Two Little

Soldiers
by: Guy de Maupassant

About the
Author

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893).

He was a French writer, who has written

over 300 short stories, six novels, three
travel books, and one volume of verse.
Maupassant wrote famous short stories
like The Necklace and Bel Amim. He also
wrote poetry and novels.

Summary
Two French Soldiers, Luc Le Ganidec and Jean
Kerderen are two soldiers who are best friends
who spend their free time on the weekends away
from their barracks, out in the countryside where
they can relax. Their days spent venturing through
the countryside had eventually taken form of what
could be called a ritual. Every Sunday, they bring
food that they bought from the town they pass on
their journey for a lunch picnic to the same spot in
the woods and lie back to enjoy the food, wine,
and sights of an area that reminds them of home.

Summary
Eventually, their ritual introduced them to a
young village girl who walks by the soldiers
resting grounds to milk her cow out in the
pasture every Sunday while the men are
resting for their picnic. Both the friends fall in
love with the milkmaid. Jean had not yet
realised his new found love for girl. Luc on the
other hand picks up on it much quicker and
starts to see her more in private during the
week at the request of extra leave from his
commanding officers behind Jean`s back.

Summary
On their next expedition through the back roads of
the country, the milkmaid and Luc were very open
about their new found relationship and paid no
attention to poor Jean They left him at the picnic and
went off without him to milk the cow and walk
through the pastures. It was then that Jean realized
he too was deeply in love with the village girl as well
and on the way home he was quickly overcome with
the pain of being recently heartbroken. One of their
regular stops on the way back to the army barracks
was the astonishing Bezon bridge over a river. It was
then and there that Jean jumped off and took his own
life

Setting
"Two Little Soldiers" takes place
in the town of Courbevoie, on the
outskirts of Paris in the French
Countryside. There is no actual
combat in the story but at the
time it takes place in there is a
war going on

Characters
Jean Kerderen- shy/quiet
Luc le Ganidec- more open,
more socializing
The milkmaid
accomodating
and
friendly

Plot
Exposition: Every Sunday, Luc and Jean venture out the countryside
for a
picnic, where they eventually meet a friendly milkmaid.
Rising Action: Luc kissed the girl in front of Jean
during their
picnic and left Jean to
collect milk together with the girl
Climax: On their bridge stop going home, Jean leaned forward
more and more towards the railings
more and more until he falls
freely into the
water.
Falling Action: Luc went back to the barracks to report the incident,
however he only said a few words while stuttering.

Emotion

choked him so
that he could say no
more. If he had only
known.

Theme
Romance and Love
Betrayal

Conflict
Person vs Person
The conflict between the two
friends was caused by their love
towards the milkmaid,
eventually leading to Jeans
suicide

Plot Devices
Irony
The milkmaid made the two
soldiers stick together and
become more close. However,
she is also the reason the
friendship ended.

Maupassants
style and the
story
Most of Guy
de Maupassants stories are
set during war because of the time he
spent during the army. In this story, the
author made apparent that the
homesickness of the two soldiers caused
their yearning for search of love or
someone to be with, sometimes blinding
their concern for their comrade.