Maupassant, roi du Nouveau Décaméron
Maupassant, King of Le Nouveau Décaméron

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to show the important place of Guy de Maupassant in Le Nouveau Décaméron. He had been judged by critics the best storyteller of Les Soirées de Médan for his tale “Boule de suif,” and he published eleven short stories on women, marriage, adultery and prostitution in the volumes of Catulle Mendès from 1884 to 1887. We also examine the image that the “entre-textes” give of the author. The reader discovers a courteous, worldly writer who loves women and who is also impeccably mannered and seductive. Finally, Maupassant, crowned by Mendès king of the sixth day, with Boule de Suif as queen, is the most important writer of this collective work. However, his fictitious portrait present in the volumes of Le Nouveau Décaméron contributed to the creation of the stereotypical image of Maupassant.

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