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Moiron
Experience the psychological depth and moral complexity in Guy De Maupassant's "Moiron." This gripping short story centers on the character of Moiron and his interactions that reveal deeper truths about human nature and societal expectations. Through a detailed and immersive narrative, De Maupassant explores themes of personal integrity, social pressures, and the consequences of moral choices.
De Maupassant provides a nuanced portrayal of Moiron's character, revealing the internal and external conflicts that shape his actions. His storytelling combines psychological insight with social commentary to create a rich and engaging narrative."Moiron" is a thought-provoking story, ideal for readers who appreciate complex character studies and the reflective prose of one of France's most celebrated authors.
De Maupassant provides a nuanced portrayal of Moiron's character, revealing the internal and external conflicts that shape his actions. His storytelling combines psychological insight with social commentary to create a rich and engaging narrative."Moiron" is a thought-provoking story, ideal for readers who appreciate complex character studies and the reflective prose of one of France's most celebrated authors.
- GenresShort Stories
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1887
About the author
Guy de Maupassant
7,566 books3,070 followersHenri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 10, 2022
Another very disturbing short story by Maupassant, questioning the ways of God and the suffering of the world.
Story in short- A school teacher has many students that become ill and die, but how and why?
“Monsieur Moiron, who was a teacher in the north of France, enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the whole country. He was a person of intelligence, quiet, very religious, a little taciturn; he had married in the district of Boislinot, where he exercised his profession. He had had three children, who had died of consumption, one after the other. From this time he seemed to bestow upon the youngsters confided to his care all the tenderness of his heart. With his own money he bought toys for his best
scholars and for the good boys; he gave them little dinners and stuffed them with delicacies, candy and cakes: Everybody loved this good man with his big heart, when suddenly five of his pupils died, in a strange manner, one after the other. It was supposed that there was an epidemic due to the condition of the water, resulting from drought; they looked for the causes without being able to discover them, the more so that the symptoms were so peculiar. The children seemed to be attacked by a feeling of lassitude; they would not eat, they complained of pains in their stomachs, dragged along for a short time, and died in frightful suffering."
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻 spoiler alert🔻🔻
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A school teacher whose three sons died takes revenge on his school boys by giving them crushed glass and needles in candy. He seemed so innocent but after he is found with crushed glass in his snuff box, the candies laced and seen to buy small needles that can break, he is finally put to be executed. He had killed many boys but a priest comes to the Attorney office and says that the man is innocent. So the attorney went to Napoleon, who gives him a pardon for death but he must serve hard time. Soon after the pardon, the attorney starts to regret, that some trick lies here. I felt the man was guilty from the start after hearing about his sons deaths and the boys soon after. I had thought he killed his sons but he said that God is cruel and killed his boys and he would kill also before God could. The attorney finds this all out after he is asked to see the murderer. He never regretted what he did and was cruel to the end. If he suffered why make others suffer. God's ways are very hard to grasp and understand with suffering around since the beginning of time but to be so evil to harm anyone especially children, is incomprehensible to me.
“For a year nothing new developed; then two little boys, the best scholars in the class, Moiron’s favorites, died within four days of each other. An examination of the bodies was again ordered, and in both of them were discovered tiny fragments of crushed glass. The conclusion arrived at was that the two youngsters must imprudently have eaten from some carelessly cleaned receptacle. A glass broken over a pail of milk could have produced this frightful accident, and the affair would have been pushed no further if Moiron’s servant had not been taken sick at this time. The physician who was called in noticed the same symptoms he had seen in the children."
“On an order from the court the schoolhouse was searched, and a closet was found which was full of toys and dainties destined for the children. Almost all these delicacies contained bits of crushed glass or pieces of broken needles."
“Why should this good, simple, religious man have killed little children, and the very children whom he seemed to love the most, whom he spoiled and stuffed with sweet things, for whom he spent half his salary in buying toys and bonbons?"
“Public indignation demanded capital punishment, and it became more and more insistent, overturning all objections. “Moiron was condemned to death, and his appeal was rejected. Nothing was left for him but the imperial pardon. I knew through my father that the emperor would not grant it. “One morning, as I was working in my study, the visit of the prison almoner was announced. He was an old priest who knew men well and understood the habits of criminals. He seemed troubled, ill at ease, nervous. After talking for a few minutes about one thing and another, he arose and said suddenly: ‘If Moiron is executed, monsieur, you will have put an innocent man to death.’ “Then he left without bowing, leaving me behind with the deep impression made by his words. He had pronounced them in such a sincere and solemn manner, opening those lips, closed and sealed by the secret of confession, in order to save a life."
