qui résulteraient du bétail volé et des récoltes
18 19
perdues, avec une assurance de grand seigneur dix fois millionnaire que stolen livestock and ruined crops – but with the self-assurance of a
ces ravages gêneraient à peine une année. M. Carré-Lamadon, fort nobleman, a millionaire ten times over, whom this devastation would
éprouvé dans l'industrie cotonnière, avait eu soin d'envoyer six cent mille scarcely bother for as much as a year. Monsieur Carré-Lamadon, whose
francs en Angleterre, une poire pour la soif qu'il se ménageait à toute cotton business had been hard hit, had taken care to send 600,000 francs
occasion. Quant à Loiseau, il s'était arrangé pour vendre à l'Intendance to England, arranging as always to have something set aside for a rainy
française tous les vins communs qui lui restaient en cave, de sorte que day. NOTE As for Loiseau, he had managed to sell the French Supplies
l'État lui devait une somme formidable qu'il comptait bien toucher au Ministry all the ordinary wine he had left in his cellars, so that the State
Havre. now owed him a very substantial sum of money, which he was expecting
to collect at Le Harve.
Et tous les trois se jetaient des coups d'oeil rapides et amicaux. Bien
que de conditions différentes, ils se sentaient frères par l'argent, de la All three exchanged brief, friendly glances. Despite their different
grande franc-maçonnerie de ceux qui possèdent, qui font sonner de l'or en circumstances, they felt themselves brothers by dint of their money, the
mettant la main dans la poche de leur culotte. great free-masonry of those who possess, who can make gold jingle
whenever they put their hands in their trouser pockets.
La voiture allait si lentement qu'à dix heures du matin on n'avait pas
fait quatre lieues. Les hommes descendirent trois fois pour monter des The coach was moving along so slowly that, by ten o’clock that
côtes à pied. On commençait à s'inquiéter, car on devait déjeuner à Tôtes morning, they had covered less than ten miles. Three times the men got
et l'on désespérait maintenant d'y parvenir avant la nuit. Chacun guettait out to climb the hills on foot. They were beginning to worry, because
pour apercevoir un cabaret sur la route, quand la diligence sombra dans they were supposed to have lunch in Tôtes, and they despaired now of
un amoncellement de neige et il fallut deux heures pour la dégager. reaching it before nightfall. Everyone was on the lookout for a wayside
inn, when the coach got stuck in a snowdrift and it took two hours to free
L'appétit grandissait, troublait les esprits; et aucune gargote, aucun it.
marchand de vin ne se montraient, l'approche des Prussiens et le passage
des troupes françaises affamées ayant effrayé toutes les industries. As their appetites grew, their spirits sank. Not a single eating-house, a
single bar, came into sight. The Prussian advance, and the passing
Les messieurs coururent aux provisions dans les fermes au bord du through of starving French troops, had frightened all business away.
chemin, mais ils n'y trouvèrent pas même de pain, car le paysan défiant
cachait ses réserves dans la crainte d'être pillé par les soldats qui, n'ayant The men ran off for food in the farmhouses beside the road, but they
rien à se mettre sous la dent, prenaient par force ce qu'ils découvraient. couldn’t find so much as a crust of bread. The wary peasants had hidden
their supplies for fear of being looted by soldiers who had nothing to put
Vers une heure de l'après-midi, Loiseau annonça que décidément il se in their mouths, and who would take whatever they found by force.
sentait un rude creux dans l'estomac. Tout le monde souffrait comme lui
depuis longtemps; et le violent besoin de manger, augmentant toujours, At about one in the afternoon, Loiseau declared that he could
avait tué les conversations. positively feel a hard emptiness in his stomach. Everyone had been
suffering similarly for a long time; and the violent need for food, that
De temps en temps, quelqu'un bâillait; un autre presque aussitôt kept on growing, had killed all conversation.
l'imitait; et chacun, à tour de rôle, suivant son caractère, son savoir-vivre
et sa position sociale, ouvrait la bouche avec fracas ou modestement en From time to time, someone would yawn. Someone else would almost
portant vite sa main devant le trou béant d'où sortait une vapeur. immediately do the same; and everyone in turn – according to character,
manners, and social position – would open their mouth either noisily or
Boule de Suif, à plusieurs reprises, se pencha comme si elle cherchait discreetly, bringing their hands up over the gaping hole from which a
frozen breath emerged.
On several occasions, the Dumpling would lean down, as if looking

20 21
quelque chose sous ses jupons. Elle hésitait une seconde, regardait ses something under her skirts. She would hesitate a second, look at her
voisins, puis se redressait tranquillement. Les figures étaient pâles et neighbours, then quietly sit upright again. Every face was pale and tense.
crispées. Loiseau affirma qu'il payerait mille francs un jambonneau. Sa Loiseau declared he would give a thousand pounds for a knuckle of ham.
femme fit un geste comme pour protester; puis elle se calma. Elle His wife made a gesture as if to protest, but then calmed down. It always
souffrait toujours en entendant parler d'argent gaspillé, et ne comprenait hurt her to hear of money being wasted, and she didn’t even understand
même pas les plaisanteries sur ce sujet. «Le fait est que je ne me sens pas jokes on the subject. ‘The fact is that I don’t feel well,’ said the Count,
bien, dit le comte, comment n'ai-je pas songé à apporter des ‘how could I have thought not to bring food?’ Everyone was regretting
provisions?»—Chacun se faisait le même reproche. the same oversight.
Cependant, Cornudet avait une gourde pleine de rhum; il en offrit; on Cornudet, however, had on him a flask of rum. He offered it round,
refusa froidement. Loiseau seul en accepta deux gouttes, et, lorsqu'il and was coldly refused. Loiseau alone took a couple of sips, and returned
rendit la gourde, il remercia: «C'est bon tout de même, ça réchauffe, et ça it with his thanks, ‘Good stuff, that. Warms you up. Cheats the appetite.’
trompe l'appétit.»—L'alcool le mit en belle humeur et il proposa de faire The alcohol had put him in a cheery mood, and he suggested they did like
comme sur le petit navire de la chanson: de manger le plus gras des the sailors in the song about the little boat: eat the fattest of the
voyageurs. Cette allusion indirecte à Boule de Suif choqua les gens bien passengers. This oblique reference to the Dumpling shocked those who’d
élevés. On ne répondit pas; Cornudet seul eut un sourire. Les deux been brought up well. No one responded; only Cornudet managed a
bonnes soeurs avaient cessé de marmotter leur rosaire, et, les mains smile. The two nuns had stopped mumbling over their rosaries. They
enfoncées dans leurs grandes manches, elles se tenaient immobiles, remained still, hands deep inside their long sleeves, eyes resolutely cast
baissant obstinément les yeux, offrant sans doute au Ciel la souffrance down, no doubt offering up to Heaven the suffering it had sent them.
qu'il leur envoyait.
Finally, at three o’clock, as they found themselves in the middle of an
Enfin, à trois heures, comme on se trouvait au milieu d'une plaine endless plain, with not a single village in sight, the Dumpling bent down
interminable, sans un seul village en vue, Boule de Suif se baissant quickly and drew out from under her seat a large basket covered with a
vivement, retira de sous la banquette un large panier couvert d'une white napkin.
serviette blanche.
First she took out a small china plate and a delicate silver tumbler,
Elle en sortit d'abord une petite assiette de faïence, une fine timbale en then a huge terrine in which two whole chickens, all carved up, were
argent, puis une vaste terrine dans laquelle deux poulets entiers, tout preserved in their own aspic. They caught sight of more good things in
découpés, avaient confi sous leur gelée; et l'on apercevait encore dans le the basket, all wrapped up: pâtés, fruit, other delicacies. She had prepared
panier d'autres bonnes choses enveloppées, des pâtés, des fruits, des food for three days’ travelling, so as to avoid the cooking of wayside
friandises, les provisions préparées pour un voyage de trois jours, afin de inns. The necks of four bottles protruded from among the packages of
ne point toucher à la cuisine des auberges. Quatre goulots de bouteilles food. She took a chicken wing and, daintily, began to eat it with one of
passaient entre les paquets de nourriture. Elle prit une aile de poulet et, those little rolls known in Normandy as a régence.
délicatement, se mit à la manger avec un de ces petits pains qu'on appelle
«Régence» en Normandie. Every eye was trained on her. Then the smell began to spread; nostrils
flared, mouths watered with saliva, and jaws painfully contracted under
Tous les regards étaient tendus vers elle. Puis l'odeur se répandit, the ears. The ladies’ contempt for this ‘woman’ was turning into a
élargissant les narines, faisant venir aux bouches une salive abondante ferocious longing, either to kill her, or to cast her, with her tumbler, her
avec une contraction douloureuse de la mâchoire sous les oreilles. Le
mépris des dames pour cette fille devenait féroce, comme une envie de la
22 23
tuer ou de la jeter en bas de la voiture, dans la neige, elle, sa timbale, son basket, her provisions, out of the coach and into the snow.
panier et ses provisions.
Loiseau was eating the terrine of chicken with his eyes. ‘When all’s
Mais Loiseau dévorait des yeux la terrine de poulet. Il dit: «A la said and done,’ NOTE he declared, ‘Madame here has taken more
bonne heure, madame a eu plus de précaution que nous. Il y a des precautions than we have. Some people always think of everything.’
personnes qui savent toujours penser à tout.» Elle leva la tête vers lui: «Si She looked up at him. ‘Would you like some, sir? It’s hard to go all day
vous en désirez, monsieur? C'est dur de jeûner depuis le matin.» Il salua: long without food.’ He bowed. ‘Good lord, to be frank, I can’t refuse. I
«Ma foi, franchement, je ne refuse pas, je n'en peux plus. A la guerre can’t stand any more of this. Desperate times, desperate measures, eh,
comme à la guerre, n'est-ce pas, madame?» Et, jetant un regard circulaire, madame?’ NOTE And, glancing around at everyone, he added, ‘At times
il ajouta: «Dans des moments comme celui-ci, on est bien aise de trouver like this, it’s so good to find people who will help.’ He had a newspaper
des gens qui vous obligent.»—Il avait un journal qu'il étendit pour ne that he spread out so as not to get grease on his trousers; and with the
point tacher son pantalon, et sur la pointe d'un couteau toujours logé dans point of a pocket-knife that he always carried, he lifted a drumstick all
sa poche, il enleva une cuisse toute vernie de gelée, la dépeça des dents, glazed with aspic. Tearing at it with his teeth, he munched it with such
puis la mâcha avec une satisfaction si évidente qu'il y eut dans la voiture obvious relish that a great sigh of distress went up in the coach.
un grand soupir de détresse.
But the Dumpling, in a humble, gentle voice, asked the nuns to share
Mais Boule de Suif, d'une voix humble et douce, proposa aux bonnes her meal. Both of them accepted straight away and, having stammered
soeurs de partager sa collation. Elles acceptèrent toutes les deux their thanks, began to eat as fast as they could, without looking up.
instantanément, et, sans lever les yeux, se mirent à manger très vite après Cornudet didn’t refuse his neighbour’s offer either, and with the nuns, a
avoir balbutié des remerciements. Cornudet ne refusa pas non plus les sort of table was formed by draping newspapers over their knees.
offres de sa voisine, et l'on forma avec les religieuses une sorte de table
en développant des journaux sur les genoux. Mouths opened and closed without a pause, swallowing, chewing,
gulping down ferociously. In his corner, Loiseau was solidly at work, and
Les bouches s'ouvraient et se fermaient sans cesse, avalaient, in a low voice, he urged his wife to do the same. For a long time, she
mastiquaient, engloutissaient férocement. Loiseau, dans son coin, resisted, but then a spasm of hunger ran right through her insides, and she
travaillait dur, et, à voix basse, il engageait sa femme à l'imiter. Elle gave in. Her husband, choosing his words with care, asked their
résista longtemps, puis, après une crispation qui lui parcourut les ‘charming companion’ if she would allow him to offer a morsel to
entrailles, elle céda. Alors son mari, arrondissant sa phrase, demanda à Madame Loiseau. ‘Of course, sir, certainly,’ she said with a kindly smile,
leur «charmante compagne» si elle lui permettait d'offrir un petit morceau and held out the terrine.
à Mme Loiseau. Elle dit: «Mais oui, certainement, monsieur,» avec un
sourire aimable, et tendit la terrine. Some awkwardness arose when they opened the first bottle of claret.
There was only one goblet. But after wiping it, they passed it round. Only
Un embarras se produisit lorsqu'on eût débouché la première bouteille Cornudet, out of gallantry no doubt, placed his lips on the spot that was
de bordeaux: il n'y avait qu'une timbale. On se la passa après l'avoir still wet from the lips of his female neighbour.
essuyée. Cornudet seul, par galanterie sans doute, posa ses lèvres à la
place humide encore des lèvres de sa voisine. Surrounded by people eating, and choking from the smell of food, the
Count and Countess de Bréville, as well as Monsieur and Madame Carré-
Alors, entourés de gens qui mangeaient, suffoqués par les émanations Lamadon, were suffering that awful torture associated with the name of
des nourritures, le comte et la comtesse de Bréville, ainsi que M. et Mme
Carré-Lamadon souffrirent ce supplice odieux qui a gardé le nom de
24 25
Tantale. Tout d'un coup la jeune femme du manufacturier poussa un Tantalus. Suddenly, the manufacturer’s young wife let out a sigh that
soupir qui fit retourner les têtes; elle était aussi blanche que la neige du made everybody turn. She was as white as the snow outside. Her eyes
dehors; ses yeux se fermèrent, son front tomba: elle avait perdu closed, and her head fell forward: she had lost consciousness. Panic-
connaissance. Son mari, affolé, implorait le secours de tout le monde. stricken, her husband begged for everyone’s help. But their minds
Chacun perdait l'esprit, quand la plus âgée des bonnes soeurs, soutenant seemed to have gone blank until the elder of the nuns lifted up the poor
la tête de la malade, glissa entre ses lèvres la timbale de Boule de Suif et woman’s head, slipped the Dumpling’s goblet between her lips, and
lui fit avaler quelques gouttes de vin. La jolie dame remua, ouvrit les made her swallow a few drops of wine. The pretty lady stirred, opened
yeux, sourit et déclara d'une voix mourante qu'elle se sentait fort bien her eyes, smiled, and declared in a faint voice that she was feeling
maintenant. Mais, afin que cela ne se renouvelât plus, la religieuse la perfectly well now. But, so it wouldn’t happen again, the nun made her
contraignit à boire un plein verre de bordeaux, et elle ajouta:—«C'est la drink a whole glass of claret, adding, ‘It’s just hunger, nothing else.’
faim, pas autre chose.» Alors Boule de Suif, rougissante et embarrassée, Blushing and embarrassed, the Dumpling looked at the four travellers
balbutia en regardant les quatre voyageurs restés à jeun: «Mon Dieu, si still without food, and stammered, ‘My goodness, if I dared offer these
j'osais offrir à ces messieurs et à ces dames ...» Elle se tut, craignant un ladies and gentlemen…’ She fell silent, afraid of causing offence.
outrage. Loiseau prit la parole: «Eh, parbleu, dans des cas pareils tout le Loiseau spoke up, ‘Look, in these circumstances, we’re all brothers and
monde est frère et doit s'aider. Allons, mesdames, pas de cérémonie, sisters. We must help each other out. Come along, ladies. No fuss now.
acceptez, que diable! Savons-nous si nous trouverons seulement une For God’s sake, eat. Who knows if we’ll even find an inn to spend the
maison où passer la nuit? Du train dont nous allons nous ne serons pas à night. At the rate we’re going, we won’t be in Tôtes before noon
Tôtes avant demain midi.»—On hésitait, personne n'osant assumer la tomorrow.’ They hesitated, no one daring to take responsibility for saying
responsabilité du «oui». ‘yes’.
Mais le comte trancha la question. Il se tourna vers la grosse fille The Count quickly settled the question. Turning towards the fat,
intimidée, et, prenant son grand air de gentilhomme, il lui dit: «Nous cowed woman, he replied in his most lordly manner, ‘Madame, we
acceptons avec reconnaissance, madame.» gratefully accept.’
Le premier pas seul coûtait. Une fois le Rubicon passé, on s'en donna Only the first step was hard. Once the Rubicon had been crossed, they
carrément. Le panier fut vidé. Il contenait encore un pâté de foie gras, un set squarely to work. The basket was emptied and still found to contain a
pâté de mauviettes, un morceau de langue fumée, des poires de Crassane, pâté of foie gras, a pâté of lark, a piece of smoked tongue, some Crassane
un pavé de Pont-l'Evêque, des petits-fours et une tasse pleine de pears, a slab of Pont l‘Évêque cheese, some petits fours, and a cup full of
cornichons et d'oignons au vinaigre, Boule de Suif, comme toutes les pickled cucumbers and onions. Like all women, the Dumpling loved raw
femmes, adorant les crudités. vegetables.
On ne pouvait manger les provisions de cette fille sans lui parler. They could hardly eat the loose woman’s food without speaking to
Donc on causa, avec réserve d'abord, puis, comme elle se tenait fort bien, her. So they began to talk, with reserve at first, but then, as she was
on s'abandonna davantage. Mmes de Bréville et Carré-Lamadon, qui behaving with perfect manners, they opened up more. Mesdames de
avaient un grand savoir-vivre, se firent gracieuses avec délicatesse. La Bréville and Carré-Lamadon, ladies of high refinement, were gracious
comtesse surtout montra cette condescendance aimable des très nobles and diplomatic. The Countess, in particular, showed the kindly
dames qu'aucun contact ne peut salir, et fut charmante. Mais la forte condescension of a noblewoman whom no contact could ever sully, and
Mme Loiseau, qui avait une âme de gendarme, resta revêche, parlant peu was charming. But stout, old Madame Loiseau, who had the soul of a
et mangeant beaucoup. police-officer, continued surly, speaking little and eating a lot.
26 27
On s'entretint de la guerre, naturellement. On raconta des faits Naturally, they talked about the war, the terrible things that the
horribles des Prussiens, des traits de bravoure des Français; et tous ces Prussians had done, and the courageous deeds of the French. All these
gens qui fuyaient rendirent hommage au courage des autres. Les histoires people who were running away as fast as they could paid tribute to the
personnelles commencèrent bientôt, et Boule de Suif raconta, avec une bravery of the others. Personal stories soon followed. With real emotion,
émotion vraie, avec cette chaleur de parole qu'ont parfois les filles pour and the passionate language that loose women sometimes use to express
exprimer leurs emportements naturels, comment elle avait quitté Rouen: their natural anger, the Dumpling told how she had come to leave Rouen.
«J'ai cru d'abord que je pourrais rester, dit-elle. J'avais ma maison pleine ‘At first I thought I could stay,’ she said. ‘I’d a house full of food, and I
de provisions, et j'aimais mieux nourrir quelques soldats que m'expatrier preferred to feed a few soldiers than be banished to goodness knows
je ne sais où. Mais quand je les ai vus, ces Prussiens, ce fut plus fort que where. But when I saw them, those Prussians, it was more than I could
moi! Ils m'ont tourné le sang de colère; et j'ai pleuré de honte toute la take! They made my blood boil; I cried all day long out of shame. Oh, if
journée. Oh! si j'étais un homme, allez! Je les regardais de ma fenêtre, ces only I’d been a man! I’d watch them out of my window, those fat pigs
gros porcs avec leur casque à pointe, et ma bonne me tenait les mains with their pointy helmets. And my maid had to hold my hands down to
pour m'empêcher de leur jeter mon mobilier sur le dos. Puis il en est venu stop me throwing my furniture down on their backs. Then some of them
pour loger chez moi; alors j'ai sauté à la gorge du premier. Ils ne sont pas came to stay in my house. I leapt at the first one’s throat. They aren’t any
plus difficiles à étrangler que d'autres! Et je l'aurais terminé, celui-là, si harder to strangle than anyone else! And I’d have finished him off, too, if
l'on ne m'avait pas tirée par les cheveux. Il a fallu me cacher après ça. they hadn’t dragged me away by the hair. I had to hide after that. In the
Enfin, quand j'ai trouvé une occasion, je suis partie, et me voici.» end, when I’d the chance, I left, and here I am.’
On la félicita beaucoup. Elle grandissait dans l'estime de ses She was warmly congratulated, and rose in the esteem of her
compagnons qui ne s'étaient pas montrés si crânes; et Cornudet, en companions, none of whom had shown such bravery. Listening to her,
l'écoutant, gardait un sourire approbateur et bienveillant d'apôtre; de Cornudet retained the kindly, approving smile of an apostle, the smile of
même un prêtre entend un dévot louer Dieu, car les démocrates à longue a priest hearing a true believer praising God. For just as men in cassocks
barbe ont le monopole du patriotisme comme les hommes en soutane ont have a monopoly on religion, so too do democrats with long beards have
celui de la religion. Il parla à son tour d'un ton doctrinaire, avec a monopoly on patriotism. He too held forth in turn, with the dogmatic
l'emphase apprise dans les proclamations qu'on collait chaque jour aux bombast he had picked up from the proclamations pasted daily on the
murs, et il finit par un morceau d'éloquence où il étrillait magistralement walls. He finished with a bit of eloquence in which he masterfully
cette «crapule de Badinguet». trounced that ‘scum Badinguet’. NOTE
Mais Boule de Suif aussitôt se fâcha, car elle était bonapartiste. Elle The Dumpling, though, immediately lost her temper, since she was a
devenait plus rouge qu'une guigne, et, bégayant d'indignation: «J'aurais Bonapartist. Turning redder than a cherry, she stammered indignantly,
bien voulu vous voir à sa place, vous autres. Ça aurait été du propre, ah ‘I’d have liked to have seen you in his shoes, any of you. What a
oui! C'est vous qui l'avez trahi, cet homme! On n'aurait plus qu'à quitter shambles that would have been, eh? That man – it’s you who’ve betrayed
la France si l'on était gouverné par des polissons comme vous!» him. We’d all have had to leave France if it’d been run by scoundrels like
Cornudet, impassible, gardait un sourire dédaigneux et supérieur, mais on you!’ Cornudet, unmoved, retained his disdainful, superior smile; but you
sentait que les gros mots allaient arriver quand le comte s'interposa et could sense that heated words were about to erupt when the Count
calma, non sans peine, la fille exaspérée, en proclamant avec autorité que stepped in. Not without difficulty, he calmed the aggravated woman
toutes les opinions sincères étaient respectables. Cependant la comtesse down, declaring authoritatively that all opinions sincerely held were
et la manufacturière, qui avaient dans l'âme la haine irraisonnée des gens worthy of respect. The Countess and the manufacturer’s wife, however,
comme il faut pour la République, et cette instinctive tendresse que who harboured in their hearts the irrational hatred for the Republic felt by
all respectable people, as well as that instinctive feeling all women have
28 29
nourrissent toutes les femmes pour les gouvernements à panache et showy, despotic governments, felt drawn despite themselves to this
despotiques, se sentaient, malgré elles, attirées vers cette prostituée pleine dignified prostitute, whose views so closely coincided with their own.
de dignité, dont les sentiments ressemblaient si fort aux leurs.
The basket was now empty. Between the ten of them, they had made
Le panier était vide. A dix on l'avait tari sans peine, en regrettant qu'il short work of its contents, and they were sorry it hadn’t been bigger.
ne fût pas plus grand. La conversation continua quelque temps, un peu Conversation continued for some while, but cooled a little once they had
refroidie néanmoins depuis qu'on avait fini de manger. finished eating.
La nuit tombait, l'obscurité peu à peu devint profonde, et le froid, plus Night was falling, and little by little the darkness deepened. The cold,
sensible pendant les digestions, faisait frissonner Boule de Suif, malgré which was more noticeable as they digested, made the Dumpling shiver,
sa graisse. Alors Mme de Bréville lui proposa sa chaufferette dont le despite her chubbiness. Madame de Bréville offered her her little foot-
charbon, depuis le matin, avait été plusieurs fois renouvelé, et l'autre warmer, which had been refuelled several times since the morning, and
accepta tout de suite, car elle se sentait les pieds gelés. Mmes Carré- the Dumpling accepted immediately, for she felt her feet were freezing.
Lamadon et Loiseau donnèrent les leurs aux religieuses. Madame Carré-Lamadon and Madame Loiseau gave theirs to the nuns.
Le cocher avait allumé ses lanternes. Elles éclairaient d'une lueur vive The coachman had lit the lanterns. They cast a bright glare on the
un nuage de buée au-dessus de la croupe en sueur des timoniers, et, des cloud of steam that hovered over the sweating rumps of the wheel-horses,
deux côtés de la route, la neige qui semblait se dérouler sous le reflet and on the snow that seemed to unroll under the shifting beams of light
mobile des lumières. on both sides of the road.
On ne distinguait plus rien dans la voiture; mais tout à coup un Inside the coach, nothing now could be made out. All of a sudden,
mouvement se fit entre Boule de Suif et Cornudet; et Loiseau, dont l'oeil though, there was some kind of movement between the Dumpling and
fouillait l'ombre, crut voir l'homme à la grande barbe s'écarter vivement Cornudet. Loiseau, peering into the darkness, thought he saw the long-
comme s'il eût reçu quelque bon coup lancé sans bruit. bearded man recoil suddenly, as if from some soundless, well-aimed
blow.
Des petits points de feu parurent en avant sur la route. C'était Tôtes.
On avait marché onze heures, ce qui, avec les deux heures de repos Little dots of light appeared on the road ahead. It was Tôtes. They had
laissées en quatre fois aux chevaux pour manger l'avoine et souffler, been travelling for eleven hours. With the four rest periods for the horses
faisait quatorze. On entra dans le bourg et devant l'Hôtel du Commerce to eat their oats and get their breath back, which had taken two hours, it
on s'arrêta. amounted to thirteen hours. NOTE They entered the town and stopped
outside the Commercial Hotel.
La portière s'ouvrit! Un bruit bien connu fit tressaillir tous les
voyageurs; c'étaient les heurts d'un fourreau de sabre sur le sol. Aussitôt The coach-door was opened, and a familiar sound made all the
la voix d'un Allemand cria quelque chose. travellers jump: the scraping of a sabre sheath along the ground.
Immediately, a German voice shouted something out.
Bien que la diligence fût immobile, personne ne descendait, comme si
l'on se fût attendu à être massacré à la sortie. Alors le conducteur apparut, The coach had come to a complete halt, but no one got out, as if they
tenant à la main une de ses lanternes qui éclaira subitement jusqu'au fond were expecting to be slaughtered as they stepped down. Then the
de la voiture les deux rangs de têtes effarées, dont les bouches étaient coachman appeared, holding in his hand one of the lanterns that suddenly
ouvertes et les yeux écarquillés de surprise et d'épouvante. lit up all the way to the back of the coach. Two rows of terrified faces
stared out open-mouthed, wide-eyed with shock and fear.
30 31
A côté du cocher se tenait, en pleine lumière, un officier allemand, un Standing beside the coachman, in the full glare of the lantern, was a
grand jeune homme excessivement mince et blond, serré dans son German officer. He was a tall young man, extremely thin and blond, his
uniforme comme une fille en son corset, et portant sur le côté sa uniform fitting as tightly as a woman’s corset, and tilted to one side of his
casquette plate et cirée qui le faisait ressembler au chasseur d'un hôtel head, a flat shiny cap which made him look like some page-boy in an
anglais. Sa moustache démesurée, à longs poils droits, s'amincissant English hotel. His enormous moustache, with its long straight hairs
indéfiniment de chaque côté et terminée par un seul fil blond, si mince tapering off indeterminately on either side, and ending in a single hair so
qu'on n'en apercevait pas la fin, semblait peser sur les coins de sa bouche, fine its tip was invisible, seemed to weigh upon the corners of his mouth
et, tirant la joue, imprimait aux lèvres un pli tombant. and pull his cheeks down, so that his lips appeared to droop.
Il invita en français d'Alsacien les voyageurs à sortir, disant d'un ton In a heavy Alsatian accent, he asked the travellers to step down,
raide:«—Foulez-vous tescentre, messieurs et tames?» saying stiffly, ‘Vood you pleass get out, ladiess end chentlemen?’ NOTE
Les deux bonnes soeurs obéirent les premières avec une docilité de The two nuns were the first to obey, with the meekness of holy sisters
saintes filles habituées à toutes les soumissions. Le comte et la comtesse who were used always to submit. The Count and the Countess appeared
parurent ensuite, suivis du manufacturier et de sa femme, puis de Loiseau next, followed by the manufacturer and his wife, then by Loiseau pushing
poussant devant lui sa grande moitié. Celui-ci, en mettant pied à terre, dit his bigger and better half in front of him. As he set foot on the ground, he
à l'officier: «Bonjour monsieur», par un sentiment de prudence bien plus said to the officer, ‘Good evening, sir,’ more out of caution than
que par politesse. L'autre insolent comme les gens tout-puissants, le politeness. With the insolence of total power, the officer looked at him
regarda sans répondre. without responding.
Boule de Suif et Cornudet, bien que près de la portière, descendirent Although closest to the door, the Dumpling and Cornudet were the
les derniers, graves et hautains devant l'ennemi. La grosse fille tâchait de last to get out, serious and haughty in the face of the enemy. The plump
se dominer et d'être calme: le démoc tourmentait d'une main tragique et woman tried to control herself and to stay calm; the democrat was
un peu tremblante sa longue barbe roussâtre. Ils voulaient garder de la yanking at his long, reddish beard with a tragic and slightly shaky hand.
dignité, comprenant qu'en ces rencontres-là chacun représente un peu son They wanted to maintain their dignity, conscious that in encounters like
pays; et pareillement révoltés par la souplesse de leurs compagnons, elle, this, everyone represents their country in some way. Disgusted by the
tâchait de se montrer plus fière que ses voisines, les femmes honnêtes, spinelessness of their companions, she tried to show her greater pride
tandis que lui, sentant bien qu'il devait l'exemple, continuait en toute son compared with her neighbours, the respectable women; whilst he, feeling
attitude sa mission de résistance commencée au défoncement des routes. he should set an example, showed in his whole attitude the resistance that
had begun in the digging up of the roads.
On entra dans la vaste cuisine de l'auberge, et l'Allemand, s'étant fait
présenter l'autorisation de départ signée par le général en chef et où They entered the inn’s vast kitchen, where the German was shown the
étaient mentionnés les noms, le signalement et la profession de chaque travel permit signed by the general in command, which listed the names,
voyageur, examina longuement tout ce monde, comparant les personnes descriptions, and professions of each traveller. He inspected everyone at
aux renseignements écrits. length, checking the people against the written information.
Puis il dit brusquement:—«C'est pien», et il disparut. Then, ‘It iss goot,’ he said curtly, and disappeared.
Alors on respira. On avait faim encore; le souper fut commandé. Une They could all breathe again. Still hungry, supper was ordered. Half
demi-heure était nécessaire pour l'apprêter; et, pendant que deux an hour would be needed to prepare it, and while two servants were
32 33
servantes avaient l'air de s'en occuper, on alla visiter les chambres. Elles apparently looking after it, they went to inspect the bedrooms. They were
se trouvaient toutes dans un long couloir que terminait une porte vitrée all off a long corridor, at the end of which was a glazed door with the
marquée d'un numéro parlant. number ‘1oo’ on it. NOTE
Enfin on allait se mettre à table, quand le patron de l'auberge parut lui- At last everyone was taking a seat at the table, when the innkeeper
même. C'était un ancien marchand de chevaux, un gros homme himself appeared. He was a former horse-dealer, a fat, asthmatic man
asthmatique, qui avait toujours des sifflements, des enrouements, des who was always hoarse and wheezing, and rattling the phlegm in his
chants de glaires dans le larynx. Son père lui avait transmis le nom de throat. His father had bequeathed him the name of Follenvie.
Follenvie.
He asked, ‘Mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset?’
Il demanda:
The Dumpling jumped and turned around, ‘That’s me.’
—Mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset?
‘Mademoiselle, the Prussian officer would like a word with you,
Boule de Suif tressaillit, se retourna: straight away.’
—C'est moi. ‘With me?’
—Mademoiselle, l'officier prussien veut vous parler immédiatement. ‘If you’re really Mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset, yes.’
—A moi? Flustered, she thought for a moment, then said bluntly,
—Oui, si vous êtes bien mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset. ‘That may be. But I’m not going.’
Elle se troubla, réfléchit une seconde, puis déclara carrément: There was a stir around her. Every one was talking, trying to work out
the reason for the summons. The Count approached her.
—C'est possible, mais je n'irai pas.
‘Madame, you’re making a mistake. Your refusal could bring about
Un mouvement se fit autour d'elle; chacun discutait, cherchait la cause serious difficulties, not just for you, but for all your companions. You
de cet ordre. Le comte s'approcha: should never resist those stronger than you. The request can surely not
