Strong as Death

The novel by the famous French writer Guy de Maupassant “Strong as Death” depicts a dramatic love story between popular Parisian artist Olivier Berteau and a lady from high society.

The singer of love in its many forms and a master of psychological analysis, Maupassant reveals to the reader the nature of passion—from its beginnings to its tragic denouement. The author’s pessimistic worldview (at that time already afflicted by an inherited mental illness) determines the plot: a wonderful feeling cannot withstand trials, external and internal obstacles turn out to be insurmountable, and the heroes are unprepared for happiness.