Three Short Works by Gustave Flaubert [PDF]

Information: Three Short Works

• Author: Gustave Flaubert
• Publication Date: 1877
• Main Characters:
  • Felicite: A humble, devoted servant in Normandy who spends her life serving others, eventually finding spiritual transcendence through her love for a parrot in 'A Simple Soul'
  • Julian: A nobleman born with an uncontrollable urge to kill, who commits patricide and seeks redemption through extreme self-sacrifice in 'The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller'
  • Herodias: The ambitious wife of Herod Antipas who orchestrates the execution of John the Baptist to protect her political power in 'Herodias'
  • Iaokanann (John the Baptist): A fiery prophet imprisoned by Herod whose denunciations of Herodias lead to his beheading in the story 'Herodias'
  • Madame Aubain: Felicite's employer, a middle-class widow in Pont-l'Eveque whose family becomes the center of Felicite's devoted life in 'A Simple Soul'
• Brief Summary: "Three Short Works" contains three novellas by Gustave Flaubert, originally published in French as "Trois Contes" in 1877. "A Simple Soul" follows Felicite, a devoted servant in Normandy whose quiet life becomes a meditation on love and loss. "The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller" retells the medieval tale of a nobleman cursed with a passion for hunting who ultimately finds redemption through radical compassion. "Herodias" dramatizes the events leading to the execution of John the Baptist at the court of Herod Antipas. Together, the three stories span centuries and settings while circling the same questions about sacrifice, belief, and grace.
• Thematic Analysis: The central themes running through all three novellas are faith, sacrifice, and the nature of holiness. Flaubert examines devotion in its many forms: Felicite's simple, instinctive piety; Julian's violent path toward sainthood through suffering; and the political and religious conflicts surrounding Herodias and John the Baptist. Each story asks whether true holiness requires extraordinary acts or whether it can exist in the most ordinary life.
• Historical Context: Flaubert wrote "Trois Contes" between 1875 and 1877, during a period of personal crisis marked by financial ruin and the deaths of close friends including George Sand. The collection was published in April 1877 and was Flaubert's final completed work before his death in 1880. The stories reflect both his lifelong fascination with religion and history, and his mature mastery of prose style that influenced writers from Maupassant to Kafka.