vealing depiction of the landscape and people of Normandy, the region of France in which Maupassant was born and raised and for which he retained a lasting roundness. Madame Tellier is the cheerful, popular proprietor of a small-town brothel. Perfectly virtuous herself, she inherited the establishment from an uncle and now runs it with competence and dignity. (Blackman 44) What I thought about the story was the following. The story begins in the town of Decamp in the French region of Normandy. There the good-natured, virtuous Madeline Tellier operates a popular brothel; its ground floor contains a kind of saloon to accommodate the cruder, more raucous customers, and its upper level is reserved for more sophisticated patrons. The five prostitutes employed by Madame Tellier are each supposed to embody a different female type, so that all of the brothel's customers may attain their ideal women. There is Fernande, Raphaelle, Louise, Flora, and Rosa la Rosse. In Virville the group meets Madame's brother, Monsieur Rivet, who transports them to his home in a rickety wagon. The regular customers of Madame Tellier's establishment include the most prominent citizens of Decamp, such as Monsieur Poulin, the town's former mayor, Monsieur Tournevay, a fish-curer, the tax collector, Monsieur Pimpesse, and Monsieur Philippe, the son of a prominent banker. Monsieur Vasse is a judge whose platonic relationship with Madame Tellier has, by the end of the story, transformed into something more. The Critic Morgan Fishstone, states the following. Praised for his observant eye, clear, powerful prose, skillful use of irony, and insightful characterizations, Maupassant is recognized as one of the finest short story writers of all time. Originally published in a collection of anti-war stories by six young writers that was sponsored by such French naturalist writers as Emile Zola, "Boule de Suif' immediately established its author as a major talent. Its historical...
