Bel Ami

"Bel Ami" is a novel by the French author Guy de Maupassant. The novel was originally published in French in the year 1885 and was later translated into English and published in 1903 after it was given the English title, "Bel Ami".

The novel tells the story of a man named Georges Duroy, a former French soldier who begins the novel as a penniless railroad worker. Georges rises through the ranks as a journalist and rises through society thanks to the help of his bosses wife, who helps him write his articles. Eventually, Georges marries the woman after his boss dies.

Unfortunately, he is not happy in the marriage and begins seeing other women behind her back. In the end, Georges marries a wealthy young woman but ends the story wishing to get his mistress back.

The story of "Bel Ami" was intended by de Maupassant to display what he deemed to be the classlessness of the world of French journalism at the time. The novel continues to be viewed as a classic of French literature today and one of de Maupassant's most famous novels.

Book Summary

In the 1880's in Paris, a man named Georges Duroy leaves a restaurant. He considers how much money he has leftover and how he's going to eat for the rest of the week. He notices the women around him looking at him appreciatively. A former soldier, he is now looking to meet a woman. Noticing the men in the restaurant as he passes by he is seized with jealousy for their wealthy positions.

While walking, Georges bumps into an old soldier friend named Forestier. Greeting the man, Forestier tells him that he had to be discharged because of his bronchitis. Forestier tells him that he writes for the political section of the magazine called "La Vie Francaise."

Forestier offers to bring Georges to the magazine while he corrects some proofs before heading out to have a drink with him. George's accepts. On the way to the magazine, he tells Forestier that he came to Paris to make his fortune, but he has been working as a clerk for the Northern Railway for a meager sum.

Forestier brings Georges to the magazine where he is introduced to several well-known columnists who make large sums of money. After this, the two friends go to a pub and have a drink together. Forestier offers to talk to the head of the magazine to get Georges a job working there. He tells Georges to come to his house for a small gathering the following night. Georges confesses that he does not have any appropriate attire.

Forestier gives him a small loan tells him to pay him back when he can. At the theater after this, the men bump into two prostitutes who flirt with them. Georges is too intimidated to speak to them at first, but after Forestier leaves, Georges finds the women again and asks to leave with them. He is conscious of the fact that he will have to use half of Forestier's loan to pay the women but feels confident that he can find a respectable suit with the other half.

The following day, Georges shows up at Forestier's house feeling slightly apprehensive about the cheap suit that he has managed to cobble together. But when he is shown into the house by the concierge he sees himself in the mirror for the first time and is impressed by how gentlemanly he looks.

Georges meets Forestier's wife, Madeleine and soon her cousin, Clothilde as well as Clothilde's young daughter. He also meets several of Forestier's journalist friends including a man named Jacques Rival.

During the dinner, George's is seated between Clothilde and her daughter, Laurine. He finds himself attracted to Clothilde but is too nervous to speak to her. He spends most of the dinner only speaking to Laurine while everyone else talks about weighty subjects from the news.

When the company begins talking about Algeria, George's finally sees an opportunity to share his knowledge from his time spent there during the war. Everyone at the table is suitably impressed. Forestier mentions to his boss, M.Walter that he was considering taking on Georges as an assistant for his political column.

M. Walter instructs George's to write a few little pieces on Algeria and have them on his desk within the next two days. Made confident by the success of his budding journalism career, Georges finally finds it within himself to speak to Clothilde.

He complements her earrings and the two flirt a little. Georges escorts little Laurine into the drawing-room after dinner, and her mother is delighted by how much the little girl seems to like Georges. Georges takes his leave soon after this and Forrester reminds him to meet him at the magazine office at 3 pm the next day.

He complements her earrings and the two flirt a little. Georges escorts little Laurine into the drawing-room after dinner, and her mother is delighted by how much the little girl seems to like Georges. Georges takes his leave soon after this and Forrester reminds him to meet him at the magazine office at 3 pm the next day.

Georges rushes straight home to his flat to begin working on his articles. But when he gets back he realizes that he can't remember anything he said about Algeria during the dinner and is not sure how to start the articles.

