Boule de Suif

Maupassant's early story "Boule de Suif," ("Ball-of-Tallow") from 1880, remains a hallmark and a natural starting point. It's about a prostitute whose refrain, like Bartleby's, is that she would prefer not to—in this case, a Prussian officer asks repeatedly for the pleasure of her intimate company, and she invariably denies him. Unlike Bartleby, though, Boule de Suif must eventually give in, not b...