‘This man must be pardoned. He must, since he is innocent.’ “Why did this sudden conviction of a religious woman cast a terrible doubt in my mind? “Until then I had ardently desired a change of sentence. And now I suddenly felt myself the toy, the dupe of a cunning criminal who had employed the priest and confession as a last means of defence."
"I was informed one evening, just as we were sitting down to dinner, that a young priest wished to speak to me. “I had him shown in and he begged me to come to a dying man who desired absolutely to see me. This had often happened to me in my long career as a magistrate, and, although I had been set aside by the Republic, I was still often called upon in similar circumstances. I therefore followed the priest, who led me to a miserable little room in a large tenement house. “There I found a strange- looking man on a bed of straw, sitting with his back against the wall, in order to get his breath. He was a sort of skeleton, with dark, gleaming eyes. “As soon as he saw me, he murmured: ‘Don’t you recognize me?’ “‘No.’ “‘I am Moiron.’"
“‘I married and had children, and I loved them as no father or mother ever loved their children. I lived only for them. I was wild about them. All three of them died! Why? why? What had I done? I was rebellious, furious; and suddenly my eyes were opened as if I were waking up out of a sleep. I understood that God is bad. Why had He killed my children? I opened my eyes and saw that He loves to kill. He loves only that, monsieur. He gives life but to destroy it! God, monsieur, is a murderer! He needs death every day."
“‘Then, monsieur, I began to kill children played a trick on Him. He did not get those. It was not He, but I! And I would have killed many others, but you caught me. There! “‘I was to be executed. I! How He would have laughed! Then I asked for a priest, and I lied. I confessed to him. I lied and I lived. “‘Now, all is over. I can no longer escape from Him. I no longer fear Him, monsieur; I despise Him too much.’"
“I turned to the ashen-faced priest, whose dark outline stood out against the wall, and asked: ‘Are you going to stay here, Monsieur l’Abbe?’ “‘Yes.’ “Then the dying man sneered: ‘Yes, yes, He sends His vultures to the corpses.’ “I had had enough of this. I opened the door and ran away.”
Story in short- A school teacher has many students that become ill and die, but how and why?
“Monsieur Moiron, who was a teacher in the north of France, enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the whole country. He was a person of intelligence, quiet, very religious, a little taciturn; he had married in the district of Boislinot, where he exercised his profession. He had had three children, who had died of consumption, one after the other. From this time he seemed to bestow upon the youngsters confided to his care all the tenderness of his heart. With his own money he bought toys for his best
scholars and for the good boys; he gave them little dinners and stuffed them with delicacies, candy and cakes: Everybody loved this good man with his big heart, when suddenly five of his pupils died, in a strange manner, one after the other. It was supposed that there was an epidemic due to the condition of the water, resulting from drought; they looked for the causes without being able to discover them, the more so that the symptoms were so peculiar. The children seemed to be attacked by a feeling of lassitude; they would not eat, they complained of pains in their stomachs, dragged along for a short time, and died in frightful suffering."
🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻 spoiler alert🔻🔻
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌
A school teacher whose three sons died takes revenge on his school boys by giving them crushed glass and needles in candy. He seemed so innocent but after he is found with crushed glass in his snuff box, the candies laced and seen to buy small needles that can break, he is finally put to be executed. He had killed many boys but a priest comes to the Attorney office and says that the man is innocent. So the attorney went to Napoleon, who gives him a pardon for death but he must serve hard time. Soon after the pardon, the attorney starts to regret, that some trick lies here. I felt the man was guilty from the start after hearing about his sons deaths and the boys soon after. I had thought he killed his sons but he said that God is cruel and killed his boys and he would kill also before God could. The attorney finds this all out after he is asked to see the murderer. He never regretted what he did and was cruel to the end. If he suffered why make others suffer. God's ways are very hard to grasp and understand with suffering around since the beginning of time but to be so evil to harm anyone especially children, is incomprehensible to me.