Struggling at first, Georges suddenly becomes enraged by the signs of poverty surrounding him in his flat and promises himself that he will find a way out of that place beginning the next day. He begins working with renewed vigor.

At this point, more of Georges back story is revealed. We learn that his mother and father are the owners of a small inn in the country and had planned for him to become a gentleman and succeed more than they had in life. They sent him to secondary school which he completed, but he failed the baccalaureat test.

After this, he had gone off to his military service and intended to become an officer or possibly a general, but he found that he did not like the military life. He began to dream of going to Paris to make his fortune. After his compulsory military time was up, he moved to Paris despite the entreaties of his parents.

"His native Norman wit, whetted by daily contact with Garrison life and broadened by the instances he saw in Africa of looting, illegal perks, and questionable deals, had been given a new edge by the notions of honor current in the army, military bravado and patriotic sentiments, by tales of selfless heroism told in the sergeants mess and by all the cheap glory of the profession; so that it had become like a box with multiple false bottoms, in which you could find a bit of everything".

After this, he began wondering if he might marry a rich woman and be able to achieve his dreams that way. Despite his former vigor for writing, thinking about his past makes Georges depressed again, and he loses the will to work for the rest of the night. The next morning he wakes and tries to start working but finds that he still has no inspiration. Not getting discouraged, he decides to go and find Forestier to ask for help.

As Forestier is just leaving for the day when Georges gets to his house, he tells him to go up instead to ask his wife for help as he has trained her in journalism. Georges is hesitant at first but quickly falls into a rapport with Madeleine as she helps him write the article in her bold way.

Madeleine tells him that Clothilde is married and he is surprised.Georges finds himself growing attracted to Madeleine but leaves hurriedly when another man suddenly arrives. The man is introduced as the Comte de Vaudrec.

Georges finds himself growing attracted to Madeleine but leaves hurriedly when another man suddenly arrives. The man is introduced as the Comte de Vaudrec. He goes to his appointment at the magazine. After handing in his article and having Forestier lie that he's already looked over it, Georges is quickly given the job.

The next day, Georges wakes early to intercept the delivery of the newspaper. He is delighted to see that his article has been published. Straight away, he goes to his job at the railway and quits.

Afterward, he goes to the newspaper, and Forestier asks him where the next article is. Georges is shocked and stammers that he thought he would have more time to write it.

Forestier flippantly tells him that he will have to work hard if he intends to keep his job. He assigns Georges to go with another reporter named Saint - Potin to interview a Chinese general and the Rajah Taposahib who are staying in a hotel in the city.

While they're getting a drink together, Saint - Potin tells him that Forestier's wife, Madeleine is the former mistress of the Comte de Vaudrec who gave her a dowry and married her off. Georges is offended by the gossip and defensive of Madeleine.

He is even more offended when Saint-Potin tells him that they are not going to be interviewing the foreign officials. Instead, he is going to use old articles and patch together a narrative. He will only talk to the concierge at the hotel. Georges goes back to his flat and begins working on his next Algeria article.

However, he still finds himself struggling with what to write. He decides to visit Madeleine again the next day to ask for her help, but when he gets there, Forestier is still home. Forestier scolds him for getting other people to do his work for him and Georges awkwardly leaves.

He manages to finish the article by himself and brings it in later that day. However, after he delivers it to Forestier, he finds that it is not run in the paper the next day. When he asked why he is told that Forestier did not think that it was up to snuff. Forestier gives him the article to rewrite.

Georges rewrites it but has it returned him. This makes him realize that he is trying to work too fast and that he still needs Forestier's help. Over the course of the next two months, George's continues to work as a reporter and becomes invaluable to the paper.

But because of his job, he must associate with high-ranking people in very expensive places in town, so he finds that he still does not have any money despite his high salary. At the end of his first two months as a reporter, Georges goes to visit Clothilde as he remembers that she seemed to be interested in him and he wants to begin seeing a woman.

Georges get along so well with Clothilde and little Laurine that he is invited to a dinner at the café Riche with Clothilde and the Forestiers.

During the dinner, the group drink too much and begin making bawdy jokes. Georges says something about all of the married women of Paris being ready for affairs if only they were sure they could be kept secret. He realizes that he is propositioning both Clothilde and Madeleine for just such an affair.

