{"id":18390,"date":"2025-01-09T11:23:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/?p=18390"},"modified":"2026-01-06T13:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:33:33","slug":"guy-de-maupassant-the-dowry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/short-stories\/guy-de-maupassant-the-dowry\/18390\/","title":{"rendered":"Guy de Maupassant: The Dowry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Synopsis: <\/strong>\u201cThe Dowry\u201d (La dot) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant published on September 9, 1884, in Gil Blas. It tells the story of Simon Lebrumet, a notary, who marries the young Jeanne Cordier in the village of Boutigny-le-Revours. Their marriage comes as no surprise to anyone, as Lebrumet needs money to buy a notary’s office and Jeanne has a considerable dowry. He is a pleasant man and she is an attractive woman, albeit somewhat provincial. The first days of their marriage are filled with sweetness and passion, and Lebrumet proves to be a tender and delicate husband. To enjoy their honeymoon, the couple plans to travel to Paris; however, a curious situation alters their plans.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Guy<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Dowry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Guy de Maupassant
(Full story)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marriage of Maitre Simon Lebrument with Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier was a surprise to no one. Maitre Lebrument had bought out the practice of Maitre Papillon; naturally, he had to have money to pay for it; and Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier had three hundred thousand francs clear in currency, and in bonds payable to bearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maitre Lebrument was a handsome man. He was stylish, although in a provincial way; but, nevertheless, he was stylish \u2014 a rare thing at Boutigny-le-Rebours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mademoiselle Cordier was graceful and fresh-looking, although a trifle awkward; nevertheless, she was a handsome girl, and one to be desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marriage ceremony turned all Boutigny topsy-turvy. Everybody admired the young couple, who quickly returned home to domestic felicity, having decided simply to take a short trip to Paris, after a few days of retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tete-a-tete was delightful, Maitre Lebrument having shown just the proper amount of delicacy. He had taken as his motto: \u201cEverything comes to him who waits.\u201d He knew how to be at the same time patient and energetic. His success was rapid and complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After four days, Madame Lebrument adored her husband. She could not get along without him. She would sit on his knees, and taking him by the ears she would say: \u201cOpen your mouth and shut your eyes.\u201d He would open his mouth wide and partly close his eyes, and he would try to nip her fingers as she slipped some dainty between his teeth. Then she would give him a kiss, sweet and long, which would make chills run up and down his spine. And then, in his turn, he would not have enough caresses to please his wife from morning to night and from night to morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first week was over, he said to his young companion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you wish, we will leave for Paris next Tuesday. We will be like two lovers, we will go to the restaurants, the theatres, the concert halls, everywhere, everywhere!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was ready to dance for joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! yes, yes. Let us go as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then, as we must forget nothing, ask your father to have your dowry ready; I shall pay Maitre Papillon on this trip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She answered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll right: I will tell him to-morrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he took her in his arms once more, to renew those sweet games of love which she had so enjoyed for the past week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following Tuesday, father-in-law and mother-in-law went to the station with their daughter and their son-in-law who were leaving for the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The father-in-law said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tell you it is very imprudent to carry so much money about in a pocketbook.\u201d And the young lawyer smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry; I am accustomed to such things. You understand that, in my profession, I sometimes have as much as a million about me. In this manner, at least we avoid a great amount of red tape and delay. You needn\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conductor was crying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll aboard for Paris!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They scrambled into a car, where two old ladies were already seated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebrument whispered into his wife\u2019s ear:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a bother! I won\u2019t be able to smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She answered in a low voice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt annoys me too, but not an account of your cigar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whistle blew and the train started. The trip lasted about an hour, during which time they did not say very much to each other, as the two old ladies did not go to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as they were in front of the Saint-Lazare Station, Maitre Lebrument said to his wife:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDearie, let us first go over to the Boulevard and get something to eat; then we can quietly return and get our trunk and bring it to the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She immediately assented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! yes. Let\u2019s eat at the restaurant. Is it far?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, it\u2019s quite a distance, but we will take the omnibus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was surprised:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we take a cab?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He began to scold her smilingly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs that the way you save money? A cab for a five minutes\u2019 ride at six cents a minute! You would deprive yourself of nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s so,\u201d she said, a little embarrassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big omnibus was passing by, drawn by three big horses, which were trotting along. Lebrument called out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConductor! Conductor!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heavy carriage stopped. And the young lawyer, pushing his wife, said to her quickly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo inside; I\u2019m going up on top, so that I may smoke at least one cigarette before lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had no time to answer. The conductor, who had seized her by the arm to help her up the step, pushed her inside, and she fell into a seat, bewildered, looking through the back window at the feet of her husband as he climbed up to the top of the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And she sat there motionless, between a fat man who smelled of cheap tobacco and an old woman who smelled of garlic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the other passengers were lined up in silence \u2014 a grocer\u2019s boy, a young girl, a soldier, a gentleman with gold-rimmed spectacles and a big silk hat, two ladies with a self-satisfied and crabbed look, which seemed to say: \u201cWe are riding in this thing, but we don\u2019t have to,\u201d two sisters of charity and an undertaker. They looked like a collection of caricatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jolting of the wagon made them wag their heads and the shaking of the wheels seemed to stupefy them \u2014 they all looked as though they were asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young woman remained motionless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he come inside with me?\u201d she was saying to herself. An unaccountable sadness seemed to be hanging over her. He really need not have acted so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sisters motioned to the conductor to stop, and they got off one after the other, leaving in their wake the pungent smell of camphor. The bus started tip and soon stopped again. And in got a cook, red-faced and out of breath. She sat down and placed her basket of provisions on her knees. A strong odor of dish-water filled the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s further than I imagined,\u201d thought Jeanne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The undertaker went out, and was replaced by a coachman who seemed to bring the atmosphere of the stable with him. The young girl had as a successor a messenger, the odor of whose feet showed that he was continually walking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyer\u2019s wife began to feel ill at ease, nauseated, ready to cry without knowing why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other persons left and others entered. The stage went on through interminable streets, stopping at stations and starting again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow far it is!