Profitable Business Page #2

"Profitable Business" is a thought-provoking short story by Guy de Maupassant that explores themes of ambition, ethics, and the complexities of human relationships in the mercantile world. The narrative follows a businessman who navigates the challenges of profit-making while grappling with moral dilemmas. Maupassant’s keen observations and rich characterizations reveal the often-cutthroat nature of business, highlighting the tension between personal values and the pursuit of success. The story serves as a critique of materialism, urging readers to reflect on what truly constitutes a "profitable" life beyond mere financial gain.

• Short story

								

voice, "no, dear, not there, not there, you must not go in there."

"Why?" he said, for his wish to go in had only become stronger.

"Because if you go in there, you will have no inclination to remain with
me, and I so want you to stay. If you only knew!"

"Well, what?" And with a violent movement, he opened the glazed door,
when the smell of carbolic acid seemed almost to strike him in the face,
but what he saw, made him recoil still more, for on a small iron
bedstead, lay the dead body of a woman fantastically illuminated by a
single wax candle, and in horror he turned to make his escape.

"Stop, my dear," the woman sobbed; and clinging to him, she told him
amidst a flood of tears, that her friend had died two days previously,
and that there was no money to bury her. "Because," she said, "you can
understand that I want it to be a respectable funeral, we were so very
fond of each other! Stop here, my dear, do stop. I only want ten francs
more. Don't go away."

They had gone back into the bedroom, and she was pushing him towards
the bed:

"No," he said, "let me go. I will give you the ten francs, but I will
not stay here; I cannot."

He took his purse out of his pocket, extracted a ten-franc piece, put it
on the table, and then went to the door; but when he had reached it, a
thought suddenly struck him, as if somebody were reasoning with him,
without his knowledge.

"Why lose these ten francs? Why not profit by this woman's good
intentions. She certainly did her business bravely, and if I had not
known about the matter, I should certainly not have gone away for some
time ... Well then?"

But other obscurer suggestions whispered to him:

"She was her friend! ... They were so fond of each other! Was it
friendship or love? Oh! love apparently. Well, it would surely be
avenging morality, if this woman were forced to be faithless to that
monstrous love?" And suddenly the man turned round and said in a low and
trembling voice: "Look here! If I give you twenty francs instead of ten,
I suppose you could buy some flowers for her, as well?"

The unhappy woman's face brightened with pleasure and gratitude.

"Will you really give me twenty?"

"Yes," he replied, "and more perhaps. It quite depends upon yourself."

And with the quiet conscience of an honorable man who, at the same time,
is not a fool he said gravely:

"You need only be very complaisant."

And he added, mentally: "Especially as I deserve it, as in giving you
twenty francs I am performing a good action."
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