“For a year nothing new developed; then two little boys, the best scholars in the class, Moiron’s favorites, died within four days of each other. An examination of the bodies was again ordered, and in both of them were discovered tiny fragments of crushed glass. The conclusion arrived at was that the two youngsters must imprudently have eaten from some carelessly cleaned receptacle. A glass broken over a pail of milk could have produced this frightful accident, and the affair would have been pushed no further if Moiron’s servant had not been taken sick at this time. The physician who was called in noticed the same symptoms he had seen in the children."
“On an order from the court the schoolhouse was searched, and a closet was found which was full of toys and dainties destined for the children. Almost all these delicacies contained bits of crushed glass or pieces of broken needles."
“Why should this good, simple, religious man have killed little children, and the very children whom he seemed to love the most, whom he spoiled and stuffed with sweet things, for whom he spent half his salary in buying toys and bonbons?"
“Public indignation demanded capital punishment, and it became more and more insistent, overturning all objections. “Moiron was condemned to death, and his appeal was rejected. Nothing was left for him but the imperial pardon. I knew through my father that the emperor would not grant it. “One morning, as I was working in my study, the visit of the prison almoner was announced. He was an old priest who knew men well and understood the habits of criminals. He seemed troubled, ill at ease, nervous. After talking for a few minutes about one thing and another, he arose and said suddenly: ‘If Moiron is executed, monsieur, you will have put an innocent man to death.’ “Then he left without bowing, leaving me behind with the deep impression made by his words. He had pronounced them in such a sincere and solemn manner, opening those lips, closed and sealed by the secret of confession, in order to save a life."
‘This man must be pardoned. He must, since he is innocent.’ “Why did this sudden conviction of a religious woman cast a terrible doubt in my mind? “Until then I had ardently desired a change of sentence. And now I suddenly felt myself the toy, the dupe of a cunning criminal who had employed the priest and confession as a last means of defence."
"I was informed one evening, just as we were sitting down to dinner, that a young priest wished to speak to me. “I had him shown in and he begged me to come to a dying man who desired absolutely to see me. This had often happened to me in my long career as a magistrate, and, although I had been set aside by the Republic, I was still often called upon in similar circumstances. I therefore followed the priest, who led me to a miserable little room in a large tenement house. “There I found a strange- looking man on a bed of straw, sitting with his back against the wall, in order to get his breath. He was a sort of skeleton, with dark, gleaming eyes. “As soon as he saw me, he murmured: ‘Don’t you recognize me?’ “‘No.’ “‘I am Moiron.’"
“‘I married and had children, and I loved them as no father or mother ever loved their children. I lived only for them. I was wild about them. All three of them died! Why? why? What had I done? I was rebellious, furious; and suddenly my eyes were opened as if I were waking up out of a sleep. I understood that God is bad. Why had He killed my children? I opened my eyes and saw that He loves to kill. He loves only that, monsieur. He gives life but to destroy it! God, monsieur, is a murderer! He needs death every day."
“‘Then, monsieur, I began to kill children played a trick on Him. He did not get those. It was not He, but I! And I would have killed many others, but you caught me. There! “‘I was to be executed. I! How He would have laughed! Then I asked for a priest, and I lied. I confessed to him. I lied and I lived. “‘Now, all is over. I can no longer escape from Him. I no longer fear Him, monsieur; I despise Him too much.’"
“I turned to the ashen-faced priest, whose dark outline stood out against the wall, and asked: ‘Are you going to stay here, Monsieur l’Abbe?’ “‘Yes.’ “Then the dying man sneered: ‘Yes, yes, He sends His vultures to the corpses.’ “I had had enough of this. I opened the door and ran away.”
April 6, 2025
4.5⭐
Mr. Moiron was a highly respected teacher in the north of France whose three children had all died of consumption one after another within a short space of time. He had become particularly attentive to the young people under his care, buying the best students presents of toys and bonbons treating them all tenderly. But several of them died mysteriously one after the other, and when the servant of Mr. Moiron suffered the same symptoms as the pupils who died suspicions arose and the senior magistrate who tells the story had been brought in to investigate.
Mr. Moiron was a highly respected teacher in the north of France whose three children had all died of consumption one after another within a short space of time. He had become particularly attentive to the young people under his care, buying the best students presents of toys and bonbons treating them all tenderly. But several of them died mysteriously one after the other, and when the servant of Mr. Moiron suffered the same symptoms as the pupils who died suspicions arose and the senior magistrate who tells the story had been brought in to investigate.
June 18, 2021
Disturbing, not for the sensitive.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews