- Summary
- Maupassant
- Dear friend
From the first pages of the work, we are presented with the main character, the charming young Georges Duroy, who enjoys great success among the female half of humanity. At the moment he has no money at all, and he is thinking about how to get it.
Suddenly he comes across an old friend Forestier, with whom he participated in the fighting in Algeria. Now his friend is a wealthy gentleman who worked as a journalist. During the conversation, Forestier invites him to work in the field of journalism. He wants Georges to come to dinner and gives him some money so that he can dress decently.
The next day, arriving at the appointed time, Georges sees that a friend has gathered eminent guests. All these people were creative individuals. Duroy suddenly felt ashamed that he could not even behave appropriately at the table and carry on a conversation. However, he was rescued by the fact that the conversation suddenly turned to Algeria. And then the young man distinguished himself with his knowledge about this country. When he spoke, the women could not take their eyes off him. Duroy was very lucky, as Forestier’s boss instructs him to compile several notes about Algeria.
Georges immediately begins to work, but he did not succeed. He was used to flirting with ladies, but he had forgotten how to do such a serious thing. The deadline for submitting the material was pressing, but he didn’t write a single line. Then he asks a friend for help, and he sends him to his wife.
When Duroy came to their home, Forestier’s wife after some time composed travel notes for him. The article was received well, and he gets a job at the editorial office; he seriously doesn’t want to work. Having received his salary, he insults Mr. Walter and leaves. But his next note was not published, and the young man wants to again turn to his friend’s wife for help. However, Forestier is outraged by his friend's behavior and refuses him. Duroy decides to do his own work. Having submitted the publication on time, he did not expect that it would not be accepted. He edited the article three times, but the article was never accepted. Then Georges decides to become a reporter. His charm and arrogance allowed him to flourish in his new position. The boss was also pleased with his work. However, Duroy received a small salary, and this made him very worried. Thinking for a long time about how to become as wealthy a gentleman as all the people around him, he remembered one high-society lady with whom he could flirt.
The next day, our hero already has lunch with Madame Marel, where he subsequently enters into an intimate relationship with her. Her daughter likes Duroy, for which she calls him a dear friend. To ensure that no one disturbs their meetings, Clotilde rents a small apartment.
Soon a conflict occurs between them, and Duroy wants to return all the money that his mistress gave him. However, his pockets were empty. He turns to Forestier, who lends him a small amount. But she was missing, and the young man wants to take revenge on him for the offense he caused. And then a chance came his way. He learns that his friend is seriously ill and begins to help his wife. Then, when the friend dies, he marries her and becomes a rich nobleman. Now he has everything he dreamed of.
He and Madeleine were on good terms, however, her words about Mrs. Walter’s sympathy for him do not allow him to sleep peacefully. After all, his boss also had a beautiful daughter with a huge fortune. Duroy takes all necessary steps to charm Suzanne and marry her after his divorce. And finally, he achieved his goal, but did not receive any satisfaction from it.
The novel teaches not to stoop to baseness and meanness when achieving your goal in life.
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