After dinner, Georges escorts Clothilde home. On the way there, he kisses her. Clothilde tells him to come back the next day for lunch. "At last he had one, A married woman, a society woman, from real society! How easy it had been, how unexpected!"

The next day when he visits her Georges tells her he loves her and that he is desperate to be with her. Internally he knows that he is lying to get her into an affair. Clothilde returns his words of affection. After they have lunch, Laurine returns and is excited to see Georges. She calls him "Bel-Ami."

Clothilde begins calling him this as well. Georges and Clothilde continue their affair for three weeks until she is insulted by someone in his building. Sensing an opportunity, George's says that he will have to move. Clothilde pays for him to get a new flat in a more upscale building.

The two begin going out every night to disreputable places as Clothilde enjoys the danger. However, Georges, who has been getting advances at work and now owes four months worth of salary, eventually runs out of money. He confesses this to Clothilde but lies about the cause, saying it is the result of helping his sick father.

After this, Clothilde begins leaving him small surreptitious loans in his coat pocket when he is not paying attention. At first, Georges is furious, but he begins spending the money and tells himself that he will pay her back eventually. Later, they go to the theater together they are spotted by Rachel, the prostitute that George's slept with earlier in the novel. When Clothilde discovers the association between the two she is furious and storms out of the theater.

George wakes up the next morning feeling miserable. He begins going around town trying to borrow money from friends to pay back Clothilde. Unable to raise funds, he decides that he will pay her back later.

At the magazine, Forestier begins bullying Georges. To get him back Georges decides to make Madeleine his mistress. He goes to Forestier's house to visit her and confesses his love to her. She calmly turns him down, telling him that no one who falls in love with her stays in love with her for very long. She tells him that she will not be his mistress but that they can remain friends. Then she gives him the advice to go to speak to M. Walter's wife to try and save his job at which he has been doing poorly.

Georges goes to visit Mme. Walter and successfully impresses her and her friends with his wit. A few weeks later he is given his gossip column and starts being invited to dinners at M.Walter's house. He also makes up with the prostitute Rachel.

Georges begins organizing his department at the paper. One day while he's walking he thinks that he sees Clothilde and panics only to realize that it's not her. He suddenly realizes that he is not prepared to run into her since he has not yet repaid her and thinks that he should probably move out of his flat.

Georges attends a dinner at M.Walter's house where he is surprised to bump into Clothilde. Over dinner, she flirts with him, and he assumes that their love affair is back on once again. But she has another man, her neighbor, escort her home instead of Georges.

However, she does tell him to come to her house for lunch the following day. When Georges arrives for lunch, Clothilde tells him that her husband is in town and that she wants them to have dinner together with the Forestier's the following Monday. At first Georges disagrees, but eventually, she brings him around. During the dinner, Georges finds himself alternatively worrying that he will accidentally reveal he and Clothilde's secret to her husband and delight in the fact that he is speaking to a man whom he has such a secret over.

When the Forestier's arrive is obvious that Forestier's ill health has only gotten worse. He announces that he and Madeleine are going out of town for his health. The next day, Georges visits them before they leave and notices that Forestier looks particularly sickly. He runs into the Comte de. Vaudrec on the staircase as he is leaving.

As Georges's reputation as a gossip columnist begins to grow, he begins a feud with a fellow gossip columnist from a different newspaper called "La Plume." The feud gets so out of control that a duel is scheduled between Georges and the other columnist named Langremont. Georges has no hand in setting up the duel, and he's terrified to carry it out.

With Jacques Rival as his second, he goes to the dual expecting to be killed. Amazingly somehow both he and Langremont miss their shots, and no one is killed. After the duel, Clothilde sends a message begging him to come and see her because she has been worried about him since she heard about the duel. Georges decides to move into Clothilde's building so that they can see each other more often. They begin their affair again officially, but she makes him promise to never cheat on her.

Georges begins visiting Clothilde and her husband once a week to have dinner. Her husband enjoys his company greatly and the two talk about farming. However, soon Georges receives a letter from Madeleine saying that Forestier is on his deathbed and she wishes him to come to Cannes to see him one last time. Georges agrees and rushes to be with her.

