MAUPASSANT (de), Gustave (1821-1900)

MAUPASSANT (de), Gustave (1821-1900)

Autograph letter signed « Gustave de Maupassant » to Robert Pinchon
Sainte-Maxime, 9 7bre [September] [18]95, 3 p. in-8° on laid paper
Watermark “Au Printemps / Paris / Nouveau papier français”
Small tare on the fold, one word crossed off by Gustave de Maupassant

Unpublished testimony in which Gustave de Maupassant openly accuses his wife Laure of having taken advantage of their son Guy’s mental weakness at the time when he was writing his will

We here transcribe the letter partially

« Mon cher Pinchon,
Permettez-moi de vous remercier de l’article de Céard [nous n’avons pas retrouvé l’article dont il est ici question] que vous m’avez envoyé. Je journal venait de Rouen et c’est bien à vous, je pense, que je dois cette amabilité. J’ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à le relire, je connaissais tous les acteurs et cela m’a bien interessé – hélas ce pauvre La Toque¹ est mort depuis, Guy aussi – il y a déjà deux membres de cette bande joyeuse qui ne sont plus…
J’ai eu bien des ennuis avec la liquidation de mon pauvre fils – Elle n’est finie que depuis 6 jours ! Guy était déjà fou quand sa mère lui fit faire son testament à Cannes et se fit donner 10000 livres de rente qu’il ne pouvait donner – il lui a laissé prendre en outre tout ce qu’elle a voulu […] Elle en a usé et abusé !… N’ayant voulu, par respect pour la mémoire de mon fils, protester en rien j’ai accepté le testament dans toute sa teneur  – je vous parle de tout cela car je veux en venir à ceci – j’aurais voulu conserver une de ses œuvres les plus curieuses : feuille de rose² […]
J’ai été bien malade depuis que je ne vous ai vu – j’ai eu une hémiplégie il y a trois ans et il m’est resté une boiterie des plus désagréables avec laquelle je suis condamné à faire bon ménage pour le reste de mes jours. Je m’arrête mon cher ami, j’écris difficilement, cela me fatigue – Adieu mon cher Pinchon et encore merci
Tout à vous
Gustave de Maupassant »

Gradually consumed by syphilis, which he contracted in the 1870s, Guy de Maupassant’s health declined sharply in 1891. His correspondence leaves no room for ambiguity as to his bouts of madness and his physical state. In a letter to Dr. Despaigne in October, he recounted: “I spent a crazy night without being able to stay in bed, going from place to place, as after my cocaine injection. My eyes look like those of a madman. My memory disappeared… ».
Settled in his Parisian apartment at 24 rue Boccador, the writer took the train on December 14 to Nice, where he planned to visit his mother. He writes his will on the same day in the presence of the latter. A “confidential” testimony from mid-December (from Georges Ohnet or Paul Ollendorff), relayed by the newspaper Le Jour, also explains the state of health in which the writer was at the time the will was written: “Guy de Maupassant is suffering from a cavity of the frontal bone which paralyzes his intelligence; He has all the trouble in the world to find his words. He has nonsensical conversations. »
Maupassant attempted suicide with a pistol a fortnight later, on the night of 1 to 2 January 1892 (his valet François Tassart had removed the bullets). He then grabs a letter opener and tries to open his throat. All the doctors agreed, a new suicidal crisis could occur at any moment, Maupassant had to be hospitalized.
A nurse took care of him in his Cannes residence and put him in a straitjacket. He was interned on 7 January 1892 in the clinic of Doctor Blanche. After an interminable ordeal, and suffering from general paralysis, he succumbed on July 6, 1893.

Legally still married (even after the legalization of the divorce on July 27, 1884), Gustave and Laure (née Poittevin) de Maupassant had been separated amicably since 1859.

Maupassant and Robert Pinchon met at the Lycée impérial in Rouen. The latter’s father, Adolphe, taught French there. Robert was in the same class as Louis de Poittevin, Guy’s cousin. The two friends met again later in Paris. Pinchon, known as “La Tôque”, was a member of the band of boaters. The pornography play À la feuille de rose (here mentioned) was presented jointly by Guy and Robert for the first performance, on April 19, 1875. Robert Pinchon returned to Rouen around 1880 and became librarian in the city and music and drama critic in Le Nouvelliste de Rouen. He wrote many plays, which he published in 1894 under the title Théâtre. The memory of his friend Maupassant is evoked in the preface to the book.
Maupassant dedicated his short story The Adventure of Walter Schnaffs to him in 1883.

[1] Gustave de Maupassant is mistaken, “La Toque” is the nickname of the recipient Robert Pinchon. It must necessarily confuse with another.
[2] Guy de Maupassant’s pornographic play, À la feuille de rose was performed twice, on 19 April 1875 and 17 May 1877. Gustave de Maupassant was present at this second performance.

We include:
Gustave de Maupassant
Autograph carte-de-visite
Antibes, n.d, 1 p. in-24°, to to the same
« avec mes plus sincères compliments et condoléances »