mean danger. It’s probably some formality that’s been overlooked.’
—Vous avez tort, madame, car votre refus peut amener des difficultés
considérables, non seulement pour vous, mais même pour tous vos Everyone supported him. They begged her, pressured her, lectured
compagnons. Il ne faut jamais résister aux gens qui sont les plus forts. her, and finally convinced her. All feared the complications that could
Cette démarche assurément ne peut présenter aucun danger; c'est sans result from an impulsive response. Finally, she said,
doute pour quelque formalité oubliée.
‘Just remember, I’m doing this for you.’
Tout le monde se joignit à lui, on la pria, on la pressa, on la sermonna,
et l'on finit par la convaincre; car tous redoutaient les complications qui
pourraient résulter d'un coup de tête. Elle dit enfin:
—C'est pour vous que je le fais, bien sûr!
34 35
La comtesse lui prit la main: The Countess took her hand:
—Et nous vous remercions. ‘And we thank you for it.’
Elle sortit. On l'attendit pour se mettre à table. She went out. They all waited for her return before sitting down at the
table.
Chacun se désolait de n'avoir pas été demandé à la place de cette fille
violente et irascible, et préparait mentalement des platitudes pour le cas Each of them regretted they had not been asked for, instead of that
où on l'appellerait à son tour. violent, quick-tempered girl; and they turned over in their minds the
banalities they would offer should they in turn be called.
Mais, au bout de dix minutes, elle reparut, soufflant, rouge à
suffoquer, exaspérée. Elle balbutiait: «Oh! la canaille! la canaille!» In ten minutes, though, she had reappeared, panting, as red as if she’d
been smothered, furious. She stammered out, ‘The bastard, the filthy
Tous s'empressaient pour savoir, mais elle ne dit rien; et comme le bastard.’
comte insistait, elle répondit avec une grande dignité: «Non, cela ne vous
regarde pas, je ne peux pas parler.» Everyone crowded round to find out what had happened, but she said
nothing. When the Count began to insist, she replied with great dignity,
Alors on s'assit autour d'une haute soupière d'où sortait un parfum de ‘No, it has nothing to do with you. I can’t talk about it.’
choux. Malgré cette alerte, le souper fut gai. Le cidre était bon, le ménage
Loiseau et les bonnes soeurs en prirent, par économie. Les autres They all sat down around a large soup tureen from which the smell of
demandèrent du vin; Cornudet réclama de la bière. Il avait une façon cabbage rose. In spite of the incident, supper was cheerful. The cider was
particulière de déboucher la bouteille, de faire mousser le liquide, de le good; and, for economy’s sake, the Loiseaus and the nuns had some. All
considérer en penchant le verre, qu'il élevait ensuite entre la lampe et son the others ordered wine, apart from Cornudet who called for beer. He had
oeil pour bien apprécier la couleur. Quand il buvait, sa grande barbe, qui a particular way of opening the bottle, making the beer foam, and
avait gardé la nuance de son breuvage aimé, semblait tressaillir de watching it as he tilted the glass, which he then held up between the lamp
tendresse; ses yeux louchaient pour ne point perdre de vue sa chope, et il and his eye, the better to appraise the colour. When he drank, his large
avait l'air de remplir l'unique fonction pour laquelle il était né. On eût dit beard – which matched the colour of his favourite beverage – seemed to
qu'il établissait en son esprit un rapprochement et comme une affinité quiver affectionately. His eyes squinted so as not to lose sight of his
entre les deux grandes passions qui occupaient toute sa vie: le Pale Ale et tankard, and he looked as if he were fulfilling the one function for which
la Révolution; et assurément il ne pouvait déguster l'un sans songer à he had been born. You might have said he had established in his mind a
l'autre. connection, an affinity even, between the two great passions that
consumed his life: pale ale and revolution. He could not taste the one
M. et Mme Follenvie dînaient tout au bout de la table. L'homme, without automatically thinking of the other.
râlant comme une locomotive crevée, avait trop de tirage dans la poitrine
pour pouvoir parler en mangeant; mais la femme ne se taisait jamais. Elle Monsieur and Madame Follenvie were eating at the far end of the
raconta toutes ses impressions à l'arrivée des Prussiens, ce qu'ils faisaient, table. The man, wheezing like a broken-down locomotive, had too tight a
ce qu'ils disaient, les exécrant, d'abord, parce qu'ils lui coûtaient de chest to be able to speak while eating. But the woman never stopped
l'argent, et, ensuite, parce qu'elle avait deux fils à l'armée. Elle s'adressait talking. She related all her impressions of the Prussians’ arrival, what
surtout à la comtesse, flattée de causer avec une dame de qualité. they had done, what they had said – cursing them first for costing her
money, and then because she had two sons in the army. She directed
most of her comments to the Countess, honoured to chat with a lady of
quality.
36 37
Puis elle baissait la voix pour dire des choses délicates, et son mari, de Then she would lower her voice to broach more delicate matters, and
temps en temps, l'interrompait: from time to time, her husband would interrupt,
—Tu ferais mieux de te taire, madame Follenvie. Mais elle n'en tenait ‘Madame Follenvie, you’d be better off keeping quiet.’ But she took
aucun compte, et continuait: not the slightest notice, and continued:
—Oui, madame, ces gens-là ça ne fait que manger des pommes de ‘Yes, my lady, those people, they do nothing but eat potatoes and
terre et du cochon, et puis du cochon et des pommes de terre. Et il ne faut pork, then pork and potatoes. And don’t think they’re clean. Oh no! They
pas croire qu'ils sont propres.—Oh non!—Ils ordurent partout, sauf le do their…begging your pardon, my lady…do their business all over the
respect que je vous dois. Et si vous les voyiez faire l'exercice pendant des place. And if you were ever to see them doing their drill, hours and days
heures et des jours; ils sont là tous dans un champ:—et marche en avant, on end. There they all are, out in a field – forward march, backward
et marche en arrière, et tourne par-ci, et tourne par-là.—S'ils cultivaient la march, turn this way, turn that. If only they farmed the land, or mended
terre au moins, ou s'ils travaillaient aux routes dans leur pays!—Mais their own country’s roads. But no, my lady, that’s soldiers, not a scrap of
non, madame, ces militaires, ça n'est profitable à personne! Faut-il que le use to anyone. Do poor people have to feed them just so they can learn
pauvre peuple les nourrisse pour n'apprendre rien qu'à massacrer!—Je ne how to kill? I’m just an old woman, I know…no education. But seeing
suis qu'une vieille femme sans éducation, c'est vrai, mais en les voyant them knocking themselves out marching around from morning to night, I
qui s'esquintent le tempérament à piétiner du matin au soir, je me dis:— ask myself, when there’re people who find so many new ways of being
Quand il y a des gens qui font tant de découvertes pour être utiles, faut il useful, why must others go out of their way to do harm? Really, isn’t it
que d'autres se donnent tant de mal pour être nuisibles! Vraiment, n'est-ce just horrible to kill people, whether they’re Prussians, or English, or
pas une abomination de tuer des gens qu'ils soient Prussiens, ou bien Polish, or French? If you take revenge on someone who’s done you harm,
Anglais, ou bien Polonais, ou bien Français?—Si l'on se revenge sur that’s wrong and you’re punished for it. But when our boys are shot dead
quelqu'un qui vous a fait tort, c'est mal, puisqu'on vous condamne; mais like animals, that’s all right. The more you kill, the more they give you
quand on extermine nos garçons comme du gibier, avec des fusils, c'est medals. You see, I’ll never be able to understand that. Never.’
donc bien, puisqu'on donne des décorations à celui qui en détruit le
plus?—Non, voyez-vous, je ne comprendrai jamais ça! Cornudet raised his voice,
Cornudet éleva la voix: ‘War is barbaric when you attack a peaceful neighbour. It’s a sacred
duty when you defend your homeland.’
—La guerre est une barbarie quand on attaque un voisin paisible; c'est
un devoir sacré quand on défend la patrie. The old woman looked down,
La vieille femme baissa la tête: ‘Yes, when you’re defending yourself, that’s something different. But
shouldn’t you instead kill all the kings who do this to amuse themselves?’
—Oui, quand on se défend, c'est autre chose; mais si l'on ne devrait
pas plutôt tuer tous les rois qui font ça pour leur plaisir? Cornudet’s eyes blazed:
L'oeil de Cornudet s'enflamma: ‘Good for you, citizen,’ he said.
—Bravo, citoyenne! dit-il. Monsieur Carré-Lamadon was deep in thought. Although he was an
M. Carré-Lamadon réfléchissait profondément. Bien qu'il fût
38 39
fanatique des illustres capitaines, le bon sens de cette paysanne le faisait ardent admirer of great military men, this country-woman’s common
songer à l'opulence qu'apporteraient dans un pays tant de bras inoccupés sense made him think of the wealth that so many idle and thus costly
et par conséquent ruineux, tant de forces qu'on entretient improductives, hands, so much unproductive manpower, could bring to a country. If only
si on les employait aux grands travaux industriels qu'il faudra des siècles they were employed on great industrial projects that might take centuries
pour achever. to complete.
Mais Loiseau, quittant sa place, alla causer tout bas avec l'aubergiste. Loiseau, getting up from his seat, went over to chat quietly with the
Le gros homme riait, toussait, crachait; son énorme ventre sautillait de innkeeper. The fat man laughed, and coughed, and spat. His enormous
joie aux plaisanteries de son voisin, et il lui acheta six feuillettes de belly jiggled with mirth at his neighbour’s jokes, and he bought six
bordeaux pour le printemps, quand les Prussiens seraient partis. barrels of claret from him for the spring, when the Prussians would be
gone.
Le souper à peine achevé, comme on était brisé de fatigue, on se
coucha. The moment supper was over, so exhausted were they all, they went
straight up to bed.
Cependant Loiseau, qui avait observé les choses, fit mettre au lit son
épouse, puis colla tantôt son oreille et tantôt son oeil au trou de la serrure, Loiseau, however, who had been observing things, put his wife to bed,
pour tâcher de découvrir ce qu'il appelait: «les mystères du corridor ». Au and then pressed first his ear and then his eye to the keyhole, in order to
bout d'une heure environ, il entendit un frôlement, regarda bien vite, et discover what he called ‘the secrets of the corridor’. After about an hour,
aperçut Boule de Suif qui paraissait plus replète encore sous un peignoir he heard a rustling, looked quickly, and caught sight of the Dumpling,
de cachemire bleu, brodé de dentelles blanches. Elle tenait un bougeoir à who looked chubbier than ever, in a blue cashmere dressing-gown
la main et se dirigeait vers le gros numéro tout au fond du couloir. Mais trimmed with white lace. She was carrying a candlestick in her hand, and
une porte, à côté, s'entr'ouvrit, et, quand elle revint au bout de quelques was making for the big number at the very end of the hall. But a door to
minutes, Cornudet, en bretelles, la suivait. Ils parlaient bas, puis ils the side opened ajar and, when she returned a few minutes later,
s'arrêtèrent. Boule de Suif semblait défendre l'entrée de sa chambre avec Cornudet, in his braces, was following her. They spoke very quietly, then
énergie. Loiseau, malheureusement, n'entendait pas les paroles, mais, à la stopped. The Dumpling seemed to be doing all that she could to stop him
fin, comme ils élevaient la voix, il put en saisir quelques-unes. Cornudet entering her room. Unfortunately, Loiseau couldn’t make out their words,
insistait avec vivacité. Il disait: but towards the end, as they raised their voices, he managed to catch the
odd phrase. Cornudet was being extremely insistent. He was saying,
—Voyons, vous êtes bête, qu'est-ce que ça vous fait?
‘Oh come on now, don’t be silly. What difference does it make to
Elle avait l'air indigné et répondit: you?’
—Non, mon cher, il y a des moments où ces choses-là ne se font pas; She seemed indignant, and replied,
et puis, ici, ce serait une honte.
‘My good man, no. There’re times when such things aren’t done.
Il ne comprenait point, sans doute, et demanda pourquoi. Alors elle Here, it’d be shameful.’
s'emporta, élevant encore le ton:
He did not seem to understand at all, and asked why not. At this, she
—Pourquoi? Vous ne comprenez pas pourquoi? Quand il y a des lost her temper, and raised her voice still more:
Prussiens dans la maison, dans la chambre à côté, peut-être?
‘Why not? You don’t understand why not? When there’re Prussians in
the house, perhaps in the room next door?’
40 41
Il se tut. Cette pudeur patriotique de catin qui ne se laissait point He fell silent. This prostitute’s patriotic sense of decency, who
caresser près de l'ennemi, dut réveiller en son coeur sa dignité défaillante, wouldn’t let herself be touched with the enemy so close, must have
car, après l'avoir seulement embrassée, il regagna sa porte à pas de loup. revived some faltering dignity in his heart, for he just kissed her, and
stealthily made his way back to his door.
Loiseau, très allumé, quitta la serrure, battit un entrechat dans sa
chambre, mit son madras, souleva le drap sous lequel gisait la dure Highly aroused, Loiseau came away from the keyhole, did a little skip
carcasse de sa compagne qu'il réveilla d'un baiser en murmurant: and jump in the room, put on his nightcap, and lifted the sheet under
«M'aimes-tu, chérie?» which lay the sturdy frame of his wife. Waking her with a kiss, he
murmured, ‘Do you love me, my darling?’
Alors toute la maison devint silencieuse. Mais bientôt s'éleva quelque
part, dans une direction indéterminée qui pouvait être la cave aussi bien Then the entire house fell silent. Soon, though, from somewhere – an
que le grenier, un ronflement puissant, monotone, régulier, un bruit sourd indeterminate place anywhere from the cellar to the attic – there arose a
et prolongé, avec des tremblements de chaudière sous pression. M. powerful snoring, monotonous and regular; a dull, drawn-out sound, like
Follenvie dormait. the rumblings of a boiler under pressure. Monsieur Follenvie had fallen
asleep.
Comme on avait décidé qu'on partirait à huit heures le lendemain, tout
le monde se trouva dans la cuisine; mais la voiture, dont la bâche avait un They’d agreed that they would leave at eight the following morning,
toit de neige, se dressait solitaire au milieu de la cour, sans chevaux et and so everyone gathered in the kitchen. The coach, however, its top
sans conducteur. On chercha en vain celui-ci dans les écuries, dans les covered by a roof of snow, stood alone in the middle of the yard, with
fourrages, dans les remises. Alors tous les hommes se résolurent à battre neither horses nor coachman. They searched for him in vain in the
le pays et ils sortirent. Ils se trouvèrent sur la place, avec l'église au fond, stables, in the haylofts, in the sheds. The men then decided to scour the
et, des deux côtés, des maisons basses où l'on apercevait des soldats neighbourhood, and off they went. They gathered in the square, with the
prussiens. Le premier qu'ils virent épluchait des pommes de terre. Le church at the back and, on either side, low-roofed houses in which
second, plus loin, lavait la boutique du coiffeur. Un autre, barbu Prussian soldiers could be seen. The first one they came across was
jusqu'aux yeux, embrassait un mioche qui pleurait et le berçait sur ses peeling potatoes. The second, further on, was scrubbing out the barber’s
genoux pour tâcher de l'apaiser; et les grosses paysannes dont les shop. Another, bearded up to the eyes, was cuddling a crying toddler,
hommes étaient à «l'armée de la guerre», indiquaient par signes à leurs rocking it on his knees to try and calm it down. The stout countrywomen
vainqueurs obéissants le travail qu'il fallait entreprendre: fendre du bois, whose husbands were ‘off at war’ gestured to their willing conquerors the
tremper la soupe, moudre le café; un d'eux même lavait le linge de son work that needed to be done: chopping the wood, preparing the soup,
hôtesse, une aïeule tout impotente. grinding the coffee. One of them was even doing the laundry for his
hostess, a crippled old lady.
Le comte, étonné, interrogea le bedeau qui sortait du presbytère. Le
vieux rat d'église lui répondit: «Oh! ceux-là ne sont pas méchants; c'est The Count, astonished by what he saw, questioned the verger who was
pas des Prussiens à ce qu'on dit. Ils sont de plus loin; je ne sais pas bien coming out of the presbytery. The old churchman answered: ‘Oh, these
d'où; et ils ont tous laissé une femme et des enfants au pays; ça ne les men aren’t a bad lot. They aren’t Prussians, from what they tell me. They
amuse pas, la guerre, allez! Je suis sûr qu'on pleure bien aussi là-bas come from further away, I’m not sure where. They’ve all left a wife and
après les hommes; et ça fournira une fameuse misère chez eux comme children back home. The war – they don’t enjoy it either, would you
chez nous. Ici, encore, on n'est pas trop malheureux pour le moment, believe. I’m sure they cry for their men as much over there. And all this
parce qu'ils ne font pas de mal et qu'ils travaillent comme s'ils étaient will cause them just as much unhappiness as us. We’re still not too bad
here for the moment. They don’t do any harm; they work just as they
42 43
dans leurs maisons. Voyez-vous, monsieur, entre pauvres gens, faut bien would at home. You see, sir, if you’re poor, you have to help each
qu'on s'aide ... C'est les grands qui font la guerre.» other… It’s the great who make the wars.’
Cornudet, indigné de l'entente cordiale établie entre les vainqueurs et Cornudet, indignant at the friendly relationships that had been
les vaincus, se retira, préférant s'enfermer dans l'auberge. Loiseau eut un established between conquerors and conquered, went off, preferring to
mot pour rire: «Ils repeuplent.» M. Carré-Lamadon eut un mot grave: «Ils shut himself up in the inn. Loiseau joked, ‘I’d call it repopulation.’
réparent.» Mais on ne trouvait pas le cocher. A la fin on le découvrit dans Monsieur Carré-Lamadon was more serious, ‘I think you mean
le café du village, attablé fraternellement avec l'ordonnance de l'officier. reparation.’ But still the coachman could not be found. Eventually, he
Le comte l'interpella: was discovered in the village café, fraternising with the officer’s orderly.
The Count called out to him,
—Ne vous avait-on pas donné l'ordre d'atteler pour huit heures?
‘Weren’t you given orders to have the horses ready by eight?’
—Ah! bien oui, mais on m'en a donné un autre depuis.
‘Certainly. But then I was given another one.’
—Lequel?
‘What was that?’
—De ne pas atteler du tout.
‘Not to have them ready.’
—Qui vous a donné cet ordre?
‘Who gave you that order?’
—Ma foi! le commandant prussien.
‘The Prussian officer, of course.’
—Pourquoi?
‘Why?’
—Je n'en sais rien. Allez lui demander. On me défend d'atteler, moi je
n'attelle pas.—Voilà. ‘I don’t know. Go and ask him. I’m told not to get them ready, I don’t
get them ready. That’s that.’
—C'est lui-même qui vous a dit cela?
‘Did he tell you himself?’
—Non, monsieur, c'est l'aubergiste qui m'a donné l'ordre de sa part.
‘No, sir. The innkeeper gave me the order. On his behalf.’
—Quand ça?
‘And when was this?’
—Hier soir, comme j'allais me coucher. Les trois hommes rentrèrent
fort inquiets. ‘Last night, as I was going up to bed.’ The three men went back to the
inn, very perturbed.
On demanda M. Follenvie, mais la servante répondit que Monsieur, à
cause de son asthme, ne se levait jamais avant dix heures. Il avait même They asked to see Monsieur Follenvie, but the servant girl replied that
formellement défendu de le réveiller plus tôt, excepté en cas d'incendie. her master never got up before ten, because of his asthma. They had strict
orders not to wake him earlier, unless there was a fire.
On voulut voir l'officier, mais cela était impossible absolument, bien
qu'il logeât dans l'auberge, M. Follenvie seul était autorisé à lui parler They tried to see the officer, but that was absolutely impossible. Even
though he was staying in the inn, only Monsieur Follenvie was authorised
44 45
pour les affaires civiles. Alors on attendit. Les femmes remontèrent dans to speak to him about civilian matters. And so they waited. The women
leurs chambres, et des futilités les occupèrent. went back up to their rooms, and whiled away the time with pointless
tasks.
Cornudet s'installa sous la haute cheminée de la cuisine où flambait un
grand feu. Il se fit apporter là une des petites tables du café, une canette, Cornudet settled down under the high kitchen mantel, where a huge
et il tira sa pipe qui jouissait parmi les démocrates d'une considération fire was blazing. He had one of the little café tables brought over, with a
presque égale à la sienne, comme si elle avait servi la patrie en servant à bottle of beer, and began to draw on his pipe. Among the democrats, it
Cornudet. C'était une superbe pipe en écume admirablement culottée, enjoyed a prestige almost equalling his own, as though in serving him, it
aussi noire que les dents de son maître, mais parfumée, recourbée, was serving the country as well. It was a superb meerschaum, beautifully
luisante, familière à sa main, et complétant sa physionomie. Et il demeura seasoned, as black as the teeth of its owner, but fragrant, curved,
immobile, les yeux tantôt fixés sur la flamme du foyer, tantôt sur la gleaming, fitting comfortably in his hand, and rounding off the features
mousse qui couronnait sa chope; et chaque fois qu'il avait bu, il passait of his face. He sat there motionless, his eyes fixed now on the flames in
d'un air satisfait ses longs doigts maigres dans ses longs cheveux gras the hearth, now on the foam that crowned his tankard of beer. Every time
pendant qu'il humait sa moustache frangée d'écume. he took a sip, he ran his long, thin fingers through his long, greasy hair
with a satisfied air, while he sucked the foam from the edge of his
Loiseau, sous prétexte de se dégourdir les jambes, alla placer du vin moustache.
aux débitants du pays. Le comte et le manufacturier se mirent à causer
politique. Ils prévoyaient l'avenir de la France. L'un croyait aux Under the pretext of wanting to stretch his legs, Loiseau went round to
d'Orléans, l'autre à un sauveur inconnu, un héros qui se révèlerait quand the local shopkeepers to sell some wine. The Count and the manufacturer
tout serait désespéré: un du Guesclin, une Jeanne d'Arc peut-être? ou un began to talk politics, and to speculate about France’s future. One
autre Napoléon Ier? Ah! si le prince impérial n'était pas si jeune! believed in the Orléanists, the other in some unknown saviour, a hero
Cornudet, les écoutant, souriait en homme qui sait le mot des destinées. who would appear when all seemed lost: another du Guesclin, perhaps a
Sa pipe embaumait la cuisine. Joan of Arc, another Napoléon I. Ah, if only the imperial prince were not
so young! NOTE Listening to them, Cornudet smiled like a man who
Comme dix heures sonnaient, M. Follenvie parut. On l'interrogea bien knew the decrees of fate. His pipe filled the kitchen with its smell.
vite; mais il ne put que répéter deux ou trois fois, sans une variante, ces
paroles: L'officier m'a dit comme ça: «Monsieur Follenvie, vous Just as ten o’clock struck, Monsieur Follenvie appeared. They rushed
défendrez qu'on attelle demain la voiture de ces voyageurs. Je ne veux up to question him; but he could only repeat two or three times, without
pas qu'ils partent sans mon ordre. Vous entendez. Ça suffit.» variation, the same words. ‘The officer said to me, just like this:
“Monsieur Follenvie, you will stop anyone from getting the coach ready
Alors on voulut voir l'officier. Le comte lui envoya sa carte où M. tomorrow for these travellers. I don’t want them to leave without my
Carré-Lamadon ajouta son nom et tous ses titres. Le Prussien fit répondre order. You understand? Enough said”.’
qu'il admettrait ces deux hommes à lui parler quand il aurait déjeuné,
c'est-à-dire vers une heure. They wanted then to see the officer. The Count sent in his card, to
which Monsieur Carré-Lamadon had added his name and all his titles.
Les dames reparurent et l'on mangea quelque peu, malgré l'inquiétude. The Prussian sent a reply that he would receive the two men to speak
Boule de Suif semblait malade et prodigieusement troublée. with him when he had had his lunch, that was to say, round about one
o’clock.
On achevait le café quand l'ordonnance vint chercher ces messieurs.
The ladies reappeared and, despite their anxiety, they all ate a little.
The Dumpling seemed ill and dreadfully troubled.
They were finishing their coffee when the orderly came to find the
gentlemen.
46 47
Loiseau se joignit aux deux premiers; mais comme on essayait Loiseau joined the first two; but when they tried to drag Cornudet
d'entraîner Cornudet pour donner plus de solennité à leur démarche, il along to give more weight to their undertaking, he proudly declared that
déclara fièrement qu'il entendait n'avoir jamais aucun rapport avec les he had no intention of having anything to do with the Germans, and he
Allemands; et il se remit dans sa cheminée, demandant une autre canette. returned to the fireplace, ordering another beer. The three men went
Les trois hommes montèrent et furent introduits dans la plus belle upstairs and were ushered into the most beautiful room in the inn, where
chambre de l'auberge où l'officier les reçut, étendu dans un fauteuil, les the officer received them. He was sprawled out on an armchair, his feet
pieds sur la cheminée, fumant une longue pipe de porcelaine, et up on the mantelpiece, smoking a long porcelain pipe. He was wrapped
enveloppé par une robe de chambre flamboyante, dérobée sans doute in a showy dressing-gown, no doubt stolen from the abandoned house of
dans la demeure abandonnée de quelques bourgeois de mauvais goût. Il a respectable citizen with bad taste. He didn’t get up, didn’t greet them,
ne se leva pas, ne les salua pas, ne les regarda pas. Il présentait un didn’t look at them. He was a prize example of the boorishness inherent
magnifique échantillon de la goujaterie naturelle au militaire victorieux. in the victorious military man.
Au bout de quelques instants il dit enfin: After several moments, he finally spoke:
—Qu'est-ce que fous foulez? ‘Vot is it you vont?’
Le comte prit la parole: The Count spoke up,
—Nous désirons partir, Monsieur. ‘We should like to leave, sir.’
—Non. ‘No.’
—Oserai-je vous demander la cause de ce refus? ‘Dare I ask the reason for this refusal?’
—Parce que che ne feux pas. ‘Becoss I do not vish you to.’
—Je vous ferai respectueusement observer, Monsieur, que votre ‘I respectfully point out to you, sir, that your commanding officer has
général en chef nous a délivré une permission de départ pour gagner given us a travel permit to go to Dieppe. I don’t think we’ve done
Dieppe; et je ne pense pas que nous ayons rien fait pour mériter vos anything to warrant this harshness.’
rigueurs.
‘I don’t vont you to…zat iss all…you may go.’
—Che ne feux pas ... foilà tout ... Fous poufez tescentre.
The three men bowed and withdrew.
S'étant inclinés tous les trois, ils se retirèrent.
It was a wretched afternoon. They couldn’t fathom the German’s
L'après-midi fut lamentable. On ne comprenait rien à ce caprice whim, and the oddest ideas worried away in their heads. Everyone stayed
d'Allemand; et les idées les plus singulières troublaient les têtes. Tout le in the kitchen, and they talked endlessly, imagining the most farfetched
monde se tenait dans la cuisine et l'on discutait sans fin, imaginant des things. Perhaps they were to be held hostage. But then what for? Or taken
choses invraisemblables. On voulait peut-être les garder comme otages— prisoner? Or held up for a hefty ransom? At the thought of this, they were
mais dans quel but?—ou les emmener prisonniers? ou, plutôt, leur
demander une rançon considérable? A cette pensée, une panique les
48 49
affola. Les plus riches étaient les plus épouvantés, se voyant déjà thrown into panic. The wealthiest were the most terrified, already seeing
contraints, pour racheter leur vie, de verser des sacs pleins d'or entre les themselves having to hand over sacks full of gold to this arrogant soldier,
mains de ce soldat insolent. Ils se creusaient la cervelle pour découvrir in order to buy back their lives. They racked their brains to come up with
des mensonges acceptables, dissimuler leurs richesses, se faire passer plausible lies, how to conceal their wealth and pass themselves off as the
pour pauvres, très pauvres. Loiseau enleva sa chaîne de montre et la poorest of the poor. Loiseau took off his watch-chain and hid it in his
cacha dans sa poche. La nuit qui tombait augmenta les appréhensions. La pocket. The encroaching night increased their worries. The lamp was lit,
lampe fut allumée, et comme on avait encore deux heures avant le dîner, and since they still had two hours before dinner, Madame Loiseau
Mme Loiseau proposa une partie de trente-et-un. Ce serait une suggested a game of thirty-one. NOTE It would take their minds off
distraction. On accepta. Cornudet lui-même, ayant éteint sa pipe par things. Everyone agreed, even Cornudet, who snuffed out his pipe out of
politesse, y prit part. politeness, and took part.
Le comte battit les cartes—donna—Boule de Suif avait trente-et-un The Count shuffled the cards and dealt. The Dumpling got thirty-one
d'emblée; et bientôt l'intérêt de la partie apaisa la crainte qui hantait les straight away; and soon interest in the game calmed the fears that were
esprits. Mais Cornudet s'aperçut que le ménage Loiseau s'entendait pour haunting their minds. Cornudet, however, noticed that the Loiseaus had
tricher. got together to cheat.
