Legal and Ethical Allegory in “The Devil”
Guy de Maupassant’s “The Devil” is a chilling masterpiece often studied as a psychological portrait of avarice and moral decay. Yet, beneath its surface of bleak realism, the story functions as a potent legal and ethical allegory, challenging the very boundaries between law, human dignity, and cost. In a world where death is reduced to a mercenary transaction and compassion is utterly commodified, Maupassant compels us to confront a fundamental question: What happens when legality is wholly stripped of morality?
Law in the Shadows: The Criminality of Jean’s Actions
Jean’s desperate act—secretly burying his deceased mother in a field to avoid paying the midwife (Mother Bontemps) and covering funeral costs—is not merely morally repugnant; it constitutes several serious criminal offenses in virtually any jurisdiction. His actions raise immediate legal red flags:
1. Illegal Disposal and Desecration of Human Remains
Modern legal systems mandate that human remains must be treated with dignity and disposed of in accordance with public health and burial regulations. Jean’s clandestine burial violates these norms. This action would typically constitute:
- Illegal Disposal of a Body: Circumventing required processes for death certification and interment.
- Desecration of a Corpse: Treating a human body in a manner that offends community norms and disrespects the deceased.
- Failure to Report a Death: Ignoring the requirement to notify authorities or obtain a proper death certificate.
2. Breach of Contract and Deception
Jean engages Mother Bontemps for essential post-mortem care and fails to honor his side of the agreement, effectively attempting to avoid a contractual debt through an illegal act. While not classic financial fraud, his intent to deceive and shirk payment reflects a fundamental breach of contract and an act of bad faith motivated by greed.
3. Moral Turpitude and Public Order
Beyond specific statutes, Jean’s utter failure in filial duty—abandoning his mother’s body in a field—is an act of moral turpitude. Such acts, which deeply shock the public conscience, can carry severe civil and reputational consequences, revealing a profound breakdown of social and legal order in the rural community.
Justice vs. Legality: The Central Tension
Maupassant’s genius lies in showcasing that legality alone is an insufficient guarantee of justice. Jean may escape formal, immediate punishment in the story’s setting (which lacks robust, centralized oversight), but he is unequivocally condemned by a deeper moral calculus.
| Legal Concept | Appearance in “The Devil” |
| Dignity of the Dead | Violated by Jean’s hurried, illegal, and disrespectful burial. |
| Contractual Exploitation | The midwife’s demand for payment upfront reflects a transactional system that prioritizes profit over human need. |
| Abuse of Vulnerability | Jean exploits his mother’s helplessness and the midwife’s physical fatigue to facilitate his crime. |
| Absence of Legal Oversight | The remote, rural setting highlights how law fails to reach the margins, allowing immorality to flourish unchecked. |
| Justice vs. Legality | Jean’s actions may evade the letter of the law, but they are met with a definitive moral verdict. |
A Call for Legal Humanism
In the story’s climax, the midwife’s searing judgment—“You are the devil!”—is not a legal verdict, but a powerful moral indictment. This ethical verdict is ultimately more damning than any courtroom sentence. The true “devil” of the story is the force of human greed that enables a son to view his mother’s death as a financial liability to be evaded.
“The Devil” serves as an enduring call for Legal Humanism, urging us to rethink the role of law in moments of vulnerability, grief, and poverty. It is a stark reminder that:
- Legal systems must protect the vulnerable, ensuring dignity—especially in matters of life, death, and final rites—cannot be bought or sold.
- Compassion must be integral, not optional, to legal practice and societal structures.
- Justice must reach the margins—no community, regardless of its poverty or remoteness, should exist outside the reach of dignity and legal protection.
