Analysis of Guy de Maupassant's "Old Mother Savage"

Analysis of Guy de Maupassant's "Old Mother Savage" <Tab/>We are all taught that our identity lies in the roles we play throughout life, in other words, in our actions. William Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players. / They have their exits and their entrances..." (As You Like It, II, vii). Whenever people act outside of their parts; whenever we miss our entrance, …

…with restrictive identity roles. Disastrous consequences are all too likely to result from their removal. Consequences that go beyond the death of four soldiers and their murder, the narrator's friend Serval had his chateau burned down by the Prussians due to Victoire's actions. If her identity had been broader--if she knew herself outside of societal-imposed roles, she then may have had something to cling to--a purpose in life rather than a kamikaze plan of revenge.