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Set during the Franco-Prussian war, Butterball is a sympathetic portrayal of a prostitute's mistreatment at the hands of a cold-hearted bourgeoisie. It is published here with a selection of stories about prostitutes, making this a unique collection. When Butterball's carriage is halted by Prussian soldiers, they demand her sexual services as ransom. Her fellow passengers--hitherto disdainful of her company--are suddenly more than happy to benefit from her "immoral" trade. But Butterball is a loyal French nationalist, and she refuses to sleep with the enemy. Through the warmth and generosity of his heroine, Maupassant exposes the hypocrisy of the French middle class. French writer Guy de Maupassant is most famous for his short stories, which depict the humdrum fate of the middle and working classes.… (more)
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In this story, Maupassant first describes the changing atmosphere
Rouen has been occupied by the Prussians, and several wealthy citizens have procured much desired travel permits allowing them to leave for Le Havre, which is still in French hands. As the coach jounces along, the passengers eye one another and try to determine each other's social status. There are an upstart wine merchant and his wife, a well-established mill owner and his wife, a Comte and Comtesse, a politician, two nuns, and a woman of easy virtue, known as Boule de Suif (Ball of Fat or Dumpling). At first the passengers are careful to maintain their distances from one another based on social standing, but after many hours of travel beyond what they were expecting, they are ready and willing to take advantage of Boule de Suif's offer to share her generous feast, which she had the foresight to pack. Over chicken legs and bottles of claret, the group bonds and social distinctions cease to be the overriding concern.
At the inn where they stop for the night, a Prussian officer makes a pass at Boule de Suif, who rebuffs him. Stung, the officer refuses to let the party continue their journey until she sleeps with him. A staunch patriot, she continues to refuse, while the others slide from outrage on her behalf to frustration that they are being held hostage to her denial. The story that unfolds is both sad and seemingly inevitable.