Prussian Soldiers
Many of the stories that Maupassant wrote were set during the Franco-Prussian war. Prussian soldiers occupied cities and villages throughout France and were an oppressive presence. Soldiers thus become the dominant symbol of oppressive states ranging from sociopathic lack of empathy to outright psychopathic sadism.
Prostitutes
Prostitutes appear both in stories with Prussian antagonists and stories where no soldiers appear. Their symbolic significance is complex and almost paradoxical. To many other characters, prostitutes exist solely on the level of economics and by the very nature of their business they are devalued. In other stories, they literally become currency to be traded upon. For the author, the symbolism is all about value as well, but always with the insistence that they have just as much—if not more—value than anyone else.
The Invisible
Some of Maupassant’s stories are unified by the presence of a mysterious, unseen, uninvited visitor. The most famous of these stories gives this entity its unofficial name: “The Horla.” Prefiguring the psychoanalytical fiction of the 20th century, this invisible presence—whatever it may be called—is a symbolic incarnation of the unconscious.
Mirrors
Mirrors figure in stories throughout Maupassant’s body of work mostly within the same configuration of meaning. Although the specifics of demonstration may change from story to story, the underlining symbol of the mirror is that it reflects back a vision of change. The person looking in the mirror invariably sees their reflection in terms based upon a comparison of how they once looked compared to how they look now. Mirrors might well be termed thieves of identity in the way that Maupassant engages them as symbol.
Suicide
In 1880, Maupassant published a story titled “Suicides.” “A Stroll,” “Madame Baptiste,” and “The Wardrobe” all feature characters who either actually killed themselves or reached a point where they seriously considered it. The act of self-destruction is so central to the story titled “The Magic Couch” that it even features a dream sequence which features an official building containing a “Suicide Bureau.” The motif of suicide must be viewed as autobiographical to a point as later the author would succumb to mental deterioration requiring institutionalization during which he attempted suicide by slashing his own throat.
