Analysis Of Mother Savage By Guy De Maupassant

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Although not stated directly, Guy de Maupassant suggests that his main character, the protagonist, is also the antagonist. The title alone leads the audience to believe this is true. Though it is in third person and one cannot read the thoughts of the characters, the narrator accurately shows the reader the change of heart. Traditionally, the protagonist and antagonist are separate individuals, but Mother Savage should not be viewed as such. Victoire Simon (Mother Savage) experiences a change in herself that forces her to share the role of the protagonist and the antagonist. In order to be a protagonist, any certain character must be the principal person with whom the story is concerned (CITATION page 20). Mother Savage follows the short …show more content…

Usually, the antagonist is portrayed as the villain in the story and is a separate character from the protagonist, but this story is different. The protagonist and antagonist is the same person. She received a letter from Césaire Rivot, a private in her son’s regiment. This letter was rather straight forward. “This letter has a sad story to telco. Your boy Victor was killed yesterday by a cannonball, which cut him practically in two” (CITATION page 1348). After receiving the letter informing her of her son’s death, the motives change within her. With a letter this blunt, anyone would see a change in themselves. The Prussians killed her son three weeks prior to her receiving this …show more content…

The two different terms give the audience a feel of her protagonist and antagonist personalities. A mother is someone who would care and love for someone. This is shown through her protagonist portion of the story. She houses these Prussian soldiers without ever wanting to harm them. Savage suggests that she is wild and cannot be contained. The ‘savage’ comes out in her when she becomes an antagonist. As soon a Victoire Simon kills the Prussian soldiers, the antagonist and the act of being savage is present. Guy de Maupassant titled it because of the role Victoria Simon portrays in his

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