The Model (Maupassant)

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The Model
fr. Le Modèle · 1883
Summary of a Short Story
The original takes ~16 min to read
Microsummary
A well-known but sad painter's turbulent relationship with a manipulative model ended disastrously—her dramatic leap from a window crippled her for life, pushing him into a guilty, unhappy marriage.

Short summary

Etretat, a small picturesque French town by the sea, enjoyed a lively July day. Painter Jean Sumner strolled dejectedly, accompanying his saddened, crippled wife, Josephine, pushed in a wheeled chair by a servant. Observers knew of their tragic romance—Jean had married her despite her disability.

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Jean Sumner — well-known and celebrated painter, young man, married to a crippled woman, appears dejected, initially believed himself in love with Josephine before their relationship deteriorated.
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Josephine — young woman, former model, pretty with a divine figure, stylish-looking, both legs broken after jumping from window, manipulative, emotional, flippant, now Jean's wife.

Nearby, the narrator, Jean's friend, explained their story to a companion. Josephine had been Jean's model, attractive and stylish, but manipulative and profoundly emotional. Initially enthralled, Jean soon grew weary of her demanding nature and tried to leave her, creating intense conflict.

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The Narrator — narrator, male, friend of Jean Sumner, witnessed the dramatic events between Jean and Josephine, tells the story to another man on the beach.

One day, Jean attempted a final break by leaving her money and departing. Josephine stormed into the narrator's studio, returning the money, demanding Jean's continued company. Trying persuasion, the narrator mentioned Jean's supposed future marriage to appease Josephine, but she erupted in fury.

"With her face almost livid, she replied: 'Do not dare me! I will throw myself from the window!' He began to laugh, walked toward the window, opened it, and bowing with the gesture of one who desires to let some one else precede him..."

Terrified yet defiant, Josephine ran and leapt from the window, shattering her legs in the fall. Filled with remorse and perhaps gratitude, Jean married her. The story finished, Jean and Josephine silently returned home, isolated in their unhappy marriage.

Detailed summary

Division into sections is editorial.

A painter and his crippled wife at the seaside resort of Etretat

In the seaside town of Etretat, with its white cliffs and blue sea, a young man walked dejectedly beside a wheeled chair in which sat a young woman, his wife. A manservant pushed the chair as the crippled woman gazed sadly at the brightness of the sky and the happiness of others. The couple did not speak or look at each other as they moved along the shore.

"Those who were passing behind the silent and motionless couple looked at them compassionately. A whole legend of devotion was attached to them. He had married her in spite of her infirmity, touched by her affection for him."

Two young men discuss the mysterious marriage story

Not far from the couple, two young men sat on a bench looking out at the horizon. One claimed to know Jean Sumner well and began explaining the true story behind the marriage that others found so touching. He dismissed the romantic notion that Jean had married his wife out of devotion, calling it instead an act of idiocy typical of painters who often made foolish marriages.

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The Young Man on the Bench — male, one of two men chatting on a bench, claims to know Jean Sumner well, tells the story of Jean and Josephine to his companion.

The young man then began to tell his companion the extraordinary story behind Jean's marriage, explaining that women were complex creatures whose actions were often incomprehensible and unpredictable, driven by extreme emotions rather than logic.

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The Friend on the Bench — male, listener to the story about Jean and Josephine, asks questions that prompt the narrative.

Jean Sumners relationship with a Parisian model

The young man explained that Jean's wife had been his model. She was pretty and stylish with a divine figure, and Jean believed he was deeply in love with her. He made endless promises of fidelity and devotion, completely captivated by her charms.

"She was really attractive, gifted with that fashionable flippancy that little Parisians so readily affect. She chattered, babbled, made foolish remarks that sounded witty from the manner in which they were uttered."

For three months, Jean was completely infatuated, failing to notice that Josephine was like all other models. He rented a small house for her in Andresy for the summer, where they lived together in what seemed like perfect happiness.

The evening by the river that changed everything

The storyteller recalled being present one evening when the first doubts entered Jean's mind. The couple and their friend took a stroll along the riverbank on a beautiful moonlit evening. While Jean was entranced by the beauty of the night, Josephine grew irritated by his silence and dreamy state.

When Josephine claimed to have seen a fish jump in the river, Jean agreed without looking. This angered her, and she accused him of lying. She then asked if he was going to Paris the next day, and when he replied that he didn't know, she became further annoyed, complaining that it was boring to walk without speaking.

The tension escalated when Josephine began singing a popular song that had been irritating them for two years. Jean asked her to be quiet, saying she was spoiling the landscape. This led to a bitter argument with unexpected reproaches and tears. They returned to the house, with Jean allowing her to talk without responding, overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene and stunned by her outburst.

Jeans attempt to end the relationship with money

For three months after that incident, Jean struggled to free himself from the relationship. Josephine kept him under her influence, making his life miserable with constant quarrels and fights. Desperate to break free at any cost, Jean sold all his canvases, borrowed money from friends, and gathered twenty thousand francs.

One morning, Jean left the money for Josephine with a farewell note and took refuge with his friend, the narrator. About three hours later, there was a ring at the door. Josephine had followed him, pushing past the narrator to enter the studio. She threw the envelope of banknotes at Jean's feet with a noble gesture, declaring that she didn't want his money.

The models desperate threat and attempted suicide

Josephine was pale and trembling, while Jean grew pale with rage and exasperation. When he asked what she wanted, she replied that she refused to be treated like a common woman, reminding him that he had implored her to accept him and that she had asked for nothing. She demanded that he keep her with him.

As Jean's anger grew, the narrator intervened, trying to reason with Josephine. When his arguments failed, he resorted to claiming that Jean's family wanted him to marry someone else. Josephine immediately understood and turned to Jean, asking if he was planning to get married. When he firmly answered yes, she threatened to kill herself.

Jean shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well, then kill yourself!" When she repeated her threat to throw herself from the window, Jean walked to the window, opened it, and with a mocking bow invited her to go ahead. After staring at him for a second with wild, terrible eyes, Josephine rushed past both men and jumped out of the window.

"I shall never forget the impression made on me by that open window after I had seen that body pass through it to fall to the ground. It appeared to me in a second to be as large as the heavens and as hollow as space."

The aftermath and marriage of remorse

Josephine survived the fall but with both legs broken. She would never walk again. Jean, overcome with remorse and possibly touched with gratitude that she had survived, decided to marry her. The storyteller concluded his tale, and as dusk fell, the young woman in the wheelchair felt chilly and wanted to go home. The servant wheeled her away while the painter walked silently beside his wife.

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The Manservant — male, servant who pushes Josephine's wheelchair, provides a camp stool for Jean, minor background character.

"It was growing dusk. The young woman felt chilly and wanted to go home, and the servant wheeled the invalid chair in the direction of the village. The painter walked beside his wife, neither of them having exchanged a word for an hour."