\u201d thought Jeanne. \u201cI hope he hasn\u2019t gone to sleep! He has been so tired the last few days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Little by little all the passengers left. She was left alone, all alone. The conductor cried:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVaugirard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing that she did not move, he repeated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVaugirard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked at him, understanding that he was speaking to her, as there was no one else there. For the third time the man said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVaugirard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then she asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are we?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered gruffly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at Vaugirard, of course! I have been yelling it for the last half hour!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it far from the Boulevard?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich boulevard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Boulevard des Italiens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe passed that a long time ago!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould you mind telling my husband?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour husband! Where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the top of the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the top! There hasn\u2019t been anybody there for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She started, terrified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat? That\u2019s impossible! He got on with me. Look well! He must be there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conductor was becoming uncivil:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome on, little one, you\u2019ve talked enough! You can find ten men for every one that you lose. Now run along. You\u2019ll find another one somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tears were coming to her eyes. She insisted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, monsieur, you are mistaken; I assure you that you must be mistaken. He had a big portfolio under his arm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man began to laugh:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA big portfolio! Oh, yes! He got off at the Madeleine. He got rid of you, all right! Ha! ha! ha!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stage had stopped. She got out and, in spite of herself, she looked up instinctively to the roof of the bus. It was absolutely deserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then she began to cry, and, without thinking that anybody was listening or watching her, she said out loud:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is going to become of me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An inspector approached:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conductor answered, in a bantering tone of voice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lady who got left by her husband during the trip.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! that\u2019s nothing. You go about your business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he turned on his heels and walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She began to walk straight ahead, too bewildered, too crazed even to understand what had happened to her. Where was she to go? What could she do? What could have happened to him? How could he have made such a mistake? How could he have been so forgetful?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had two francs in her pocket. To whom could she go? Suddenly she remembered her cousin Barral, one of the assistants in the offices of the Ministry of the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had just enough to pay for a cab. She drove to his house. He met her just as he was leaving for his office. He was carrying a large portfolio under his arm, just like Lebrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She jumped out of the carriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHenry!\u201d she cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stopped, astonished:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJeanne! Here \u2014 all alone! What are you doing? Where have you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her eyes full of tears, she stammered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy husband has just got lost!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLost! Where?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn an omnibus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn an omnibus?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeping, she told him her whole adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He listened, thought, and then asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas his mind clear this morning?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood. Did he have much money with him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, he was carrying my dowry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour dowry! The whole of it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole of it \u2014 in order to pay for the practice which he bought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, my dear cousin, by this time your husband must be well on his way to Belgium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She could not understand. She kept repeating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy husband \u2014 you say\u2014 \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI say that he has disappeared with your \u2014 your capital \u2014 that\u2019s all!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stood there, a prey to conflicting emotions, sobbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen he is \u2014 he is \u2014 he is a villain!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, faint from excitement, she leaned her head on her cousin\u2019s shoulder and wept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As people were stopping to look at them, he pushed her gently into the vestibule of his house, and, supporting her with his arm around her waist, he led her up the stairs, and as his astonished servant opened the door, he ordered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSophie, run to the restaurant and get a luncheon for two. I am not going to the office to-day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE END<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Dowry\u201d (La dot) is a short story by Guy de Maupassant published on September 9, 1884, in Gil Blas. It tells the story of Simon Lebrumet, a notary, who marries the young Jeanne Cordier in the village of Boutigny-le-Revours. Their marriage comes as no surprise to anyone, as Lebrumet needs money to buy a notary’s office and Jeanne has a considerable dowry. He is a pleasant man and she is an attractive woman, albeit somewhat provincial. The first days of their marriage are filled with sweetness and passion, and Lebrumet proves to be a tender and delicate husband. To enjoy their honeymoon, the couple plans to travel to Paris; however, a curious situation alters their plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[752,751,630],"class_list":["post-18390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-stories","tag-france","tag-guy-de-maupassant-en","tag-realism","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":559,"label":"Short stories"}],"post_tag":[{"value":752,"label":"France"},{"value":751,"label":"Guy de Maupassant"},{"value":630,"label":"Realism"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/lecturia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Guy-de-Maupassant-La-dote.webp",1024,1024,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Juan Pablo Guevara","author_link":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/author\/spartakku\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":559,"name":"Short stories","slug":"short-stories","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":559,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":419,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":559,"category_count":419,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Short stories","category_nicename":"short-stories","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":752,"name":"France","slug":"france","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":752,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":751,"name":"Guy de Maupassant","slug":"guy-de-maupassant-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":751,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":630,"name":"Realism","slug":"realism","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":630,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":52,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}