Madame Loisel, "The Necklace"
After her husband buys her an expensive new gown to attend an important ball, she follows his advice to borrow an expensive diamond necklace from a friend. Following the party, the couple discover that the necklace has gone missing and they blow through their savings and plunge into long-term debt so that they might replace it. After a decade of poverty, they learn that the lost necklace was a cheap imitation.
“Mother Savage”
The title character of this story is French widow now left alone after her son has gone to war against Prussia. During his absence, she is forced to accommodate four Prussian soldiers and subsequently learns her son has been killed. Although ultimately shot to death by another soldier, she dies with a measure of revenge by having killed the soldiers in her home after setting it ablaze.
“The Horla”
The Horla is the star of a horror story, but something more than that. Throughout the short fiction of Maupassant runs a theme of the mysterious unknown visitor and that theme is most physically manifested in the being described by a powerfully disturbed narrator in this story. The Horla is literally an invisible presence that has its origin not from without, but within.
“Mademoiselle Fifi”
One of the most ironic titles in the Maupassant canon features a title character with a French woman’s name who is actually a vicious Prussian officer. His story is one of sublime retributive justice in which he winds up with a throat slashed by a prostitute. Although “Fifi” is the title character, it is really a tale about his killer, a young Jewish girl named Rachel and the attempt by the Prussians to locate her hiding place which costs them the lives of two more and is never successful.
The Madman, "The Diary of a Madman"
He tells his story in a diary and he is not just any psychopath. He used to be a highly respected magistrate. His diary is ostensibly for the purpose of intellectual analysis of why people kill as well as a philosophical debate over the immorality of the act. His journal is read retroactively after his own death, found among his official judicial documents.
Countess de Mascaret, "Useless Beauty"
The story titled “Useless Beauty” features one of the author’s strange characters. The Countess confesses to her husband, the Count, a terrible secret she has been withholding from him: one of the seven children they’ve had together is not actually his. He becomes obsessed with discovering which of the kids is not his, but the Countess stubbornly and absolutely refuses to divulge that information. Finally, she discloses the truth is that she lied in the first place in order to be loved for herself rather than as a producer of offspring.
Antoine Boitelle, "Boitelle"
Antoine Boitelle is the main character from Boitelle who fell in love with a Negress (to use the text's own rather outdated term) working in a café. He views the Negress as perfect for him and therefore wanted to get married to her. They traveled to his hometown to get his parents' approval but was later rejected. Antoine did not wish to go against his parents so they did not get married. He got married to another women and had 14 children but he was not happy. Therefore, he made a decision to not go against his children's wishes and support them in every way.
Negress, "Boitelle"
The so-called Negress is a black woman who was found on the bottom of a merchant ship by a captain. She was then adopt by the owner of the Cafe Des Colonies who later died and inherited the cafe. She later fell in love with Antoine Boitelle and accepted his marriage proposal. She later went with Antoine to meet get his parents approval but was rejected. Antoine could not go against his parents’ wishes so they had to part ways.
Mere and Pere Boitelle, "Boitelle"
The parents of Boitelle who were portrayed as narrow-minded and naive by Guy De Maupassant. They rejected the Negress due to her black skin and did not allow Antoine Boitelle to get married to her
