The Hand - Guy de Maupassant - 121 / 365 of reading one short story every day

The Hand


A man who keeps a severed hand attached to the wall of his drawing room is found mysteriously strangled at the same time that the hand disappears.



Not just another supernatural horror story but a story within a story. In this case, the story is narrated by a policeman about the strange events involving a man who kept a human hand hanging on his room wall. He was found murdered with a finger in his mouth and the hand missing. The hand later shows up on the man’s grave and a finger was found missing. The policeman offers a logical explanation which is more suited to him and more real in the modern world but is rejected by the listeners in preference of the supernatural illusion of the whole story.



With this ends the Maupassant's story collection review. Hope to read more of his work in the coming days.


The next one week is for my favorite author L M Montgomery. Woohoo! Back to cherry blossoms and green pastures.

picture courtesy - Creepypasta

The Madwoman - Guy de Maupassant - 120 / 365 of reading one short story every day

The Madwoman 

“The Madwoman” describe personal tragedies that can result from war and military occupation. This is one of the scary or supernatural and psychological story section of Maupassant collection.

This particular story is evocative of those men and women who are victimized by the arbitrary abuse of power during war. In this particular case, the Prussian occupation of France. It is a story within a story. The narrator is an unnamed man from Normandy. He tells his friend d’Endolin, of a tale long ago where a woman was affected by hearing woodcocks used to go into a strange stressful stage. What was the relation of the woodcocks to the woman?

It was the time during the Prussian occupation of Normandy. The narrator speaks of a woman who suffered a great grief after her father, husband, and baby had all died one after the other. Unable to sleep because of her trauma, she descended gradually into madness.

“The Madwoman” is a portrayal of the grim reality left behind after war.

Images courtesy - Pinterest

In the Countryside - Guy de Maupassant - 119 / 365 of reading a short story everyday

In the Countryside - Guy de Maupassant

This collection focuses upon the land he knew and loved so well - Normandy.

 Its people and its countryside are portrayed here in vivid color and with great warmth. Amusing, quirky  and with a lot of earthy character they may be, but they are also capable of great pathos, often branching off to end tragically. 

Eva bane Photograph

The Baptism - Guy de Maupassant - 118 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

The Baptism - Guy de Maupassant

The story is about an old navy doctor who lives in a country house near home. His gardener, Kérandec, has asked the doctor to be the godfather to his son. But things don't go as planned. We are given an intriguing account of the deadly nature of alcohol, which is referred to as "the seductive murderer and the delightful destroyer."

On the River - Guy de Maupassant - 117 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

On the River

AUTHOR: GUY DE MAUPASSANT

This short story is about a fisherman, which is the writer himself, who describes one of his adventures on the Seine. He decided to tell all about the night he was coming back from his friend Louis with who he dined every evening. He was very tired so he decided to throw the anchor into the depth and rest in his boat. All of the sudden he felt an invisible force moving the boat so he decided to go back home.

The writer shows us reality through the eyes of a common fisherman. He describes the nature he sees himself starting from the fog, moonlight etc. He also described the inner battles of the character and his fears. Maupassant strived for space descriptions in which the everyday, common things exist.

Courtesy the Frenchstories blog

Mademoiselle Fifi - Guy de Maupassant - 116 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

Mademoiselle Fifi - Guy de Maupassant

During the Franco-Prussian War, a young French laundress shares a coach ride with several of her condescending superiors. When a Prussian officer holds the coach over, social standings are leveled and integrity and spirit are put to the test.


'Mademoiselle Fifi' is about a young French woman's bold defiance of a brutish Prussian soldier during the Franco-Prussian War. The story is not just the portrayal of bravery by a woman but also about social classes and the disparities still prevalent now.