Comme on allait se mettre à table, M. Follenvie reparut; et, de sa voix As they were about to sit down at table, Monsieur Follenvie
graillonnante, il prononça: «L'officier prussien fait demander à Mlle reappeared. In his throaty voice, he declared, ‘The Prussian officer asks
Elisabeth Rousset si elle n'a pas encore changé d'avis.» Mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset whether she’s changed her mind yet.’
Boule de Suif resta debout, toute pâle; puis, devenant subitement The Dumpling remained standing, drained pale. Then, suddenly
cramoisie, elle eut un tel étouffement de colère qu'elle ne pouvait plus turning crimson, she had such a fit of anger that she couldn’t speak.
parler. Enfin elle éclata: «Vous lui direz à cette crapule, à ce saligaud, à Finally, she burst out, ‘You can tell that bugger, that bastard, that
cette Charogne de Prussien, que jamais je ne voudrai; vous entendez Prussian pig, that I’ll never do it. D’you understand? Never, never,
bien, jamais, jamais, jamais.» never.’
Le gros aubergiste sortit. Alors Boule de Suif fut entourée, interrogée, The fat innkeeper left the room. Immediately, the Dumpling was
sollicitée par tout le monde de dévoiler le mystère de sa visite. Elle surrounded, questioned, entreated by everyone to reveal the secret of her
résista d'abord; mais l'exaspération domina bientôt: «Ce qu'il veut?... ce visit. At first, she resisted; but fury soon got the better of her. ‘What does
qu'il veut? Il veut coucher avec moi!» cria-t-elle. Personne ne se choqua he want?...what does he want? He wants to sleep with me!’ she cried out.
du mot, tant l'indignation fut vive. Cornudet brisa sa chope en la reposant No one was offended by the words, so strong was the indignation.
violemment sur la table. C'était une clameur de réprobation contre ce Cornudet shattered his tankard as he banged it down on the table. There
soudard ignoble, un souffle de colère, une union de tous pour la was an outcry of protest against this shameless mercenary, a wave of
résistance, comme si l'on eût demandé à chacun une partie du sacrifice anger, everyone united in resistance, as if each of them had been asked to
exigé d'elle. Le comte déclara avec dégoût que ces gens-là se share in the sacrifice demanded of her. The Count declared in disgust that
conduisaient à la façon des anciens barbares. Les femmes surtout such people were behaving like the old barbarians. The women,
témoignèrent à Boule de Suif une commisération énergique et caressante. especially, showed the Dumpling an intense and kindly sympathy. The
Les bonnes soeurs, qui ne se montraient qu'aux repas, avaient baissé la nuns, who showed up only for meals, had bowed their heads and were
tête et ne disaient rien. saying nothing.
50 51
On dîna néanmoins lorsque la première fureur fut apaisée; mais on After the first anger had died down, they had some dinner
parla peu: on songeait. nevertheless. But there was little talk; they were deep in thought.
Les dames se retirèrent de bonne heure; et les hommes, tout en The ladies went up early. The men, left to smoke, organised a round
fumant, organisèrent un écarté auquel fut convié M. Follenvie qu'on avait of écarté, NOTE to which they invited Monsieur Follenvie. They hoped
l'intention d'interroger habilement sur les moyens à employer pour that some subtle questioning of him might indicate the best ways of
vaincre la résistance de l'officier. Mais il ne songeait qu'à ses cartes, sans getting round the officer’s resistance. But he thought of nothing but his
rien écouter, sans rien répondre; et il répétait sans cesse: «Au jeu, cards. He heard nothing, he said nothing, only repeating time and again,
messieurs, au jeu.» Son attention était si tendue qu'il en oubliait de ‘On with the game, gentlemen, on with the game.’ So deep was his
cracher, ce qui lui mettait parfois des points d'orgue dans la poitrine. Ses concentration he would forget to spit, which would sometimes produce
poumons sifflants donnaient toute la gamme de l'asthme, depuis les notes organ notes inside his chest. His wheezing lungs played up and down the
graves et profondes jusqu'aux enrouements aigus des jeunes coqs entire asthmatic scale, from deep bass notes to the hoarse, squawking
essayant de chanter. treble of young cocks trying to crow.
Il refusa même de monter, quand sa femme, qui tombait de sommeil, He refused to go upstairs even when his wife, who was dropping with
vint le chercher. Alors elle partit toute seule, car elle était «du matin», tiredness, came looking for him. So she left all alone. She was an early
toujours levée avec le soleil, tandis que son homme était «du soir», bird, NOTE always getting up with the sun, while her husband was a night
toujours prêt à passer la nuit avec des amis. Il lui cria: «Tu placeras mon owl, always ready to pass the night away with friends. He called out to
lait de poule devant le feu,» et se remit à sa partie. Quand on vit bien her, ‘Put my eggflip by the fire, will you?’, and returned to his hand.
qu'on n'en pouvait rien tirer, on déclara qu'il était temps de s'en aller, et When they saw they wouldn’t get anything out of him, they decided it
chacun gagna son lit. was time to go, and each one went up to his bed.
On se leva encore d'assez bonne heure le lendemain avez un espoir They got up quite early the next day with a vague hope, a stronger
indéterminé, un désir plus grand de s'en aller, une terreur du jour à passer wish to leave, and the fear of yet another day in that horrible little inn.
dans cette horrible petite auberge.
Alas, the horses were still in the stable, and the coachman was again
Hélas! les chevaux restaient à l'écurie, le cocher demeurait invisible. nowhere to be seen. For lack of anything better to do, they hung around
On alla, par désoeuvrement, tourner autour de la voiture. the coach.
Le déjeuner fut bien triste; et il s'était produit comme un Lunch was very miserable. A general coolness had sprung up towards
refroidissement vis-à-vis de Boule de Suif, car la nuit, qui porte conseil, the Dumpling, for having slept on the problem, they had rather changed
avait un peu modifié les jugements. On en voulait presque à cette fille, their views. Now, they were almost angry with the prostitute for not
maintenant, de n'avoir pas été trouver secrètement le Prussien, afin de having gone to the Prussian in secret, and given her companions a nice
ménager, au réveil, une bonne surprise à ses compagnons. Quoi de plus surprise when they woke up. What could have been easier? Who
simple? Qui l'eût su, d'ailleurs? Elle aurait pu sauver les apparences en would’ve known, besides? She could have saved face by telling the
faisant dire à l'officier qu'elle prenait en pitié leur détresse. Pour elle, ça officer she felt sorry for their predicament. And it would’ve meant so
avait si peu d'importance! little to her!
Mais personne n'avouait encore ces pensées. But no one as yet confessed such thoughts.
Dans l'après-midi, comme on s'ennuyait à périr, le comte proposa de In the afternoon, as they were bored to death, the Count proposed they
52 53
faire une promenade aux alentours du village. Chacun s'enveloppa avec took a walk round the outskirts of the village. Everyone wrapped up
soin et la petite société partit, à l'exception de Cornudet, qui préférait warmly and the little group set out, with the exception of Cornudet, who
rester près du feu, et des bonnes soeurs, qui passaient leurs journées dans preferred to stay by the fire, and the nuns, who spent their days in the
l'église ou chez le curé. church or at the priest’s house.
Le froid, plus intense de jour en jour, piquait cruellement le nez et les The cold, which was becoming more intense every day, stung their
oreilles; les pieds devenaient si douloureux que chaque pas était une ears and noses painfully. Their feet hurt so badly that every step was
souffrance; et lorsque la campagne se découvrit, elle leur apparut si torture; and when the countryside came into view, it appeared to them so
effroyablement lugubre sous cette blancheur illimitée que tout le monde frighteningly bleak under its limitless whiteness that everyone turned
aussitôt retourna, l'âme glacée et le coeur serré. back immediately, their spirits chilled and their hearts clenched tight .
Les quatre femmes marchaient devant, les trois hommes suivaient, un The four women walked on ahead, and the three men followed, a little
peu derrière. behind.
Loiseau, qui comprenait la situation, demanda tout à coup si cette Loiseau, who understood the situation, suddenly asked how much
«garce-là» allait les faire rester longtemps encore dans un pareil endroit. longer that whore was going to make them stay in such a dump. The
Le comte, toujours courtois, dit qu'on ne pouvait exiger d'une femme un Count, ever chivalrous, said such an awful sacrifice couldn’t be asked of
sacrifice aussi pénible, et qu'il devait venir d'elle-même. M. Carré- a woman, and that it must come from her herself. Monsieur Carré-
Lamadon remarqua que si les Français faisaient, comme il en était Lamadon remarked that if the French launched a counter-attack by way
question, un retour offensif par Dieppe, la rencontre ne pourrait avoir lieu of Dieppe, as had been speculated, the confrontation could take place
qu'à Tôtes. Cette réflexion rendit les deux autres soucieux.—« Si l'on se only in Tôtes. This observation worried the other two. ‘What if we tried
sauvait à pied, »—dit Loiseau. Le comte haussa les épaules:— «Y to get away on foot?’ asked Loiseau. The Count shrugged his shoulders,
songez-vous, dans cette neige? avec nos femmes? Et puis nous serions ‘What are you thinking of? In this snow? With our wives? We’d be
tout de suite poursuivis, rattrapés en dix minutes, et ramenés prisonniers pursued straight away, caught in ten minutes, and brought back here as
à la merci des soldats.»—C'était vrai; on se tut. prisoners. And at the mercy of their soldiers.’ It was true; they fell silent.
Les dames parlaient toilette; mais une certaine contrainte semblait les The ladies were talking about clothes, but a certain reserve appeared
désunir. to be dividing them.
Tout a coup, au bout de la rue, l'officier parut. Sur la neige qui fermait Suddenly, at the end of the street, the officer appeared. His tall figure
l'horizon, il profilait sa grande taille de guêpe en uniforme, et marchait, in his wasp-waisted uniform was silhouetted against the snow that closed
les genoux écartés, de ce mouvement particulier aux militaires qui off the horizon, and he was walking, knees apart, with that gait peculiar
s'efforcent de ne point maculer leurs bottes soigneusement cirées. to soldiers when they strive not to dirty their carefully polished boots.
Il s'inclina en passant près des dames, et regarda dédaigneusement les He bowed as he passed the ladies, and looked disdainfully at the men
hommes qui eurent, du reste, la dignité de ne point se découvrir, bien que who, at least, had enough dignity not to raise their hats, even though
Loiseau ébauchât un geste pour retirer sa coiffure. Loiseau started to make a gesture of removing his headgear.
Boule de Suif était devenue rouge jusqu'aux oreilles; et les trois The Dumpling flushed crimson to the ears, and the three women felt
femmes mariées ressentaient une grande humiliation d'être ainsi greatly humiliated at being met by the soldier like that, in the company of
rencontrées par ce soldat, dans la compagnie de cette fille qu'il avait si the prostitute he had treated so off-handedly.
cavalièrement traitée.
54 55
Alors on parla de lui, de sa tournure, de son visage. Mme Carré- Then they began to talk about him, about his figure, about his face.
Lamadon, qui avait connu beaucoup d'officiers et qui les jugeait en Madame Carré-Lamadon, who had known many officers and who judged
connaisseur, trouvait celui-là pas mal du tout; elle regrettait même qu'il them like a connoisseur, found this one not at all bad. She was even sorry
ne fût pas Français, parce qu'il ferait un fort joli hussard dont toutes les he wasn’t French, because he would have made a very dashing hussar
femmes assurément raffoleraient. over whom all the women would surely have gone crazy.
Une fois rentrés, on ne sut plus que faire. Des paroles aigres furent Once they had got back, they didn’t know what to do. Harsh words
même échangées à propos de choses insignifiantes. Le dîner, silencieux, were exchanged over the merest trifle. Dinner, silent, didn’t last long.
dura peu, et chacun monta se coucher, espérant dormir pour tuer le Everyone went up to bed, hoping they could kill time by sleep.
temps.
They came down the next morning with tired faces and frayed
On descendit le lendemain avec des visages fatigués et des coeurs tempers. The women hardly spoke to the Dumpling.
exaspérés. Les femmes parlaient à peine à Boule de Suif.
A bell rang out. It was for a christening. The fat loose woman had had
Une cloche tinta. C'était pour un baptême. La grosse fille avait un a child who was being brought up by the peasants of Yvetot. She didn’t
enfant élevé chez des paysans d'Yvetot. Elle ne le voyait pas une fois l'an, see it even once a year, and never thought about it; but the notion that it
et n'y songeait jamais; mais la pensée de celui qu'on allait baptiser lui jeta was going to be baptised now filled her heart with a sudden, intense
au coeur une tendresse subite et violente pour le sien, et elle voulut feeling for her own, and she insisted on attending the ceremony.
absolument assister à la cérémonie.
As soon as she was gone, everyone looked at each other and brought
Aussitôt qu'elle fut partie, tout le monde se regarda, puis on rapprocha their chairs together. They knew very well that, in the end, a decision had
les chaises, car on sentait bien qu'à la fin il fallait décider quelque chose. to be made. Loiseau had a brainwave. What about suggesting to the
Loiseau eut une inspiration: il était d'avis de proposer à l'officier de officer that the Dumpling be detained by herself, and let the others go?
garder Boule de Suif toute seule, et de laisser partir les autres. M. Monsieur Follenvie once more acted as a go-between, but he came back
Follenvie se chargea encore de la commission, mais il redescendit down almost immediately. The German, who knew human nature, had
presque aussitôt. L'Allemand, qui connaissait la nature humaine, l'avait shown him the door. He intended to detain everyone for as long as his
mis à la porte. Il prétendait retenir tout le monde tant que son désir ne wishes remained unsatisfied.
serait pas satisfait.
At this, Madame Loiseau’s commonness erupted: ‘We’re surely not
Alors le tempérament populacier de Mme Loiseau éclata:—«Nous going to die of old age here, are we? It’s that slut’s job to do it with any
n'allons pourtant pas mourir de vieillesse ici. Puisque c'est son métier, à man. I don’t think she’s got the right to say no to one and not another.
cette gueuse, de faire ça avec tous les hommes, je trouve qu'elle n'a pas le Just let me ask you this. In Rouen, didn’t she take whatever she could
droit de refuser l'un plutôt que l'autre. Je vous demande un peu, ça a pris find? Even coachmen! Yes, madame, even the Council Leader’s
tout ce qu'elle a trouvé dans Rouen, même des cochers! oui, madame, le coachman! I happen to know because he buys his wine from us. And
cocher de la préfecture! Je le sais bien, moi, il achète son vin à la maison. now, when it’s a question of getting us out of this jam, she gives herself
Et aujourd'hui qu'il s'agit de nous tirer d'embarras, elle fait la mijaurée, airs, the tart. If you ask me, I think the officer’s behaved very well.
cette morveuse!... Moi, je trouve qu'il se conduit très bien, cet officier. Il Perhaps he’s gone without it for ages. He’d have probably preferred the
est peut-être privé depuis longtemps; et nous étions là trois qu'il aurait three of us. But no, he’s satisfied with that common whore. He
sans doute préférées. Mais non, il se contente de celle à tout
56 57
le monde. Il respecte les femmes mariées. Songez donc, il est le maître. Il respects married women. Just think. He’s in charge. He only has to say,
n'avait qu'à dire: «Je veux», et il pouvait nous prendre de force avec ses “That’s what I want”, and he could have his soldiers take us by force.’
soldats.»
The two women gave a little shudder. The eyes of the pretty Madame
Les deux femmes eurent un petit frisson. Les yeux de la jolie Mme Carré-Lamadon were glistening, and she turned a little pale, as if she
Carré-Lamadon brillaient, et elle était un peu pâle, comme si elle se already felt she had been taken forcibly by the officer.
sentait déjà prise de force par l'officier.
The men, who had been talking separately, came over. Loiseau, beside
Les hommes, qui discutaient à l'écart, se rapprochèrent. Loiseau, himself with rage, wanted to have ‘that miserable woman’ bound hand
furibond, voulait livrer «cette misérable» pieds et poings liés, à l'ennemi. and foot, and handed over to the enemy. But the Count, the product of
Mais le comte, issu de trois générations d'ambassadeurs, et doué d'un three generations of ambassadors, and blessed with a diplomat’s bearing,
physique de diplomate, était partisan de l'habileté: «Il faudrait la dé- was partial to more subtlety. ‘We must let her decide,’ he said.
cider»,– dit-il.
And so they plotted.
Alors on conspira.
The women huddled together, their voices lowered, and in the general
Les femmes se serrèrent, le ton de la voix fut baissé, et la discussion discussion, each of them gave an opinion. It was all very correct. The
devint générale, chacun donnant son avis. C'était fort convenable du ladies were particularly adept at finding delicate turns of phrase,
reste. Ces dames surtout trouvaient des délicatesses de tournures, des charming subtleties of expression, to express the most improper things.
subtilités d'expression charmantes, pour dire les choses les plus So carefully were their proposals phrased that a stranger would have
scabreuses. Un étranger n'aurait rien compris, tant les précautions du understood nothing. But since the veneer of modesty with which every
langage étaient observées. Mais la légère tranche de pudeur dont est woman in the world is armoured covers only the surface, they blossomed
bardée toute femme du monde ne recouvrant que la surface, elles out in this scandalous adventure, and were thrilled to the core. Feeling
s'épanouissaient dans cette aventure polissonne, s'amusaient follement au themselves quite in their element, they toyed with love like a sensual
fond, se sentant dans leur élément, tripotant de l'amour avec la sensualité gourmet chef preparing someone else’s supper.
d'un cuisinier gourmand qui prépare le souper d'un autre.
So amusing did the affair seem to them in the end that their good
La gaieté revenait d'elle-même, tant l'histoire leur semblait drôle à la spirits returned spontaneously. The Count told a few jokes that were a
fin. Le comte trouva des plaisanteries un peu risquées, mais si bien dites little racy, but so wittily phrased they made everyone smile. Loiseau in
qu'elles faisaient sourire. A son tour Loiseau lâcha quelques grivoiseries turn came out with even saucier dirty stories, but no one took offence.
plus raides dont on ne se blessa point; et la pensée brutalement exprimée The thought, brutally expressed by his wife, was uppermost in everyone’s
par sa femme dominait tous les esprits: «Puisque c'est son métier à cette mind. ‘Since it’s that whore’s trade, why should she turn one man away
fille, pourquoi refuserait-elle celui-là plus qu'un autre?» La gentille Mme rather than another?’ The lovely Madame Carré-Lamadon even seemed
Carré-Lamadon semblait même penser qu'à sa place elle refuserait celui- to think that, in her place, she would have turned this one away less
là moins qu'un autre. quickly than some others.
On prépara longuement le blocus, comme pour une forteresse investie. They prepared for the blockade at length, as if a fortress was being
Chacun convint du rôle qu'il jouerait, des arguments dont il s'appuierait, besieged. Everyone agreed on the roles they were to play, the arguments
des manoeuvres qu'il devrait exécuter. On régla le plan des attaques, les they would deploy, the manoeuvres that they would execute. They settled
ruses à employer, et les surprises de l'assaut, pour forcer cette citadelle on a plan of attack, the tricks to use, the surprise assaults, that would
vivante à recevoir l'ennemi dans la place. force this living citadel to let the enemy enter inside her walls.
58 59
Cornudet cependant restait à l'écart, complètement étranger à cette Cornudet, however, stayed on the sidelines, and kept out of things
affaire. completely.
Une attention si profonde tendait les esprits, qu'on n'entendit point So deeply absorbed was everybody’s mind that they didn’t hear the
rentrer Boule de Suif. Mais le comte souffla un léger: «Chut!» qui fit Dumpling return. But the Count whispered a soft ‘shush’, which made
relever tous les yeux. Elle était là. On se tut brusquement et un certain everyone look up. There she was. Everyone stopped talking abruptly. At
embarras empêcha d'abord de lui parler. La comtesse, plus assouplie que first, a vague embarrassment kept them from speaking to her. But the
les autres aux duplicités des salons, l'interrogea: «Etait-ce amusant, ce Countess, more practised than the others in the ruses of the drawing-
baptême?» room, asked her, ‘And did you enjoy the christening?’
La grosse fille, encore émue, raconta tout, et les figures, et les The plump young woman, still moved, related everything, the faces,
attitudes, et l'aspect même de l'église. Elle ajouta: «C'est si bon de prier the expressions, even the appearance of the church. She added, ‘It’s
quelquefois.» sometimes so good to say one’s prayers.’
Cependant, jusqu'au déjeuner, ces dames se contentèrent d'être Until lunch, the ladies were happy to be kind to her, so as to increase
aimables avec elle, pour augmenter sa confiance et sa docilité à leurs her trust in them, and her amenability to their advice.
conseils.
Once at the table, they began their approach. First there was some
Aussitôt à table, on commença les approches. Ce fut d'abord une vague conversation about self-sacrifice. Ancient examples were cited:
conversation vague sur le dévouement. On cita des exemples anciens: Judith and Holofernes, then for no apparent reason Lucretia and Sextus,
Judith et Holopherne, puis, sans aucune raison, Lucrèce avec Sextus, NOTE then Cleopatra, who had taken all the enemy generals into her bed
Cléopâtre faisant passer par sa couche tous les généraux ennemis, et les and reduced them to the dolicity of slaves. Then a totally made-up story
réduisant à des servilités d'esclave. Alors se déroula une histoire was rolled out, hatched in the imagination of these ignorant millionaires,
fantaisiste, éclose dans l'imagination de ces millionnaires ignorants, où of how the women of Rome set off for Capua to lull Hannibal asleep in
les citoyennes de Rome allaient endormir à Capoue Annibal entre leurs their arms and, along with him, his lieutenants and his phalanxes of
bras, et, avec lui, ses lieutenants, et les phalanges des mercenaires. On mercenaries. They cited all the women who had halted conquerors; who
cita toutes les femmes qui ont arrêté des conquérants, fait de leur corps had made their bodies battlefields, a means of domination, a weapon;
un champ de bataille, un moyen de dominer, une arme, qui ont vaincu par who had conquered hideous, hateful beings through their heroic caresses,
leurs caresses héroïques des êtres hideux ou détestés, et sacrifié leur and sacrificed their chastity for revenge and for self-sacrifice.
chasteté à la vengeance et au dévouement.
They even spoke in veiled terms about the English woman from a
On parla même en termes voilés de cette Anglaise de grande famille noble family who had let herself be inoculated with a horrible and
qui s'était laissé inoculer une horrible et contagieuse maladie pour la contagious disease, so as to transmit it to Bonaparte, who was
transmettre à Bonaparte sauvé miraculeusement, par une faiblesse subite, miraculously saved by a sudden dizzy spell at the time of the fatal
à l'heure du rendez-vous fatal. meeting.
Et tout cela s'était raconté d'une façon convenable et modérée, où And all of this was related in a sober and measured way, with
parfois éclatait un enthousiasme voulu propre à exciter l'émulation. occasional bursts of enthusiasm that were meant to inspire emulation.
On aurait pu croire, à la fin, que le seul rôle de la femme, ici-bas, était You would have thought, in the end, that the only role of women here
un perpétuel sacrifice de sa personne, un abandon continu aux caprices on earth was an endless sacrifice of their bodies, a constant submission to
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des soldatesques. Les deux bonnes soeurs ne semblaient point entendre, the whims of military rabble. The two sisters, lost in deep thought,
perdues en des pensées profondes, Boule de Suif ne disait rien. seemed not to hear anything. The Dumpling said nothing.
Pendant tout l'après-midi, on la laissa réfléchir. Mais, au lieu de The whole afternoon, they let her ponder. But instead of calling her
l'appeler «madame» comme on avait fait jusque-là, on lui disait ‘Madame’, as they’d done until then, they simply called her
simplement «mademoiselle», sans que personne sût bien pourquoi, ‘Mademoiselle’, without even knowing why. It was as if they wanted to
comme si l'on avait voulu la faire descendre d'un degré dans l'estime take her down a peg from the respectability she had achieved, and make
qu'elle avait escaladée, lui faire sentir sa situation honteuse. her realise her shameful position.
Au moment où l'on servit le potage, M. Follenvie reparut, répétant sa As the soup was being served, Monsieur Follenvie reappeared, and
phrase de la veille: «L'officier prussien fait demander à Mlle Elisabeth repeated his words of the day before, ‘The Prussian officer asks if
Rousset si elle n'a point encore changé d'avis.» Mademoiselle Élisabeth Rousset has changed her mind yet.’
Boule de Suif répondit sèchement: «Non, monsieur.» Mais au dîner la The Dumpling answered drily: ‘No, sir.’ But over dinner, the coalition
coalition faiblit. Loiseau eut trois phrases malheureuses. Chacun se weakened. Loiseau made three unfortunate remarks. They were all
battait les flancs pour découvrir des exemples nouveaux et ne trouvait racking their brains to come up with new examples and finding nothing,
rien, quand la comtesse, sans préméditation peut-être, éprouvant un when the Countess, possibly without any motive beyond a vague need to
vague besoin de rendre hommage à la Religion, interrogea la plus âgée pay tribute to religion, questioned the elder of the nuns about the great
des bonnes soeurs sur les grands faits de la vie des saints. Or, beaucoup events in the lives of the saints. Many of them had committed acts that
avaient commis des actes qui seraient des crimes à nos yeux; mais would be crimes in our eyes, but the Church had readily forgiven such
l'Église absout sans peine ces forfaits quand ils sont accomplis pour la misdeeds if they had been done for the glory of God, or the good of one’s
gloire de Dieu, ou pour le bien du prochain. C'était un argument puissant: neighbours. It was a powerful argument, and the Countess took
la comtesse en profita. Alors, soit par une de ces ententes tacites, de ces advantage of it. But then, whether through a tacit understanding, a veiled
complaisances voilées, où excelle quiconque porte un habit complicity, in which those who wear ecclesiastic habits excel, or simply
ecclésiastique, soit simplement par l'effet d'une inintelligence heureuse, through blissful ignorance and helpful stupidity, the old nun gave a huge
d'une secourable bêtise, la vieille religieuse apporta à la conspiration un support to the conspiracy. They had thought her timid, but she showed
formidable appui. On la croyait timide, elle se montra hardie, verbeuse, herself to be bold, talkative, violent. She wasn’t troubled by the groping
violente. Celle-là n'était pas troublée par les tâtonnements de la hesitancies of casuistry. Her doctrine was like an iron bar. Her faith knew
casuistique; sa doctrine semblait une barre de fer; sa foi n'hésitait jamais; no doubt, her conscience no scruple.
sa conscience n'avait point de scrupules.
She understood Abraham’s sacrifice perfectly, and she would have
Elle trouvait tout simple le sacrifice d'Abraham, car elle aurait killed both mother and father at once upon an order from on high. In her
immédiatement tué père et mère sur un ordre venu d'En Haut; et rien, à opinion, nothing could displease the Lord when the intention was
son avis, ne pouvait déplaire au Seigneur quand l'intention était louable. honourable. The Countess, taking advantage of the sacred authority
La comtesse, mettant à profit l'autorité sacrée de sa complice inattendue, vested in her unexpected ally, led her to give an edifying summary of this
lui fit faire comme une paraphrase édifiante de cet axiome de morale: moral principle: ‘The ends justify the means.’
«La fin justifie les moyens.»
She questioned her.
Elle l'interrogeait.
‘So then, sister, do you think God accepts all courses of action, and
—Alors, ma soeur, vous pensez que Dieu accepte toutes les voies, et
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pardonne le fait quand le motif est pur? forgives any deed whose motive is pure?’
—Qui pourrait en douter, madame? Une action blâmable en soi ‘Who could doubt it, Madame? An action that is reprehensible in itself
devient souvent méritoire par la pensée qui l'inspire. often becomes worthy through the thought that has inspired it.’
Et elles continuaient ainsi, démêlant les volontés de Dieu, prévoyant And so they went on, untangling the will of God, predicting his
ses décisions, le faisant s'intéresser à des choses qui, vraiment, ne le decisions, and making him take an interest in things that really scarcely
regardaient guère. concerned him.
Tout cela était enveloppé, habile, discret. Mais chaque parole de la All this was expressed in a veiled, careful, discreet way. But every
