The Two Little Soldiers: Summary

The story "The Two Little Soldiers" was written by Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893). He was a French writer, who has written some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. Maupassant wrote short stories like The Necklace and Bel Amim, but he also wrote poetry and novels. He was an author of the naturalistic school. 

Two Little Soldiers" takes place in Courbevoie, a town in the countryside of France. Although there is no fighting in the story, there is a war going on. Two French Soldiers, Luc Le Ganidec and Jean Kerderen are two soldiers who habitually spend their free time on Sundays away from the barracks, out in the countryside. Their day off has taken on the character of a ritual. Every Sunday, they bring food for breakfast 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.

Eventually, their ritual comes to include a bit of innocent ogling of a young village girl who brings her cow out to pasture every week at the same time. Unfortunately, both the soldiers fall in love with the milkmaid. But Luc starts to see her more in private and Jean ends up killing himself from being heart broken, because his friend went behind his back. 

Guy de Maupassant is known for his very realistic style of writing. In most of his stories there is a war going on because of the time de Maupassant spent in the army. There is also a character in love because of de Maupassant's love for women. Homesickness; when soldiers are away from home for so long, they are going to feel home sick. They will miss the feeling of a woman, which is why both soldiers fall in love with the milkmaid. 

There are two themes: Love and Romance Betrayal Setting Conflict Person vs Person The milkmaid causes the conflict between Luc and Jean, leading Jean to committing suicide. The countryside and the milkmaid brought Luc and Jean together, but eventually they ended up leading to Jean's death.