Forestier dies only a few days after Georges arrives. Georges is horrified once again to be in the presence of death but quickly begins thinking that he might try again to win Madeleine's heart now that her husband is dead.

He hesitantly proposes the idea of them being together and assures her that she does not need to answer him for a while. The next day Madeleine tells him that she's not sure whether she wants to marry him or not but if she did she would be expected to be treated as an equal and an ally in their marriage. Georges returns to Paris awaiting her answer.

Part Two

When Clothilde returns to Paris, she accepts Georges's proposal. Soon, the two decide to slightly modify Georges's last name to make him appear to have a title. Georges Duroy becomes Georges Duroy de Cantel after the town that he was born in, Canteleu.

Georges next task is to break things off with Clothilde. She is devastated when he tells her that he is going to be marrying Madeleine and leaves in a huff. Georges and Madeleine soon marry and embark on a trip to his hometown so that she may meet his parents. When the newlyweds find Georges's parents, they are walking along a dirt road.

"Two peasants, A man and a woman, we are walking along with an irregular, lurching gate, their shoulders occasionally bumping. The man was short, stocky, red-faced, and slightly potbellied, still vigorous despite his age. The woman was tall, dried up, bent and sad, the typical farm woman of all work, who has labored since childhood and has never laughed, while her husband would be drinking and swapping stories with his customers".

George's father Alexandre likes Madeleine immediately, but his mother is more reserved. Madeleine grows uncomfortable with Georges's uncultured parents and farming town very quickly. When he sees that she has grown bored, he tells her that they will leave the next day. Madeleine agrees, but she is ashamed of herself.

One evening a few weeks later, Georges returns home to find that Madeleine has invited the Comte de Vaudrec to dinner. At first, he is put off, but when Vaudrec arrives, Georges is surprised to find that the man has a completely different manner toward him now. Vaudrec acts as if they had been friends for many years. After he leaves, Madeleine tells Georges that they have an article to work on, a major scoop about Morocco.

When it is finished, the article which is mostly written by Madeleine is so well-received that Georges is made the political editor at the magazine. With this Georges status in society gets raised once again. He and Madeleine begin entertaining senators, magistrates, and generals in their home. All of whom are introduced to Georges by his wife. Madeleine's hand in writing Georges articles does not go unnoticed by the people at the magazine. Georges regularly gets teased for his wife's involvement. He becomes furious at this teasing.

Georges becomes so angered at the thought of the late Forestier that he begins making fun of him in front of Madeleine to feel superior. It starts small with him merely making fun of the man's foot warmer and develops into him begging Madeleine to confirm that she had cheated on her late husband. Madeleine does not feel that this question deserves an answer. George's takes this as confirmation that she did and suddenly gets overwhelmingly angry at her on Forestier's behalf.

Feeling slighted by his wife, George's begins his affair with Clothilde again. He also notices that M. Walter's wife seems to be interested in him as well and wonders if he could be with her too.

One day, he visits her house and confesses his love, trying to kiss her. She pushes him away, and he chases her around the room before he pretends to tire and leaves.

A few days later, he propositions her again after a dinner party, begging her to meet him somewhere so that he can say that he loves her again. Mme. Walter eventually confesses that she will be going to church the following Sunday.

Meanwhile, Georges continues to torment Madeleine by referring to Forestier as a cuckold. He feels that he is getting revenge for his dead friend. However, Madeleine does not seem to notice. At their meeting at the church, Mme. Walter initially refuses to see Georges again although she confesses that she has loved him for a year.

Later that day she relents, and the two meet again in the park. Wanting to go somewhere more private, Georges takes Mme. Walter to his old bachelor flat. Once there, the two make love. A huge political upheaval happens in France. Parliament is dissolved because of the Moroccan affair. M.Walter tells Georges that the magazine is going to become a more respectable political newspaper.