sainte fille en cornette faisait brèche dans la résistance indignée de la word from the holy woman with the wimple made a breach in the
courtisane. Puis, la conversation se détournant un peu, la femme aux indignant resistance of the courtesan. Then the conversation took a
chapelets pendants parla des maisons de son ordre, de sa supérieure, somewhat different tack. The woman with the dangling rosary spoke
d'elle-même, et de sa mignonne voisine, la chère soeur Saint-Nicéphore. about the houses of her order, about her Mother Superior, about herself,
On les avait demandées au Havre pour soigner dans les hôpitaux des and about her fragile companion, dear sister Saint-Nicéphore. They were
centaines de soldats atteints de la petite vérole. Elle les dépeignit, ces being sent to Le Havre to look after hundreds of soldiers in the hospitals
misérables, détailla leur maladie. Et tandis qu'elles étaient arrêtées en who had been stricken with smallpox. She described the poor wretches
route par les caprices de ce Prussien, un grand nombre de Français and gave details of their illness. But while they were being detained on
pouvaient mourir qu'elles auraient sauvés peut-être! C'était sa spécialité, the way by that Prussian’s whim, a great number of Frenchmen could die
à elle, de soigner les militaires; elle avait été en Crimée, en Italie, en whom they might perhaps have otherwise saved. Looking after soldiers
Autriche, et, racontant ses campagnes, elle se révéla tout à coup une de was her special field; she’d been out in the Crimea, in Italy and Austria;
ces religieuses à tambours et à trompettes qui semblent faites pour suivre and as she described her campaigns, she suddenly revealed herself as one
les camps, ramasser des blessés dans des remous des batailles, et, mieux of those drum-and-trumpet nuns who seemed born to follow the troops,
qu'un chef, dompter d'un mot les grands soudards indisciplinés; une vraie gathering up the wounded from the swirl of battle, and, better than any
bonne soeur Ran-tan-plan dont la figure ravagée, crevée de trous sans general, putting down the most undisciplined old trooper with a single
nombre, paraissait une image des dévastations de la guerre. word. She was a real rat-a-tat-tat nun whose ravaged face, pitted with
countless pockmarks, seemed a perfect image of the devastations of war.
Personne ne dit rien après elle, tant l'effet semblait excellent.
So excellent was her effect that nobody said anything after her.
Aussitôt le repas terminé, on remonta bien vite dans les chambres
pour ne descendre, le lendemain, qu'assez tard dans la matinée. As soon as the meal was over, they all went up quickly to their rooms
and didn’t come down until rather late the following morning.
Le déjeuner fut tranquille. On donnait à la graine semée la veille le
temps de germer et de pousser ses fruits. Lunch was quiet. They were giving the seed sown the previous day
time to germinate and bear fruit.
La comtesse proposa de faire une promenade dans l'après-midi; alors
le comte, comme il était convenu, prit le bras de Boule de Suif, et In the afternoon, the Countess suggested a walk. So the Count, as had
demeura derrière les autres, avec elle. been planned, took the Dumpling’s arm and walked with her, behind the
others.
Il lui parla de ce ton familier, paternel, un peu dédaigneux, que les
hommes posés emploient avec les filles, l'appelant: «ma chère enfant», la He spoke to her in that familiar, fatherly, slightly patronising way that
mature men of the world NOTE adopt with prostitutes. He addressed her
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traitant du haut de sa position sociale, de son honorabilité indiscutée. Il as ‘my dear child’; he talked down to her from the heights of his social
pénétra tout de suite au vif de la question: position, his unquestionable respectability. He got straight to the point:
—Donc, vous préférez nous laisser ici, exposés comme vous-même à ‘So would you rather leave us here, exposed like you to all the
toutes les violences qui suivraient un échec des troupes prussiennes, violence that a Prussian troop defeat would bring, than agree to one of
plutôt que de consentir à une de ces complaisances que vous avez eues si those indulgences you’ve given so often in your life?’
souvent en votre vie?
The Dumpling did not answer.
Boule de Suif ne répondit rien.
He tried gentleness, reason, emotion. He still remained ‘the Count’,
Il la prit par la douceur, par le raisonnement, par les sentiments. Il sut but the whole while, whenever it was necessary, he was gallant,
rester «monsieur le comte», tout en se montrant galant quand il le fallut, flattering, and kind. He praised the favour that she would be doing them,
complimenteur, aimable enfin. Il exalta le service qu'elle leur rendrait, and spoke of their gratitude. Then suddenly, addressing her with light-
parla de leur reconnaissance; puis soudain, la tutoyant gaiement: «Et tu hearted intimacy, NOTE ‘And you know, my dear, he’d then be able to
sais, ma chère, il pourrait se vanter d'avoir goûté d'une jolie fille comme boast he’d had a prettier girl than many he’d find in his own country.’
il n'en trouvera pas beaucoup dans son pays.»
The Dumpling did not reply, and joined the rest of the group. As soon
Boule de Suif ne répondit pas et rejoignit la société. Aussitôt rentrée, as they got back, she went up to her room and didn’t reappear. The
elle monta chez elle et ne reparut plus. L'inquiétude était extrême. anxiety was intense. What was she going to do? The problems if she held
Qu'allait-elle faire? Si elle résistait, quel embarras! out!
L'heure du dîner sonna; on l'attendit en vain. M. Follenvie, entrant The hour struck for dinner. They waited for her in vain. Monsieur
alors, annonça que Mlle Rousset se sentait indisposée, et qu'on pouvait se Follenvie came in and announced that Mademoiselle Rousset was feeling
mettre à table. Tout le monde dressa l'oreille. Le comte s'approcha de unwell, and that they should start without her. Everyone’s ears pricked
l'aubergiste, et, tout bas: «Ça y est?—Oui.» Par convenance, il ne dit rien up. The Count went over to the innkeeper and said, very quietly,
à ses compagnons, mais il leur fit seulement un léger signe de la tête. ‘Everything all right, then?’ ‘Yes.’ Out of propriety, he said nothing to
Aussitôt un grand soupir de soulagement sortit de toutes les poitrines, une his companions, but gave them the slightest nod of the head.
allégresse parut sur les visages. Loiseau cria: «Saperlipopette! je paye du Immediately, a huge sigh of relief rose from everyone, and a look of
Champagne si l'on en trouve dans l'établissement»; et Mme Loiseau eut elation burst out on their faces. Loiseau cried out, ‘Hallelujah! NOTE I’ll
une angoisse lorsque le patron revint avec quatre bouteilles aux mains. pay for the champagne, if there’s any in the house.’ Madame Loiseau,
Chacun était devenu subitement communicatif et bruyant; une joie though, was considerably distressed when the innkeeper came back with
égrillarde emplissait les coeurs. Le comte parut s'apercevoir que Mme four bottles in his hands. Everyone had suddenly become chatty and loud;
Carré-Lamadon était charmante, le manufacturier fit des compliments à a bawdy merriment filled their hearts. The Count appeared to realise that
la comtesse. La conversation fut vive, enjouée, pleine de traits. Madame Carré-Lamadon was charming, and the manufacturer paid
compliments to the Countess. The talk was lively, playful, full of wit.
Tout à coup, Loiseau, la face anxieuse et levant les bras, hurla:
«Silence!» Tout le monde se tut, surpris, presque effrayé déjà. Alors il Suddenly, with a worried expression, Loiseau raised his arms and
tendit l'oreille en faisant «Chut!» des deux mains, leva les yeux vers le shouted, ‘Quiet!’ Everyone fell silent, surprised, almost panicking again.
plafond, écouta de nouveau, et reprit, de sa voix naturelle: «Rassurez- He cocked his ear while making ‘shush’ signs with his hands, looked up
vous, tout va bien.» at the ceiling, listened again, then continued in a normal voice, ‘Rest
assured, all’s going well.’
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On hésitait à comprendre, mais bientôt un sourire passa. They took some time to cotton on, but soon a smile spread round.
Au bout d'un quart d'heure il recommença la même farce, la renouvela After a quarter of an hour, he went through the same routine again,
souvent dans la soirée; et il faisait semblant d'interpeller quelqu'un à repeating it frequently during the evening. He would pretend he was
l'étage au-dessus, en lui donnant des conseils à double sens puisés dans calling to someone on the floor above, and offering him advice full of
son esprit de commis voyageur. Par moments il prenait un air triste pour double entendres, dredged from his travelling salesman’s mind. At times,
soupirer: «Pauvre fille;» ou bien il murmurait entre ses dents d'un air he would adopt a wistful air and sigh, ‘Poor girl.’ Or, furious, he would
rageur: «Gueux de Prussien, va!» Quelquefois, au moment où l'on n'y mutter between his teeth, ‘That swine of a Prussian.’ Sometimes, just
songeait plus, il poussait, d'une voix vibrante, plusieurs:«Assez! assez!» when they were no longer thinking about it, he would shout out in a
et ajoutait, comme se parlant à lui-même: «Pourvu que nous la revoyions; quivering voice, ‘Enough! enough!’ And he’d add, as if talking to
qu'il ne l'en fasse pas mourir, le misérable!» himself, ‘Let’s hope we’ll see her again! That he’s not the death of her,
the bastard!’
Bien que ces plaisanteries fussent d'un goût déplorable, elles
amusaient et ne blessaient personne, car l'indignation dépend des milieux Although the jokes were in appallingly bad taste, they amused and
comme le reste, et l'atmosphère qui s'était peu à peu créée autour d'eux offended no one. Like everything else, indignation depends on context;
était chargée de pensées grivoises. and the atmosphere that had been gradually created around them was full
of saucy thoughts.
Au dessert, les femmes elles-mêmes firent des allusions spirituelles et
discrètes. Les regards luisaient; on avait bu beaucoup. Le comte, qui By dessert, even the women were making discreet, witty allusions.
conservait, même en ses écarts, sa grande apparence de gravité, trouva Eyes were sparkling; they’d had a lot to drink. The Count, who even in
une comparaison fort goûtée sur la fin des hivernages au pôle et la joie his indiscretions, maintained his grand and serious bearing, made a much
des naufragés qui voient s'ouvrir une route vers le sud. enjoyed comparison about the end of winter at the north pole, and the joy
of shipwrecked sailors as they saw a passage to the south open up.
Loiseau, lancé, se leva, un verre de Champagne à la main: «Je bois à
notre délivrance!» Tout le monde fut debout; on l'acclamait. Les deux Loiseau, really got going now, stood up, a glass of champagne in his
bonnes soeurs, elles-mêmes, sollicitées par ces dames, consentirent à hand: ‘I drink to our deliverance!’ Everyone rose to their feet and
tremper leurs lèvres dans ce vin mousseux dont elles n'avaient jamais applauded him. Even the two nuns, urged on by the ladies, agreed to wet
goûté. Elles déclarèrent que cela ressemblait à la limonade gazeuse, mais their lips in the sparkling wine they’d never tasted before. They declared
que c'était plus fin cependant. it was like fizzy lemonade, but more subtle of course.
Loiseau résuma la situation. Loiseau caught the general mood:
—C'est malheureux de ne pas avoir de piano parce qu'on pourrait ‘What a shame we don’t have a piano. We could have had a dance.’
pincer un quadrille. NOTE
Cornudet n'avait pas dit un mot, pas fait un geste; il paraissait même Cornudet had not said a single word, had not moved at all. He seemed
plongé dans des pensées très graves, et tirait parfois, d'un geste furieux, sunk deep in serious thought, from time to time tugging angrily at his
sa grande barbe qu'il semblait vouloir allonger encore. Enfin, vers minuit, long beard that he appeared to want to make even longer. Finally, about
comme on allait se séparer, Loiseau, qui titubait, lui tapa soudain sur le midnight, just as they were about to break up, Loiseau staggered over to
ventre et lui dit en bredouillant: «Vous n'êtes pas farce, vous, ce him, poked him suddenly in the stomach, and spluttered at him, ‘A barrel
68 69
soir; vous ne dites rien, citoyen?» Mais Cornudet releva brusquement la of laughs you’ve been tonight. Got nothing to say, citizen?’ Cornudet
tête, et, parcourant la société d'un regard luisant et terrible: «Je vous dis à looked up sharply and, glaring fiercely over the entire group, said, ‘I’ll
tous que vous venez de faire une infamie!» Il se leva, gagna la porte, tell you all. What you’ve just done is a disgrace!’ He got up, went to the
répéta encore une fois: «Une infamie!» et disparut. door, and said yet again, ‘It’s a disgrace!’, then vanished.
Cela jeta un froid d'abord. Loiseau, interloqué, restait bête; mais il It cast a chill at first. Loiseau was taken aback and dumbstruck. But he
reprit son aplomb, puis, tout à coup, se tordit en répétant: «Ils sont trop regained his composure, then suddenly doubled over with laughter as he
verts, mon vieux, ils sont trop verts.» Comme on ne comprenait pas, il repeated, ‘Sour grapes, my friend, sour grapes.’ Since no one understood,
raconta les «mystères du corridor». Alors il y eut une reprise de gaieté he related ‘the secrets of the corridor’. At this, there was a renewed burst
formidable. Ces dames s'amusaient comme des folles. Le comte et M. of good humour. The ladies were in hysterics. The Count and Monsieur
Carré-Lamadon pleuraient à force de rire. Ils ne pouvaient croire. Carré-Lamadon laughed so hard they cried. They couldn’t believe it.
—Comment! vous êtes sûr? Il voulait.... ‘What…? You’re sure…? He wanted to…?’
—Je vous dis que je l'ai vu. ‘I tell you I saw it.’
—Et, elle a refusé.... ‘And she refused…?’
—Parce que le Prussien était dans la chambre à côté. ‘Because the Prussian was in the next room.’
—Pas possible? ‘Never.’
—Je vous le jure. ‘I swear.’
Le comte étouffait. L'industriel se comprimait le ventre à deux mains. The Count was choking with laughter. The manufacturer was
Loiseau continuait: clutching his sides. Loiseau went on:
—Et, vous comprenez, ce soir, il ne la trouve pas drôle, mais pas du ‘So now you see why he doesn’t find this evening funny. Not funny at
tout. all.’
Et tous les trois repartaient, malades, essoufflés. And then the three of them were off again, sick and choking with
laughter.
On se sépara là-dessus. Mais Mme Loiseau, qui était de la nature des
orties, fit remarquer à son mari, au moment où ils se couchaient, que Upstairs, they went their separate ways. As she and her husband were
«cette chipie» de petite Carré-Lamadon avait ri jaune toute la soirée: «Tu getting into bed, Madame Loiseau, who had a stinging way, remarked
sais, les femmes, quand ça en tient pour l'uniforme, qu'il soit Français ou that ‘that little bitch’ Madame Carré-Lamadon had been forcing herself to
bien Prussien, ça leur est, ma foi, bien égal. Si ce n'est pas une pitié, laugh all evening. ‘You know, when women go for a man in uniform,
Seigneur Dieu!» they don’t care if he’s French or Prussian. Honest to God, isn’t it
pathetic?’
Et toute la nuit, dans l'obscurité du corridor coururent comme des
frémissements, des bruits légers, à peine sensibles, pareils à des souffles, And all night long, there was a kind of rustling along the darkness of
the corridor, slight noises barely audible, like breathing, the padding of
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des effleurements de pieds nus, d'imperceptibles craquements. Et l'on ne bare feet, imperceptible creaking. No one got to sleep till very late,
dormit que très tard, assurément, car des filets de lumière glissèrent undoubtedly, for slivers of light slipped from underneath their doors for a
longtemps sous les portes. Le champagne a de ces effets-là; il trouble, long time. They say that champagne is like that: it disturbs your sleep.
dit-on, le sommeil.
The next day, a bright winter sun had turned the snow dazzlingly
Le lendemain, un clair soleil d'hiver rendait la neige éblouissante. La white. The coach, at last made ready, was waiting in front of the door,
diligence, attelée enfin, attendait devant la porte, tandis qu'une armée de while an army of white pigeons, puffed up in thick plumage, their pink
pigeons blancs, rengorgés dans leurs plumes épaisses, avec un oeil rosé, eyes marked in the centre with a black dot, paraded solemnly between the
taché, au milieu, d'un point noir, se promenaient gravement entre les legs of the six horses, pecking for food in the steaming dung scattered
jambes des six chevaux, et cherchaient leur vie dans le crottin fumant around.
qu'ils éparpillaient.
The coachman, wrapped up in his sheepskin coat on his box, was
Le cocher, enveloppé dans sa peau de mouton, grillait une pipe sur le puffing at his pipe as all the radiant travellers hurriedly packed in
siège, et tous les voyageurs radieux faisaient rapidement empaqueter des provisions for the rest of the journey.
provisions pour le reste du voyage.
They were waiting only for the Dumpling. She appeared.
On n'attendait plus que Boule de Suif. Elle parut.
She looked a little anxious and ashamed, and came up to her
Elle semblait un peu troublée, honteuse; et elle s'avança timidement companions timidly. In a single movement, they all turned away as if
vers ses compagnons, qui, tous, d'un même mouvement, se détournèrent they hadn’t seen her. The Count took his wife’s arm with a dignified air,
comme s'ils ne l'avaient pas aperçue. Le comte prit avec dignité le bras de and led her away from such sullied contact.
sa femme et l'éloigna de ce contact impur.
The plump young woman stopped in her tracks, dumbstruck. Then,
La grosse fille s'arrêta, stupéfaite; alors, ramassant tout son courage, summoning all her courage, she went up to the manufacturer’s wife and
elle aborda la femme du manufacturier d'un «bonjour, madame» murmured politely, ‘Good morning, Madame.’ The other woman gave a
humblement murmuré. L'autre fit de la tête seule un petit salut little impertinent nod of greeting, which she accompanied with a glare of
impertinent qu'elle accompagna d'un regard de vertu outragée. Tout le outraged virtue. Everyone seemed busy and kept their distance, as though
monde semblait affairé, et l'on se tenait loin d'elle comme si elle eût she were carrying some infection in her skirts. Then they dashed towards
apporté une infection dans ses jupes. Puis on se précipita vers la voiture the coach, leaving her to arrive last. Silently, she took up the seat she’d
où elle arriva seule, la dernière, et reprit en silence la place qu'elle avait had during the first part of the journey.
occupée pendant la première partie de la route.
No one seemed to see her, or know her. Madame Loiseau looked at
On semblait ne pas la voir, ne pas la connaître; mais Mme Loiseau, la her indignantly from afar, and muttered to her husband, ‘Thank goodness
considérant de loin avec indignation, dit à mi-voix à son mari: I’m not sitting next to her.’
«Heureusement que je ne suis pas à côté d'elle.»
The heavy coach rumbled into motion, and the journey started off
La lourde voiture s'ébranla, et le voyage recommença. On ne parla again. No one spoke at first. The Dumpling didn’t dare look up.
point d'abord. Boule de Suif n'osait pas lever les yeux. Elle se sentait en Simultaneously, she felt contempt for all her neighbours, and shame for
même temps indignée contre tous ses voisins, et humiliée d'avoir cédé, having given in – to the dirty kisses of that Prussian into whose arms they
souillée par les baisers de ce Prussien entre les bras duquel on l'avait had so hypocritically thrown her.
hypocritement jetée.
72 73
Mais la comtesse, se tournant vers Mme Carré-Lamadon, rompit But the Countess, turning to Madame Carré-Lamadon, soon broke the
bientôt ce pénible silence. awkward silence.
—Vous connaissez, je crois, Mme d'Étrelles? ‘I believe you know Madame D’Étrelles.’
—Oui, c'est une de mes amies. ‘Yes, she’s a friend of mine.’
—Quelle charmante femme! ‘What a delightful woman!’
—Ravissante! Une vraie nature d'élite, fort instruite d'ailleurs, et ‘Quite enchanting! Truly refined, and well educated too. She’s an
artiste jusqu'au bout des doigts; elle chante à ravir et dessine dans la artist to the tips of her fingers, sings ravishingly, and draws to
perfection. perfection.’
Le manufacturier causait avec le comte, et au milieu du fracas des The manufacturer was chatting with the Count and, above the rattle of
vitres un mot parfois jaillissait: «Coupon—échéance—prime—à terme.» the window panes, a word would occasionally leap out:
‘Dividend…maturity date…options…futures.’
Loiseau, qui avait chipé le vieux jeu de cartes de l'auberge, engraissé
par cinq ans de frottement sur les tables mal essuyées, attaqua un bésigue Loiseau had pinched the inn’s old pack of cards, greasy from five
avec sa femme. years’ contact with dirty tabletops; and he started on a game of bezique
with his wife.
Les bonnes soeurs prirent à leur ceinture le long rosaire qui pendait,
firent ensemble le signe de la croix, et tout à coup leurs lèvres se mirent à The nuns clasped the long rosaries that hung from their belts, and
remuer vivement, se hâtant de plus en plus, précipitant leur vague made the sign of the cross together. All at once, their lips began to move
murmure comme pour une course d'oremus; et de temps en temps elle rapidly, ever faster and faster, quickening their muffled murmurs as if
baisaient une médaille, se signaient de nouveau, puis recommençaient they were in some race of ‘let us pray’, ‘let us pray’. From time to time,
leur marmottement rapide et continu. they would kiss a medallion, cross themselves again, then start their
quick, unending muttering once more.
Cornudet songeait, immobile.
Cornudet sat motionless, lost in thought.
Au bout de trois heures de route, Loiseau ramassa ses cartes: «Il fait
faim», dit-il. After three hours’ travelling, Loiseau gathered up his cards. ‘I’m
hungry,’ he said.
Alors sa femme atteignit un paquet ficelé d'où elle fit sortir un
morceau de veau froid. Elle le découpa proprement par tranches minces At this his wife reached for a package, tied up with string, from which
et fermes, et tous deux se mirent à manger. she brought out a piece of cold veal. She cut it neatly into thin, firm-set
slices, and the two of them began to eat.
—Si nous en faisions autant, dit la comtesse. On y consentit et elle
déballa les provisions préparées pour les deux ménages. C'était, dans un ‘Perhaps we should all do the same,’ said the Countess. Everyone
de ces vases allongés dont le couvercle porte un lièvre en faïence, pour agreed, and she unpacked the provisions that had been prepared for the
indiquer qu'un lièvre en pâté gît au-dessous, une charcuterie succulente, two couples. In one of those long dishes whose lid sported a china hare,
où de blanches rivières de lard traversaient la chair brune du gibier, to show that a pâté of hare lay inside, they had some succulent cold meat,
in which the brown flesh of the game had been streaked with white rivers
74 75
mêlée à d'autres viandes hachées fin. Un beau carré de gruyère, apporté of bacon fat, mixed together with other finely chopped meats. There was
dans un journal, gardait imprimé: «faits divers» sur sa pâte onctueuse. also a sizable slab of Gruyère, wrapped in newspaper, with ‘The News in
Brief’ printed on its oily surface.
Les deux bonnes soeurs développèrent un rond de saucisson qui
sentait l'ail; et Cornudet, plongeant les deux mains en même temps dans The two nuns unwrapped a ring of sausages that smelt of garlic; and
les vastes poches de son paletot sac, tira de l'une quatre oeufs durs et de Cornudet, plunging his two hands simultaneously into the deep pockets
l'autre le croûton d'un pain. Il détacha la coque, la jeta sous ses pieds dans of his overcoat, drew out four hard-boiled eggs from one, and a crust of
la paille et se mit à mordre à même les oeufs, faisant tomber sur sa vaste bread from the other. He removed the shells, threw them down into the
barbe des parcelles de jaune clair qui semblaient, là dedans, des étoiles. straw under his feet, and began to bite into the eggs, making crumbs of
bright yellow fall into his enormous beard, where they looked like stars.
Boule de Suif, dans la hâte et l'effarement de son lever, n'avait pu
songer à rien; et elle regardait, exaspérée, suffoquant de rage, tous ces In the haste and panic of getting ready, the Dumpling had had no time
gens qui mangeaient placidement. Une colère tumultueuse la crispa to think of anything; and infuriated, choking with rage, she looked at all
d'abord, et elle ouvrit la bouche pour leur crier leur fait avec un flot these people calmly eating. A wave of anger gripped her, and her mouth
d'injures qui lui montait aux lèvres; mais elle ne pouvait pas parler tant opened to denounce their behaviour with a flood of abuse that rose to her
l'exaspération l'étranglait. lips. But so choked was she with indignation that she couldn’t speak.
Personne ne la regardait, ne songeait à elle. Elle se sentait noyée dans No one looked at her, or gave her a thought. She felt as if she had
le mépris de ces gredins honnêtes qui l'avaient sacrifiée d'abord, rejetée drowned in the contempt of these respectable swine, who’d first
ensuite, comme une chose malpropre et inutile. Alors elle songea à son sacrificed her, then turned her away like a dirty, useless thing. Then she
grand panier tout plein de bonnes choses qu'ils avaient goulûment thought of her big basket overflowing with good food that they’d
dévorées, à ses deux poulets luisants de gelée, à ses pâtés, à ses poires, à greedily devoured – the two chickens shining in aspic, the pâtés, the
ses quatre bouteilles de Bordeaux; et sa fureur tombant soudain, comme pears, the four bottles of claret. And, like an overstretched string that
une corde trop tendue qui casse, elle se sentit prête à pleurer. Elle fit des snaps, her anger suddenly gave way, and she felt on the verge of tears.
efforts terribles, se raidit, avala ses sanglots comme les enfants, mais les She made desperate efforts, steeled herself, swallowed her sobs as
pleurs montaient, luisaient au bord de ses paupières, et bientôt deux children do. But the tears welled up, glistening round the rim of her
grosses larmes, se détachant des yeux, roulèrent lentement sur ses joues. eyelids; and soon two great teardrops brimmed over her eyes and rolled
D'autres les suivirent plus rapides, coulant comme des gouttes d'eau qui slowly down her cheeks. Others followed, ever faster, flowing like drops
filtrent d'une roche, et tombant régulièrement sur la courbe rebondie de sa of water trickling from a rock, and falling steadily upon the rounded
poitrine. Elle restait droite, le regard fixe, la face rigide et pâle, espérant curve of her breast. She sat erect, staring ahead, her face stiff and pale,
qu'on ne la verrait pas. hoping that no one would notice her.
Mais la comtesse s'en aperçut et prévint son mari d'un signe. Il haussa But the Countess did, and gestured to alert her husband. He shrugged
les épaules comme pour dire: «Que voulez-vous, ce n'est pas ma faute.» his shoulders as if to say, ‘So what? It’s not my fault.’ Madame Loiseau
Mme Loiseau eut un rire muet de triomphe et murmura: «Elle pleure sa gave a silent chuckle of triumph and murmured: ‘She’s crying out of
honte.» shame.’
Les deux bonnes soeurs s'étaient remises à prier, après avoir roulé Having rolled the rest of their sausage in paper, the two nuns had gone
dans un papier le reste de leur saucisson. back to praying.
76 77
Alors Cornudet, qui digérait ses oeufs, étendit ses longues jambes Then Cornudet, who was still digesting his eggs, stretched his long
sous la banquette d'en face, se renversa, croisa ses bras, sourit comme un legs out under the seat opposite, leaned back, folded his arms, and smiled
homme qui vient de trouver une bonne farce, et se mit à siffloter la like a man who’d just thought of a good joke. He began to whistle the
Marseillaise. Marseillaise.
Toutes les figures se rembrunirent. Le chant populaire, assurément, ne Everyone’s face went dark. Clearly, the populist song was finding no
plaisait point à ses voisins. Ils devinrent nerveux, agacés, et avaient l'air favour with his neighbours. They became tense, on edge, and looked
prêts à hurler comme des chiens qui entendent un orgue de barbarie. Il ready to howl like dogs at a hurdy-gurdy. He noticed its effects, and
s'en aperçut, ne s'arrêta plus. Parfois même il fredonnait les paroles: carried on. From time to time, he even quietly sang the words:
Amour sacré de la patrie, May the sacred love of our native land,
Conduis, soutiens, nos bras vengeurs, Guide and support our avenging hands.
Liberté, liberté chérie, Freedom, dearest liberty,
Combats avec tes défenseurs! Fight with those protecting you!
On fuyait plus vite, la neige étant plus dure; et jusqu'à Dieppe, They sped along more quickly, since the snow was harder now. But
pendant les longues heures mornes du voyage, à travers les cahots du all the way to Dieppe, throughout the long, gloomy hours of the journey,
chemin, par la nuit tombante, puis dans l'obscurité profonde de la voiture, over the bumpy roads, through the twilight and then in the deep darkness
il continua, avec une obstination féroce, son sifflement vengeur et of the coach, he kept up his avenging, monotonous whistling – fiercely,
monotone, contraignant les esprits las et exaspérés à suivre le chant d'un stubbornly – compelling their frayed and weary minds to follow the song
bout à l'autre, à se rappeler chaque parole qu'ils appliquaient sur chaque from beginning to end, to remember every word that they would sing to
mesure. every bar.
Et Boule de Suif pleurait toujours; et parfois un sanglot, qu'elle n'avait And the Dumpling was still crying. From time to time, between one
pu retenir, passait, entre deux couplets, dans les ténèbres. verse and the next, a sob she couldn’t surpress would slip down into the
darkness.
78 79
NOTES
throughout the Empire a reference to the imperial Bonapartist régime

