Bubo_bubo
Virgin
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2022
- Posts
- 998
He was not in a good place at the end of his life, suffering from both degrading mental and physical health (and when he died he was only 43). And as regards that epitaph, I can only find that in English, which makes me a bit suspicious, especially since that line in Wikipedia does not give a reference. (The French Wiki page does not mention an epitaph, but quotes a moving speech by Zola, who calls him one of the people that have been both most happy and most unhappy during their life).Well, it looks like he died about four years after it opened, so at least he didn't have to suffer for too long.
Oh, this is pretty good: "Maupassant penned his own epitaph: 'I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing.' " Jesus, he makes me look cheerful in comparison.