As the magazine's star rises, so too does Georges's. Madeleine entertains more public officials in their home than ever. Georges hates most of the politicians however and complaints about hosting them. Georges and Mme. Walter continue their affair. But within six weeks, he grows tired of her and wishes to end it. Abruptly, he cuts things off with her. Mme. Walter is devastated. She tries to spy on him to glean why he has fallen out of love with her.

She draws him back to the church with a promise that she has something important to tell him. Mme. Walter informs him that she has overheard her husband talking about a money-making scheme where they buy up part of a loan that is being sent to Morocco. It is illegal but Mme. Walter asks Georges if he wants in on it. Georges agrees, but he realizes that he must borrow money from her to pay for it.

Before he can leave, Mme. Walter has the idea to twist a few strands of her hair around the buttons of his waistcoat. She feels that this will mean that he is bringing a little part of her with him.
Later that day George's meets with Clothilde whom he is also still seeing.

It is not long before Clothilde finds the strands of hair and accuses him of being with another woman since they do not match the color of his wife's hair. Clothilde is furious and storms out of the house. Georges does not follow her as he assumes that she will forgive him eventually.

On the way home, he remembers his wife asked him to pay a visit to de Vaudrec who is ill. Georges discovers that Vaudrec is on his deathbed and rushes home to tell Madeleine. That night, Vaudrec dies. Madeleine is devastated, but Georges only wonders if she will inherit anything from the rich man.

The couple soon discovers that Vaudrec has left them his entire fortune. But rather than being pleased, Georges is certain that this is confirmation that Madeleine was Vaud rec's mistress. He argues with her over whether to accept the inheritance, fearing societies condemnation. Eventually, Georges has an idea to have Madeleine accept the money and donate half to him, making it seem as though Vaudrec left the money to both of them.

Over the course of the Morocco deal, M.Walter makes an exorbitant amount of money and buys a large mansion in Paris. After buying the house, he has a party which George's and Madeleine attend. Georges alternatively tries to ignore Mme. Walter while coveting her beautiful teenage daughter, Suzanne.

During the party, Madeleine spends a lot of time with a government official named Laroche. George's worries that his wife may be cheating on him and becomes very jealous. That evening she gives him a present from Laroche, the cross of the Legion of honor. Georges is officially listed as Georges Du Roy in the paper which makes him a nobleman. Rather than being satisfied with this, Georges only points out that Laroche owes him more.

One evening at the Walter's, Georges speaks with Suzanne in private and gets her to admit if she were single she would be willing to marry him. Georges sets up a trap for Madeleine wherein he and the police chief catch her in bed with Laroche. Though adultery was illegal at this time, Laroche is a foreign official and cannot be arrested.

Next, Georges tells Suzanne that he wishes to marry her. Knowing that her parents--and especially her mother will never agree to it, he engineers a scheme in which Suzanne sneaks out of the house and the two leave town together. The Walters are then forced to agree to the marriage to protect Suzanne's reputation. Mme. Walter is so distraught that she falls ill.

Soon, Georges is confronted by Clothilde who has heard of the marriage. She is furious. "You deceive everyone; you exploit everyone, you take your pleasure and pick up your money anywhere." Georges becomes so furious at Clothilde that he beats her with his fists.

A few days later, the grand wedding between George and Suzanne takes place. The two are legally married, but just as they are leaving the church, Georges sees Clothilde and wonders if he should try to win her back.

Characters Analysis

Georges Duroy - The main character of the story. Georges is a former soldier who begins the story as a penniless railroad attendant, living in Paris. Through the kind offices of his friend, Forestier, Georges is given a position at the magazine "La Vie Francaise."

Georges is desperate to raise his position in life. It is obvious that this desire comes from his humble beginnings in life as the son of two peasant farmers.  In constantly striving for only the best things in life, Georges reveals his fatal flaw, he is never happy with what he has but continues to want something different.

This is why he charges through an assortment of women with no regard for their feelings, only interested in whatever is coming next.  Georges desperately wants Madeleine, but once they are married, he quickly tires of her and begins seeing Clothilde and Mme. Walter.

When he meets Suzanne, her beauty and wit attract her to him immediately. But once they are married he immediately wishes to begin seeing Clothilde again, despite his physical abuse of her a few days earlier.

