BOULE DE SUIF

BOULE DE SUIF
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BOULE DE SUIF

The story is set in the Franco-Prussian War and follows a desperate group of French civilians fleeing Rouen, recently occupied by the Prussians. The ten travellers decide, for various reasons, to leave Rouen and flee to Le Havre in a stagecoach. Sharing the carriage are the prostitute Boule de Suif (Suet Dumpling Butterball - a large lady was particularly attractive at such a time of common hardship), whose real name is Elisabeth Rousset, the strict Republican Cornudet, a shop-owning couple from the petty bourgeoisie, M. and Mme. Loiseau, a wealthy upper-bourgeoisie factory-owner and his wife, M. and Mme. Carré-Lamadon, the Comte and Comtesse of Bréville, and two nuns. Due to the terrible weather, the coach moves very slowly and by midday has only covered a few miles. The occupants initially snub Boule de Suif but their attitudes change when the woman produces a picnic basket full of lovely food and offers to share its contents with the hungry travellers.
At the village of Tôtes, the carriage stops at the local coaching inn, and the occupants, hearing a German voice, realise they have blundered into Prussian-held territory. A Prussian officer detains the party at the inn indefinitely without telling them why. Over the next two days, the travellers become increasingly impatient, and are finally told by Boule de Suif that they are being detained until she agrees to sleep with the officer. She is repeatedly called before the officer, and always returns in a heightened state of agitation. Initially, the travellers support her and are furious at the officer's arrogance, but their indignation soon disappears as they grow angry at Boule de Suif for not sleeping with the officer and allowing their journey to continue. Over the course of the next two days, the travellers use various examples of logic and morality to convince her it is the right thing to do; she finally gives in and sleeps with the officer, who allows them to leave the next morning.
As they continue on their way to Le Havre, these 'representatives of Virtue' ignore Boule de Suif and turn to polite topics of conversation, glancing scathingly at the young woman while refusing to even acknowledge her, and refusing to share their food with her in the same way that she did at the beginning. As the coach travels on into the night, Cornudet starts whistling the Marseillaise while Boule de Suif seethes with rage against the other passengers, and finally weeps for her lost dignity.
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1、BOULE DE SUIF