Short Fiction · Chapter
Friend Patience explained
The narrator recounts a chance reunion with an old college friend, Robert Patience, who has become ostentatiously wealthy and invites him to his home.
What happens
The narrator recounts a chance reunion with an old college friend, Robert Patience, who has become ostentatiously wealthy and invites him to his home. The visit reveals a garishly decorated house with erotic art and a mysterious, perfumed atmosphere, culminating in Patience's boastful revelation that his fortune came from his wife and sister-in-law.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Money
Patience's boastful display of wealth and his parvenu taste underscore the theme of social climbing and the corrupting influence of money.
Illusion vs. Reality
The narrator's initial impression of Patience's success is undercut by the suspicious, decadent atmosphere of his home, suggesting a hidden, sordid reality.
Characters to notice
- Guy de Maupassant
The narrator and protagonist, an inspector of finances who reunites with his old friend Patience.
- Monsieur Saval
The General-Treasurer who briefly accompanies the narrator to the Rue du Coq-quichante.
Key passages
“And to think that I began with nothing—my wife and my sister-in-law!”
Patience boasts that his entire fortune came from his wife and her sister.
This line reveals the source of Patience's wealth and hints at a morally dubious arrangement.
“I was saying to myself: ‘What am I going to do after dinner?’ And I thought of the long evening in this provincial town, of the slow, uninteresting walk through unknown streets, of the overwhelming sadness inspired in the solitary traveller...”
The narrator reflects on the loneliness and boredom of being a traveler in a provincial town.
This passage establishes the narrator's initial melancholy and sets the stage for the encounter with Patience.