Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (UK: , US: ; French: [ɡi d(ə) mopasɑ̃]; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, and as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives and destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.
Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouements (outcomes). Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" ("Ball of Suet", 1880), is often considered his masterpiece.
He was known to consume hallucinogens and may have drawn on the experience with these substances for his stories. His work has been studied by neuroscientists due to his skill for articulating and analyzing his first hand experiences with different types of hallucinatory phenomena.
I 1819 forlader Jeanne Le Perthuis des Vauds det kloster i Rouen, hvor hendes forældre har ladet hende opdrage, og vender tilbage til familiens ejendom i Normandiet. Der møder hun Julien de Lamare, som hun gifter sig med. Efter en bryllupsnat, som hun, uvidende som hun er, nærmest opfatter som en voldtægt, drager de nygifte på bryllupsrejse til Korsika, hvor Jeanne oplever en flygtig lykke med sin mand, før de vender tilbage til Normandiet og et kedsommeligt og kærlighedsløst liv, hvor Julien har kasseret Jeanne til fordel for hendes kammerpige Rosalie. Det lykkes hende dog at få en søn, Paul, som hun vier hele sin kærlighed, uden at kunne eller ville se, hvilken skidt knægt han vokser op til, og lader sig groft udnytte af ham.
Alting er dog ikke sort i sort, for som kammerpigen Rosalie senere i livet bemærker til Jeanne, så er "livet aldrig hverken så godt eller så dårligt, som man tror."
Et liv var Maupassants første roman, og har man læst hans noveller, vil man også kunne nikke genkendende til nogle af handlingsgangene i "Et liv", som forfatteren tidligere havde udgivet som noveller eller senere genbrugte i omarbejdet form.
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