Georges approaches his job the same way, going from reporter to gossip columnist to political columnist and acts the same way toward his finances. When Madeleine receives the money from Vaud rec's will, Georges almost does not collect it, despite his hunger for wealth.

Georges has a very delicate ego and complains constantly. He also has a very formidable fear of death which he exhibits several times when other characters die.

Madeleine Forestier (Duroy) - At the beginning of the book, Madeleine is Forestier's wife, but after his death, she marries Georges. Madeleine is a self-possessed, intelligent woman who seems to marry and involve herself with journalists so that she can work on articles herself despite the sexism of the time.

Because of this, Madeleine seems mostly unconcerned with Forestier and Georges's bad qualities. She brushes off Georges's poor treatment of her as jokes.

In the interest of continuing her work, Madeleine has many powerful and influential friends in Paris. She is the catalyst for most of Georges's career advancement throughout the story even before they are married. It is said that he has become involved with someone that works at the competing magazine, "La Plume."

Mme. Virginie Walter - Mme. Walter is the wealthy, middle-aged wife of Georges's boss, M. Walter. When the reader first meets her, she is a principled and religious woman who has developed a reputation for being extremely faithful to her husband.

However, Mme. Walter is soon taken in by Georges's charms and falls in love with him. Georges's laments that Mme. Walter acts like a foolish schoolgirl throughout their affair. He quickly leaves her for someone else but Mme. Walter is obsessed with him by this point and desperate to keep him.

She agrees to be friends with him as long as he continues to visit her house for dinner, not knowing that he only does this so that he can seduce her teenage daughter.

When Georges and Suzanne run away together, Mme. Walter is devastated. She still feels that she is in love with Georges despite the fact that she also feels that she hates him for seducing her daughter.

She falls into an ill stupor overnight and never fully recovers. At the wedding, she is seen to be sobbing and also looks much older and ill.

Guy de Maupassant Biography

Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant was born in Tourville-sur-Arques, France on August 5th, 1850. The son of two wealthy bourgeois families, de Maupassant's parents, took the unusual for the time step of getting a divorce when he was only five years old.

De Maupassant lived exclusively with his mother after the divorce. She was a well-read woman and nurtured a love of reading in him from a young age.  At the age of 13, de Maupassant and his brother were sent to boarding school, but de Maupassant despised the school and got himself expelled before graduating.

The next year he was sent to Lycee Pierre-Corneille in Rouen which he enjoyed much more because of its focus on theatricals. De Maupassant graduated in 1868 and soon after the Franco-Prussian war began. De Maupassant enlisted and spent the next decade as a clerk in the Navy department.

In 1878, he began working as a contributing editor to several newspapers in Paris and also began writing novels and short stories.

Two years later, he published, "Boule de Suif" (translated as "Ball of Fat") a short story about the war. The story was terrifically successful, and de Maupassant went onto publish three more short stories in short order.  For the next decade, de Maupassant published around 2 - 4 volumes of short stories per year. He became very well-known as a writer and a wealthy man.

In 1883, he published his first novel. "Une Vie" (translated as "A Woman's Life") sold 25,000 copies in the first year. Two years later, he published the smash hit, "Bel Ami" which received 37 printings in the first four months.

De Maupassant wrote under several pen names, including Joseph Prunier, Guy de Valmont, and Maufrigneuse, adding even more to his overall output.

During this time, de Maupassant traveled all over the world to places like Italy, Algeria, England, and Brittany, enjoying the solitude and sailing on his private yacht named after his novel "Bel-Ami."

De Maupassant was one of 46 literary and artistic figures in Paris during the 1880s that opposed the building of the Eiffel Tower. He and the others all signed a letter in protest that was sent to the Minister of Public Works.

De Maupassant often said that he regularly at lunch in the restaurant in the base of the Eiffel Tower because it was the only place in the city where one could avoid seeing the tower.

He began suffering from mental breakdowns and tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat on January 2nd, 1892. He was then sent to Espirit Blanche at Passy, in Paris, a private asylum. He died there on July 6th, 1893.

Before he died, de Maupassant wrote his epitaph that reads, "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing." He was buried in Paris in the Montparnasse Cemetery.