The Church, the Castle and the Cottage

In this novel, the battle between the forces' 'of France in the 19th century is well described by the Abbe Tolbiac: `The church and the castle holding hands, the cottage will fear us and we will obey.'

The Church and the Castle
But the Church and the Castle disagree. While the Church imposes a `God to anger and Jesuitical tyrant of vengeance ', the Castle is` kneeling before a sort of pantheistic God, producing without aim, without reason and without end in all forms, according to the needs of chance. '
The representative of the Castle, The Baron of Perthuis Vauds, booed priests: `we must fight these men, it is our right and our duty. They are not human. '

The Church and the Cottage
For his fanatical intolerance and extremely violent, especially in matters of love `physical '(` persecution against the laws and innate instincts), the Church alienates his parishioners, who remain deaf to the invectives of its spokesmen. They leave the bulk churches.

The Castle and the Cottage
The Castle is physically attracted to the Cottage, personified by the right Rosalie: `Come, baron, us it is like everyone else '. This attraction ridicule the sacrament of marriage: `Do you know many, husbands who are faithful?
Moreover, when the daughter of `Baron repeated at any time. 'It is I who have no chance in life' Then Rosalie exclaimed: What would you say if you had to work for bread, if you were forced to get up every day at six in the morning to go during the day and when they ... become too old, they die of poverty. '

Life and hope
The `exemplary life 'of the daughter of the Castle turns into a' Massacre '(dog's name):` Everything was therefore only misery, grief, misery and death. All wrong, everything was a lie, everything was hurting and crying. '
Ultimately, the hope of his life falls on the shoulders of Thatched Cottage (good Rosalie and her son `vigorous') to raise the fruit of an alliance between a noble and a half-worldly.

Although this novel is technically not as bright as `Peter and John ', it already contains the major themes of aeuvre Guy de Maupassant: the analysis without human relationships thank you (and here, exceptionally, social relations former three states), his anticlericalism and hatred for the bourgeoisie.
Highly recommended reading.