The story is set in the Franco-Prussian War where a desperate group of French civilians tries to escape from Rouen which has been recently occupied by the Prussians. The ten travellers decide, for various reasons, to leave Rouen and flee to Havre in a coach.
During the first part of the story, the narrator explains the background of each of the occupants of the coach who talks a great deal about resisting the invaders but they ultimately run away rather than stay in the town. This first section of the story also establishes that the most patriotic passenger is Boule de Suif herself, a fat prostitute and unpopular character in Rouen, while the Aristocrats and Bourgeois betray their country in order to end the war and return to their comfortable lives. Likewise Boule de Suif reveals to be the most patriotic and morally admirable character in the way she resists the Prussian officer’s sexual advances.
On the other hand, the travellers try to persuade Boule de Suif to sleep with the officer in order to let them continue with their journey, filling her head with arguments and saying that it would be for the good of the country. What’s more they try to convince her that it is not morally wrong to sleep with the officer in order to let the travellers and most important the nuns leave to look after the French soldiers.
Finally When Boule de Suif accept to sleep with the Prussian officer, the rest of the travellers throw a party without her and when the coach leaves the next morning, they treat her with disgust. Although she shares her picnic basket with the travellers at first, they refuse to share their food with her at the end of the novel despite the fact she has freed them. Her self-sacrifice in sleeping with the German officer underlines her personal courage which Maupassant contrasts with the hypocrisy of the other travellers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boule_de_Suif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boule_de_Suif
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