A summary of "Bel Ami" by Guy de Maupassant

The novel "Bel Ami," written in 1885, is a classic realistic work about the meteoric rise of the cynical adventurer Georges Duroy in Paris during the Third Republic. This book is a frank anatomy of human baseness, where financial gain, a corrupt press, and romantic intrigues intertwine to create a single career engine.

The novel has been repeatedly adapted for stage and cinema, the most famous of which are the films of 1939, 1955 and 2012.

First steps in Paris and newspaper debut

Former hussar non-commissioned officer Georges Duroy eks out a miserable existence in Paris, working as a minor railroad clerk with a salary of 1,500 francs a year. On the street, he accidentally encounters his army comrade Charles Forestier, now a successful journalist for the newspaper La Vie Française. Forestier lends Duroy money for a tailcoat, invites him to dinner, and suggests he try his hand at the press.

At a dinner at Forestier’s, Duroy met the newspaper’s owner, Monsieur Walter, his wife, the poet Norbert de Varenne, the columnist Jacques Rival, as well as Madame Clotilde de Marelle and Charles’s wife, Madeleine. Duroy’s stories about his service in Algeria caught Walter’s attention, and he commissioned him to write a series of essays entitled "Memoirs of an African Chasseur."

Georges proves incapable of composing the text on his own. Madeleine Forestier comes to his rescue: she dictates the material to him, deftly combining Duroy’s personal memoirs with a political analysis of the colonial question. The essay is published to great acclaim. Duroy quits his office job and joins the staff of La Vie Française. He fails to produce his second article without Madeleine’s help, but quickly masters the craft of reporting, demonstrating audacity and resourcefulness.

Love affairs and first fame

His good looks and charm help Duroy win the affections of Clotilde de Marelle. Her young daughter, Lorina, nicknames him "Dear Friend." Clotilde becomes his mistress and rents an apartment on Rue Constantinople for their regular meetings. Constantly in financial need, Duroy accepts money from her, at first embarrassed, then becoming accustomed to this charity.

A quarrel at the Folies Bergère with the prostitute Rachel leads to a temporary break with Clotilde. Having lost his money and his mistress, Duroy attempts to seduce Madeleine Forestier. The intelligent woman rejects his advances but offers to be a loyal ally. On her advice, Georges begins to pay attention to the publisher’s wife, Madame Walter.

The newspaper "Pier" publishes venomous attacks on Duroy. Defending his reputation, Georges engages in a pistol fight with journalist Louis Langremont. The gun misses, and both participants emerge unharmed. This duel raises Duroy’s standing among his colleagues, and he soon reconnects with Clotilde.

Forestier’s death and remarriage

Charles Forestier’s health is devastated by consumption. He leaves for Cannes with his wife and summons Duroy. Georges witnesses his friend’s agony and death. As Charles draws his last breath, Duroy proposes marriage to Madeleine. She doesn’t refuse outright, but warns him that she will maintain complete independence in marriage.

Upon returning to Paris, they formally marry. Duroy changes his surname to "Du Roy de Cantel," giving himself an air of aristocracy. The newlyweds go to live with his peasant parents in Cantel, but Madeleine is disgusted by the meager village life.

Georges takes over the late Forestier’s position in the newspaper’s political department. Madeleine again writes his editorials. The ridicule of his colleagues, who call him "Forestier," sends Georges into fits of rage. A deep-seated jealousy of his wife’s past grows within him, and he begins to torment her with mockery of the late Charles’s memory.

The Moroccan Scam and the Seduction of Mrs. Walter

Du Roy systematically besieges Madame Walter. He succeeds in winning her affections and making her his mistress in an apartment on Constantinople Street. Madame Walter, previously distinguished by an impeccable reputation, experiences deep remorse but gives in to her all-consuming passion. Georges quickly loses interest in her, avoids meetings, but uses her to obtain secret information.

Madame Walter reveals a conspiracy to him: Foreign Minister Laroche-Mathieu and banker Walter are plotting the occupation of Morocco. They are buying up depreciated Moroccan bonds in advance, intending to make tens of millions by guaranteeing the debt. Du Roy enters into the deal and makes a profit of seventy thousand francs.

Thanks to speculation, Walter becomes fabulously wealthy. He acquires a luxurious mansion and the famous painting "Jesus Walking on the Water." At a gala dinner, Du Roy sees the publisher’s youngest daughter, Suzanne. The girl with the enormous dowry seems to him a better match than Madeleine.

An old family friend, the Count de Vaudrec, dies, leaving his entire fortune of one million two hundred thousand francs to Madeleine. Suspecting his wife of a secret affair with the deceased, Du Roy forces her to hand over half of the inheritance to him. Otherwise, he threatens to refuse the money for reasons of honor.

Wife betrayal and bride kidnapping

Dreaming of marrying Suzanne Walter, Du Roy seeks a pretext for a divorce from Madeleine. He knows of her close relationship with Minister Laroche-Mathieu. Having tracked his wife down, Georges arrives at the boarding house with a police commissioner and catches her with her lover. The publicist files for divorce, and Laroche-Mathieu’s political career is ruined.

Suzanne’s mother categorically refuses to give her daughter to Georges. Knowing that Madame Walter will never consent, Du Roy urges Suzanne to elope. He takes the girl to La Roche-Guyon and holds her there for six days, preserving her virginity in order to blackmail her parents.

To spare his family public disgrace, Walter relents and consents to his daughter’s marriage to Du Roy. Madame Walter, overcome with grief and unrequited passion, suffers a nervous breakdown and becomes frantic in front of a painting of Christ.

The main day at Magdalene Church

The lavish wedding of Baron Georges Du Roy de Cantel and Suzanne Walter takes place in the Church of the Madeleine. Georges is the editor-in-chief of La Vie Française. The ceremony is attended by the highest echelons of Parisian society, and the Bishop of Tangier delivers a benedictory oration.

Madame Walter sobs in despair in a corner of the church, while Clotilde de Marelle offers Georges a sign of forgiveness. Stepping out onto the porch into the glare of sunlight, Du Roy gazes toward the Palais Bourbon, mentally preparing to become a deputy and anticipating his imminent meeting with Clotilde.