of Napoleon III (known as the Second Empire), which ran from 1852 to
1870. RETURN
NOTES
in the county the closest equivalent in English to the French
département is ‘county’. The social and class resonances of the word
‘county’ in English, in phrases like ‘they’re very county’ or ‘a county
deserved to be hanged a literal translation of the original would read accent’, are particularly appropriate to Count Hubert’s position and
‘men for/of the sack and the rope’, a reference to the hood placed over standing. RETURN
the heads of condemned men before they were hanged. RETURN
the nickname Dumpling the nickname that Maupassant gives to his
a few Uhlans the ‘Uhlans’ were originally Polish light cavalry officers, eponymous heroine, Boule de suif, has been variously translated.
who later also served in the Prussian and Austrian armies. Here, the Literally, the phrase means ‘ball of suet’, ‘ball of fat’ or ‘ball of tallow’,
‘Uhlans’ are lancers in the invading army. RETURN and it has been rendered as ‘Dumpling’, ‘Dimples’, ‘Butterball’,
‘Lardycake’, and so on. ‘Dumpling’, slightly objectified by the addition
some few miles the Introduction addresses the problems of translating of the definite article in ‘the Dumpling’, has seemed the term that best
terms of measurement into convincing modern English. To render evokes her physical size and weight, yet also the emotional fullness of
Maupassant’s deux ou trois lieues as ‘two or three leagues’ seems quaint her personality. It is a word of affection, rather than ridicule. RETURN
and archaic, and as ‘six to nine miles’ ludicrously unidiomatic. Hence,
the choice of the phrase ‘some few miles’. RETURN tiny, gleaming teeth the word quenottes has a child-like, even childish,
ring in French, equivalent perhaps to ‘toothies’ or ‘toothy-pegs’ in
the County Hall there is no exact equivalent to la préfecture in English, English. To apply these terms directly to Boule de suif, though, seems
although ‘county’ is the nearest term. A préfecture is an administrative incongruously infantile, hence the translation ‘tiny, gleaming teeth’.
district or region, corresponding to a département, led by a préfet, who RETURN
represents the national government at local level. Here, the French refers
to the offices or rooms occupied by the civil servants who work for the set aside for a rainy day the original literally means ‘a pear for or in
préfecture. RETURN case of thirst’. The natural equivalent idiom in English would be ‘to set
aside or to save for a rainy day.’ RETURN
a game of ‘L oiseau vole’ an untranslatable pun upon the multiple
meanings of the phrase. L oiseau is both the character’s name, and also ‘when all’s said and done’ the French à la bonne heure suggests a final
means ‘the bird’. Vole can denote both ‘flies’ and also ‘steals’. All four position, or a concluding acknowledgment, that is captured in the English
senses intermingle in the French, which suggests that Loiseau is a man idiom ‘when all’s said and done’. RETURN
very adept at feathering his own nest, not always honestly. RETURN
desperate times, desperate measures the French à la guerre comme à
the Council Leader like la préfecture, the word for its leader (le préfet) la guerre evokes the common proverbial wisdom of a ‘response that is
is not easily translated, not least because the nearest equivalent is appropriate to the situation’, as does the English rendering here. RETURN
‘prefect’, a term irresistibly (and inappropriately) evoking in English the
hierarchies of school life. ‘Mayor’, ‘Lord Mayor’, ‘Chief Executive’, scum Badinguet Badinguet was a nickname for Napoleon III, after the
‘County Chairman’ were all considered as possible equivalents, but were workman who had earlier helped him to escape from the fortress of Ham
finally rejected in favour of ‘the Council Leader’. RETURN in 1846. Crapule is sometimes translated as ‘scoundrel’, even though the
term has now lost much of its condemnatory power. Hence the choice of
member of the General Council the ‘General Council’ (Conseil the stronger ‘scum’ in the translation. RETURN
général) is the governing political body of the département. RETURN
80 81
NOTES NOTES
thirteen hours Maupassant strangely mis-counts the figures he mature men of the world the original les hommes posés is a resonant
provides, and makes them total fourteen hours (faisait quatorze). RETURN phrase, posés suggesting a certain weightiness, even solemnity, of place
and position. In the context, ‘mature men of the world’ tries to capture
‘vood you pleass get out, ladies end chantlemen?’ the French gives the the social status that the Count self-regardingly accords himself. RETURN
Prussian officer a strong guttural accent, which is reproduced here.
RETURN addressing her with light-hearted intimacy addressing Boule de Suif,
the Count suddenly uses the familiar and intimate tu (la tutoyant) rather
l oo the number 100 was commonly placed on hotel doors to indicate than the more formal vous. But modern English cannot distinguish
the toilet. Whether a visual pun upon ‘l oo’ was ever intended, though, is between these two forms of ‘you’, hence the rendering ‘with…intimacy’.
more debatable. RETURN RETURN
Orléanists…were not so young Maupassant invokes a number of ‘Hallelujah!’ the original saperlipopette has a humorous, vexatious
historical and contemporary references here. After the revolution of ring, which is captured in the ironic exclamation ‘Hallelujah!’ RETURN
1848, the Orléanists supported the younger branch of the French royal
family, and hoped to place Louis-Philippe’s grandson, the Comte de a dance literally, the French reads un quadrille, which was a dance
Paris, on the throne. Du Guesclin was a fourteenth-century warrior and performed by four couples in a square formation, and usually containing
hero, and famous scourge of English raiders. Joan of Arc (c. 1412-31), five parts or figures. RETURN
the virgin saint and national heroine of France, led the French army to
important victories, but was eventually captured by the English and burnt
at the stake. Napoleon (1769-1821), the French military and political
leader who ruled France, is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest
commanders, as well as the architect of the Napoleonic Code, which laid
the civil and bureaucratic foundation for the modern French state. The
‘imperial prince’ was Eugène Louis, the fourteen-year old son of
Napoleon III. RETURN
a game of thirty-one trente-et-un is a card game in which the first

player to achieve exactly that number wins. RETURN
écarté another card game that combines features of both rummy and
canasta. RETURN
early bird…night owl the English idiom perfectly captures

Maupassant’s contrast: ‘elle était “du matin”…tandis que son homme
était “du soir”. RETURN
Judith and Holofernes…Lucretia and Sextus in order to save the city

of Bethulia, the Jewish heroine Judith seduced Holofernes, who was
laying siege to it, and beheaded him as he lay asleep in a drunken stupor.
However, the introduction of Lucretia and Sextus has no real relevance to
the situation, as Maupassant indicates in his ‘puis, sans aucune raison’.
Sextus Tarquin’s rape of Lucretia led to the overthrow of Tarquinius
Superbus and the establishment of a republic. The historical allusions
throughout this paragraph clearly point up the ignorance of the company
rather than its sophistication or knowledge. RETURN
82 83
FURTHER READING AND LINKS
Critical discussions in English
FURTHER READING AND LINKS Few discussions of Maupassant’s work, whether in French or English, fail
to mention Boule de Suif, if only in passing. But for a short study
concentrating exclusively upon the story, see
Peggy Chaplin Maupassant: Boule de Suif. Glasgow: University of

Editions Glasgow French and German Publications, 1988.
The standard edition in French of Maupassant’s novellas and short stories

is Contes et Nouvelles, ed. Louis Forestier, 2 vols. Bibliothèque de la Web-sites
Pléiade series. Paris: Gallimard, 1974.
The following sites present a great deal of useful material about
Maupassant and Boule de Suif, including biographies, chronologies,
Translations criticism, translations into various languages, and audio recordings. All
provide links to further interesting material.
The following collections include useful translations of Boule de Suif into
English: http://www.guydemaupassant.fr
Roger Colet Selected Short Stories. London and New York: http://www.maupassantiana.fr
Penguin Books, 1971. [presents an English translation
only] http://www.maupassant.free.fr
Steven Jupiter Guy de Maupassant: Best Short Stories/LesMeilleurs

Contes. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1996. [a
dual-language version, with French and English on
facing pages]
Siân Miles Guy de Maupassant: A Parisian Affair and Other

Stories. London and New York: Penguin Books, 2004.
[presents an English translation only]
[anon] Guy de Maupassant: The Best Short Stories. Ware,

Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Classics, 1997. [presents
an English translation only]
[anon] Guy de Maupassant: The Necklace and Other Short

Stories. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992
(Dover Thrift Editions). [presents an English
translation only]
84 85

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Guy de Maupassant

Further Reading and Links

betrayal. It is this creative tension between specificity and generality that

It is, though, Maupassant’s details, rather than his universal themes,

licence allowed to the rather indeterminate length of the English

Given the obsessive interest some of his characters have in material

Elsewhere, physical details that establish the historical location of the

1870 upon the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, is called up

1871 leaves the army.

1885 his best-known novel, Bel-Ami, is published.

1886 continues an ever more prolific output of short stories.

1887 publication of Mont-Oriol, his third novel. Younger brother

1888 publication of his novel Pierre et Jean.

1889 starts to supervise the anthologising and translation into

1891 suffers from loss of memory and confusion. A general

1892 attempts to commit suicide, and is voluntarily admitted to a

1893 dies on 6 July, a month short of his forty-third birthday, and

On several occasions, the Dumpling would lean down, as if looking

—C'est moi. ‘With me?’

—A moi? Flustered, she thought for a moment, then said bluntly,

—C'est pour vous que je le fais, bien sûr!

La comtesse lui prit la main: The Countess took her hand:

—Et nous vous remercions. ‘And we thank you for it.’

L'oeil de Cornudet s'enflamma: ‘Good for you, citizen,’ he said.

M. Carré-Lamadon réfléchissait profondément. Bien qu'il fût

—Qu'est-ce que fous foulez? ‘Vot is it you vont?’

Le comte prit la parole: The Count spoke up,

—Nous désirons partir, Monsieur. ‘We should like to leave, sir.’

Loiseau résuma la situation. Loiseau caught the general mood:

—Et, elle a refusé.... ‘And she refused…?’

—Pas possible? ‘Never.’

—Je vous le jure. ‘I swear.’

—Oui, c'est une de mes amies. ‘Yes, she’s a friend of mine.’

—Quelle charmante femme! ‘What a delightful woman!’

throughout the Empire a reference to the imperial Bonapartist régime

a game of thirty-one trente-et-un is a card game in which the first

early bird…night owl the English idiom perfectly captures

Judith and Holofernes…Lucretia and Sextus in order to save the city

Critical discussions in English

Peggy Chaplin Maupassant: Boule de Suif. Glasgow: University of

The standard edition in French of Maupassant’s novellas and short stories

Steven Jupiter Guy de Maupassant: Best Short Stories/LesMeilleurs

Siân Miles Guy de Maupassant: A Parisian Affair and Other

[anon] Guy de Maupassant: The Best Short Stories. Ware,

[anon] Guy de Maupassant: The Necklace and Other Short

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