The Appearance of Evil in Boule de Suif. Social Sciences Research Paper

Your Name
PHIL 1666
Professor
10th AUGUST 2018
The Appearance of Evil in Boule de Suif
Boule de Suif is a captivating novella written by Guy de Maupassant during The Franco-Prussian War. The plot of the story captures a holistic, yet fascinating view of the human society, replete with contrasting religious and individual belief systems. The story presents an archetypal ethical and religious dilemma that bedevils mankind in relating with God. These divergent perspectives are presented in form of class disparity, moral and ethical conflicts, and the effect of religiosity on the perception of evil. While her fellow travellers allowed themselves to be subordinated by their captors, Boule de Suif stood her ground. Her ultimate compromise was an act of patriotism regardless of the fact that she indeed was a prostitute. Although she offered herself to stay overnight with the German officer in exchange for her colleagues’ freedom, she is abandoned by the very people for whom she had secured freedom on the basis that they were avoiding to appear evil. Notwithstanding their skewed perception of her, it is apparent that evil perpetrated outrage without hosting physical bodies while heroes stepped up in the flesh.
Boule de Suif, a renowned prostitute heroically offered herself in exchange for the freedom of her fellow travellers. Though an acquaintance of evil, she initially resists pressure and demands from the German soldier even though she finally gives-in in exchange for the freedom of her fellow travellers. Although she sacrificed for their sake, they later on estrange, loathe and treat her with contempt on the premise that she had committed an evil act notwithstanding their freedom and the hospitality that she had hitherto extended to them (Cours, 4). Evil cuts across the text. The German soldiers perpetrated evil against French war hostages whereas her fellow travellers indulged in evil acts such as smoking and drunkenness. In fact, those that isolated Boule de Suif were just as evil as she was or perhaps even more evil. Indeed, it is evident that evil did not require a host body to perpetrate outrage. It is evident that the German soldiers were ready to perpetrate evil and nothing could stop them. Indeed, they did not require a host body to perpetrate evil; neither did Boule de Suif and her compatriots. The soldiers tortured, raped and even looted from the local communities. On the other hand, Boule de Suif was a prostitute, whereas her fellow travellers repaid evil for evil (Killick, 435). For the soldiers, they did not need a host body to perpetrate evil against their helpless captors. Their intention of occupying the French territory was definite and predetermined, and so was their motive. In spite of all the evil perpetrated by the German soldiers, it seems as though none of this acts appeared evil save for Boule de Suif’s act of spending a night with the errant soldier. Perhaps, it is the appearance of evil that distinguish heinous acts perpetrated by the invading troops, those committed by Boule de Suif and those committed by her fellow travellers. Apostle Paul wrote in one of the epistles that all believers should abstain from ‘all appearance of evil’ (Cf., 1Thessalonians 5:22, NRSV). This scripture leaves extensive room for misinterpretation. In fact, many believers misconstrue this to literary mean abstaining from all appearances of evil. The eventual estrangement of Boule de Suif from his colleagues may have been largely underpinned by their misapprehension of this verse.
This verse is commonly misinterpreted as shunning all behaviors that can be perceived or interpreted as evil by others. Moreover, it is misconstrued to mean fleeing from anything that looks evil in the sight of the significant others. Ultimately, it is mostly misunderstood to mean that believers shouldn’t interact with non-believers as this association would make them appear evil. Though men and women are naturally evil, it would seem that interacting or associating with evil doers could make one to appear exceptionally evil.
The use of the word “appearance” does seem to have been literary lifted from the King James Version (KJV) of 1 Thessalonians 5:22 which make use of the phrase, “Appearance of evil”. However, this interpretation fails to recognize other bible version interpretation of the same verse. For instance, The New International Version (NIV) makes use of “every kind of evil” whereas other versions such as NKJV and RSV make use of “every form of evil”. The word ‘appearance’ is coined from the Greek word and hence it can imply ‘any form ‘or ‘kind’ as used in NIV and NKJV bible versions. The danger with these interpretations is that each can suggest a different meaning in real life application. Moreover, the word appearance can have countless nondescript interpretations depending on how it is used in the English language. For instance, it could also imply ‘sight’. The scriptural application dilemma that arises is the lack of consensus on whether believers should flee from any appearance of evil, or any kind or form of evil. This disparity in the application of this scripture is evident in Boule de Suif. The interpretation of evil seems to be wide-ranging across the entire text.
As a prostitute, Boule de Suif is viewed in disdain and as unequivocally evil due to her habitual indulgence in an old evil profession. Since she is the overarching symbol of both good and evil, the other characters delicately balance their interaction with her. Firstly, she is a symbol of good since she offered to share her food basket with her fellow travellers. Secondly, she is a symbol of good because she accepted to offer herself to the German soldier in exchange for the freedom of her country men and women. Despite the fact that she was a prostitute, she accepted to spend a night with the soldier, not in exchange for money, but the freedom of others. Notwithstanding her resolute stance and selflessness, her patriotic act is afterwards depicted as evil by the very people that she indignantly redeemed from captivity. Indeed, evil did not need a host body to perpetrate outrage. The very people, who perceived Boule de Suif as extremely evil, are the very people who had earlier coerced her into accepting the soldiers demand in exchange for their freedom would qualify as a good rather than evil based on the motive. They used biblical examples to convince her that it’s the motive of the act that either qualifies it as good or evil. However, after accomplishing the motive, the very same people turned their backs on her. They literary applied 1Thessalonians 5:22 hence completely isolating her on the basis that mingling with her would make them appear evil. It seems that through this one single ‘evil act’, the ‘appearance of evil’ took precedence over the ‘appearance of good’. Boule de Suif had earlier portrayed goodness when she shared her limited food ration with fellow passengers. From this text, we can deduce that there is great danger in acting so as to ‘appear good’ rather than acting to’ please God’. When Bould de Suif offered to share her food basket, she was not doing it to appear good, neither was that the case when she offered to stay overnight with the soldier. In either case, she acted selflessly and out of concern for other people’s welfare rather than her own. When taken literary, 1Thessalonians 5:22 would suggest that shunning any appearance of evil supersedes abstaining from sin whereas the reverse should be true. Still, by emphasizing the ‘appearance of evil’ as posited by Apostle Paul, it may imply that believers ought to shun evil to earn a positive reputati...