In 1880, at the height of his novel-as-experiment phase, Emile Zola put together a collection of six shortish
nouvelles by himself and five of his fellow devotees of naturalism. He named it after the house at Medan which his success had bought him, and the gatherings of disciples he convened there:
Les Soirees de Medan. He went first, with 'Attack on the Mill', then came 'Boule de Suif' by Maupassant and...
And very few readers got any further. Les Soirees was no great success - it has never, so far as I can tell, been translated into English. But Maupassant, making his debut, was all anyone spoke about, a tremendous and continuing success. Many Maupassant fans still regard it as his best work. It laid the secure foundation for the hectic decade that followed, during which he produced hundreds of stories and half-a-dozen novels, before his decline and death in the sanatorium at Passy. Even across the Channel, where Francophobia is bred in the bone, Boule de Suif was translated within months. And - get this - it retained, and still retains, the French title. It means ball of suet, but that doesn't work, nor does dumpling or butterball. No, Boule de Suif is perfect.
The stories in Les Soirees shared a common theme. All were set during the recent Franco-Prussian war which France, it may be recalled, lost disastrously. In Boule de Suif as bunch of townsfolk attempt to escape from Rouen, which has fallen to the Germans. Ten of them share a coach, three couples, ranging from lower middle class to aristocracy, two nuns, a liberal agitator called Cornudet, and Elisabeth Rousset, known professionally as Boule de Suif, a fat and popular prostitute.
During the first leg of the journey the decent folk steer well clear of the courtesan. But only she has had the sense to bring food, which she is perfectly happy to share, so the snobs and the religious are willing to compromise. Snowfall means they have to stop overnight at an inn. Unfortunately it is the inn where the Prussian officer in charge locally is also staying. That evening he sends a message down to the dining room. Will Mademoiselle Rousset spend the night with him? No she won't. Next morning, the officer won't allow the coach to leave. This goes on for several days - every night, the invitation, the refusal, and in the morning no coach.
The others become restive. They supported Boule de Suif to start with but the continued impasse is interfering with their plans. They conspire to persuade her and eventually succeed. They sit in the dining room drinking champagane and cheering on the thumbs and bumps from the bedchamber above. Next morning, bright and early, the coach stands ready to leave. Boule de Suif, distressed and ashamed, is last to join the party (Cornudet is staying on, a personal protest against the hypocrisy of the others). The 'respectable' folk can hardly refuse to travel with the prostitute. She is the only reason they are allowed to travel. But they don't have to speak. Indeed, they feel free to speak about her...
Hypocrisy and double standards are Maupassant's speciality and he hit the ground running with Boule de Suif. I prefer Bel-Ami, personally, but Boule de Suif comes very close. As a longish short story it may very well be, like its title, perfect.