# Our Friends the English explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

## What happens

The narrator finds a traveler's diary in a railway carriage and copies out its last three pages. The diary recounts the author's stay at a hotel in Mentone, where he is surrounded by a group of stiff, religious English tourists. He satirizes their customs, their piety, and their insularity, culminating in a confrontation over the use of the piano for hymns versus dancing, which leads to his expulsion from the hotel.

## Themes in this chapter

### Illusion vs. Reality

The narrator's ironic observations contrast the English tourists' self-image of piety and decorum with their actual behavior, such as their harsh hymn-singing and stiff social rituals.

### Isolation and Loneliness

The narrator feels like an outsider, a 'plague-spot' and 'goat' among the 'chaste sheep,' underscoring his social isolation despite being surrounded by people.

### Social Class and Money

The chapter subtly critiques the social pretensions and exclusivity of the English bourgeoisie, who are wealthy enough to travel but remain insular and judgmental.

## Character check-ins

### Guy de Maupassant

The narrator who finds and copies the diary, and the implied author of the satirical observations.

## Key lines

> I am present, in the role of plague-spot.

The narrator feels like an unwelcome outsider at the English ball.

_Highlights the narrator's sense of alienation and the English community's exclusionary attitude._

> I cannot, gentlemen, permit you to employ in the service of God an instrument used on weekdays for girls to dance to.

The narrator refuses to let the English use the piano for hymns, arguing it is profane after being used for dancing.

_Shows the narrator's provocative defiance and his critique of English religious hypocrisy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/our-friends-the-english
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters