Subject
Sibling rivalry -- Fiction Books
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Guy de Maupassant
Pierre and Jean
"Pierre and Jean" by Guy de Maupassant is a novel written between June and September 1887. When a family friend leaves his entire inheritance to Jean, his brother Pierre begins to suspect their mother's fidelity and Jean's legitimacy. Pierre's investigation uncovers a hidden portrait and love letters, confirming his darkest suspicions. As Jean's life flourishes with new wealth and prospects, Pierre's anguish grows, culminating in violent confrontations at family meals. The novel explores themes of heredity, legitimacy, and the destructive power of truth within a bourgeois French family.
Wilkie Collins
Poor Miss Finch
"Poor Miss Finch" by Wilkie Collins is a novel published in 1872. It follows Lucilla Finch, a young blind woman who falls in love with Oscar Dubourg, her reclusive neighbor. When Oscar's medical treatment leaves him permanently disfigured with blue-grey skin—triggering Lucilla's phobia of dark colors—his charming twin brother Nugent arrives from America. As Lucilla undergoes surgery that may restore her sight, a dangerous deception unfolds involving mistaken identity, manipulation, and a race against time to prevent a disastrous marriage.
Guy de Maupassant
Pierre et Jean
"Pierre et Jean" by Guy de Maupassant is a novel written between June and September 1887. When a family friend leaves his entire inheritance to Jean Roland, his brother Pierre begins to suspect their mother's fidelity and Jean's legitimacy. Pierre's investigation uncovers painful truths that tear the family apart, leading to violent confrontations and shifting loyalties. This psychological realist work explores themes of heredity, bourgeois family life, and the destructive power of hidden secrets as one brother's life flourishes while the other's crumbles.
Guy de Maupassant
Veljekset
"Veljekset" by Guy de Maupassant is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story revolves around the lives of two brothers, Peter and John Roland, who navigate their complicated relationships within the context of family dynamics and expectations, particularly after the unexpected inheritance of a substantial fortune from a family friend. Themes of rivalry, jealousy, and the complexities of familial love are likely to be central to the narrative. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the Roland family as they embark on a fishing trip. The family consists of the elderly Roland and his wife, joined by their two sons, Peter, a physician, and John, a younger, more impulsive character. The outing is quickly interrupted by the family’s concerns over an impending visit from their lawyer, hinting at potential changes in their circumstances. As the plot unfolds, undercurrents of rivalry emerge, especially between the brothers as John inherits a significant fortune from a deceased friend of their father's, leading to tension and introspection about their relationships and societal positions.
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