The Horla by Guy de Maupassant

â€Å"The Horla† By Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant’s short story â€Å"The Horla† is a great example of the notion that art sometimes imitates life. In 1887, while battling the end stages of syphilis and institutionalized for insanity, de Maupassant’s last story â€Å"The Horla† was published. In the pages his fictional character, the narrator, chronicles his journey into madness while fighting an unseen beast. The protagonist can be compared to de Maupassant and his own struggle with syphilis and psychosis. This story was originally written in French, the author de Maupassant’s native language.It begins merrily with the narrator, who by all means seems young, healthy and wealthy, living in an estate, journals his first entry on May 8th exclaiming, â€Å"What a lovely day! † (de Maupassant 1). In subsequent entries what the narrator says about himself, through his actions, his diary becomes the witness of his madness and parallels the authors own progression of syphilis. The first signs of the narrator’s depression begin to manifest four days after he spots a â€Å"superb-three mast† Brazilian vessel and salutes it.He will later come to believe that this single gesture, performing a salute, has unconsciously invited a supernatural being that was aboard the ship to enter his home. He is plagued by a fever and melancholy, changing his mood from happiness into despair. Feeling as if â€Å"some misfortune has upset his nerves and given him a fit of low spirits† (de Maupassant 2). Like his fictional character, the narrator, de Mausspant would have likely suffered from fever. The disease plaguing de Mausspant, Syphilis, is sexually transmitted and has many symptoms.In the early stages of his disease, fever is a common symptom of syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease. The medical symptoms of Syphilis tend to mimic many other diseases. Patients within four to ten weeks after contracting the v irus tend to have flu like symptoms; fever, muscle aches and decreased appetite. As the story continues, the narrator is overwhelmed with anxiety as if some irrational being is at work, one that the human eye cannot see but is nonetheless to blame, he begins to wonder if the fever is not only having an effect on his body but also on his mind. On May 16th he enters in his journals that yes, e believes he is becoming seriously ill. His writing begins to show that he is being gripped by paranoia. Feeling as if something inevitable, some unseen force is around the corner and ready to attack his physical well-being. He has a horrible â€Å"sensation of some danger threatening him† (de Maupassant 3), but has yet to give his affliction a name. Paranoia as being defined by Webster’s dictionary is a psychosis that is characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations. There may also be a tendency on the part of an individual towards irrational suspiciousness or distrustfulness.Subsequently, paranoia is a defying feature for paranoid schizophrenics. Using these guidelines and the narrator’s own description of his emotional state, it would tend to lead the reader into believing he is suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is also a medical induced symptom of syphilis (Kaplan, and Sadick). To escape his overwhelming feelings of being tormented and haunted by the unknown, the narrator escapes to Mount St. Michel. Feeling refreshed, he returns home in good health and spirits. However, very soon after his return, his nightmares return.Once again, he leaves and travels to Paris, hoping to enjoy the July 14th festivities. In Paris, he has the opportunity to attend a demonstration of hypnosis. At this demonstration, he learns about the power of suggestion. His spirits renewed, he decides to return home and once again the manifestations return. The creature which he has named The Horla, takes control of his body. Soon, he's unable to leave his home in order to escape from this invisible monster. Reaching this point in the story, one would believe the narrator is struggling with an inner demon, mental illness, not a physical entity.Fearing an unseen monster has possessed him, the narrator becomes withdrawn; unable to leave the confines of his home. You could ask, is the monster real or just another symptom of schizophrenia? Has the author, de Maupassant described his own feelings? Displaying his feelings as his protagonist in the story? People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, hearing voices that other people don't hear. They may believe other people or things are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This illness can make a person seem withdrawn or extremely agitated. On August 18th, the narrator writes â€Å"Oh!Yes I will obey Him, follow His impulses, fulfill all His wishes, show myself humble, submissive, a coward. †(de Maupassant 14) Feelin g overpowered, the narrator succumbs to the control of The Horla. His writing becomes like that of a maniac cumulating to thoughts of killing his captor, the captor that at times resides inside of him. Feeling that he may be able to take control when The Horla is creeping around the house and kill him the narrator in a moment of frenzy sets fire to his home. With his home in blazes the narrator flees to escape, only to realize he has trapped his servants in the home. The home has now became the servants grave.Overcome with paranoia when he realizes that he could not kill that which he could not see he decides his only way to escape is death. The narrator’s final line brings the conclusion to this story, â€Å"I suppose I must kill myself† (de Maupassant 18). Many sufferers of mental illness believe that suicide is the answer. On average, one out of every 10 schizophrenic patients will commit suicide. The high risk of suicide in schizophrenia is due in large part to the depression and paranoia that characterize the disorder (Veague). While unknown to the readers if the narrator actually kills himself, he was surely mad.This very madness has been documented in the real life of the author Guy de Maupassant. He himself tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat in 1891. His failed suicide attempt, his growing fear of death and paranoia led to his being institutionalized. He would spend his last 18 months of life in a Paris mental institution (Lombardi). His last work, â€Å"The Horla† should be remembered as one of his best short stories, one in which he had written himself into, as the stories own antagonist. Guy de Maupassant’s short life ended on July 6th, 1893. Works Cited de Maupassant, Guy. The Horla (Fantasy and Horror Classics).Digital. Read Books Limited, 2011. 1-18. eBook. Kaplan, Harold, and Benjamin Sadick. â€Å"http://www. schizophrenia. com/family/misdiag. html. † Schizophrenia. com. Baltimore:Williams & Wilkins , n. d. Web. 18 Oct 2012. Lombardi, Esther. Guy de Maupassant Biography. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. . Veague, Heather. â€Å"Schizophrenia, Impact on Families and Society. † Suicide and Schizophrenia. N. p. , 12 2009. Web. 17 Oct 2012. .