History Literature / SimonsPapa

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Philippe and Blanchotte are soon attracted to each other, but Blanchotte keeps him at distance because she doesn't want to be the subject of gossip again, and Philippe respects her and her son too much to invade her boundaries. Fortunately for everyone,he finds [[TheyDo the nerve to propose marriage in the end]].

* CantActPervertedTowardsALoveInterest: When accompanying Simon back home, Philippe fatuously tells himself that a woman who sinned once might well sin again. Actually seeing her (and her reaction on learning her son tried to commit suicide because the children mocked him for being born out of wedlock) drives those thoughts well away.

* AdultFear: La Blanchotte has to deal with the community's disdain for her negatively affecting her son, to the point that he might have committed suicide. She blushes and starts crying when Simon tells her.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: One of Philippe's friends argues that Blanchotte is a good woman after all, and many other women who did the same mistake (premarital sex), had the luck of getting married with their lovers and now they are as respectable as the next person - Blanchotte was just the only one who was lied to and abandoned.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Philippe and Blanchotte are soon attracted to each other but Blanchotte keeps him at distance because she doesn't want to be the subject of gossip again, and Philippe respects her and her son too much to invade her boundaries. Fortunately for everyone,he finds [[TheyDo the nerve to propose marriage in the end]].

* NotSoDifferentRemark: One of Philippe's friends argues that Blanchotte is a good woman after all, and many other women who did the same mistake (premarital sex), had the luck of getting married with their lovers and now they are as respectable as the next person.

* NotSoDifferent: One of Philippe's friends argues that Blanchotte is a good woman after all, and many other women who did the same mistake (premarital sex), had the luck of getting married with their lovers and now they are as respectable as the next person.

Simon, the shy, quiet son of local woman La Blanchotte, falls afoul of the other boys' cruelty because he doesn't have a father. Soon he meets the local blacksmith, Phillip Remy, who agrees to be his "father".

* DefiledForever: PlayedWith. The ladies of the village disdain La Blanchotte for having become pregnant with Simon outside of marriage, which causes the plot because their sons catch their condescension without understanding it. However, near the end of the story, one of the blacksmiths speaking with Philipe (said to speak for them all) comments that La Blanchotte would make a worthy wife if a man were inclined to propose, and claims to know others considered respectable who sinned the same way but got married with their lovers. In any case, it doesn't dissuade Phillip.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Le Blanchotte acts aloof towards Phillip when he first brings Simon home, which the narration attributes to her having been hurt by Simon's biological father. Over time, he walks by a little more, and thinks she seems a little rosier when he's there, though the narrator muddies the waters by noting that Phillip could have been flattering himself. She certainly agrees quickly enough when he turns up to propose to her, though no one ever clarifies whether it's due to love or social benefits (or both).

* InterruptedSuicide: Simon goes to the river intending to drown himself, but he gets distracted by various creatures. However, the thought recurs, and he tries to say a prayer beforehand. However, he can't finish for sobbing. Luckily, his grief attracts the attention of the local blacksmith, Phillip Remy, who takes him home to his mother.
* KidsAreCruel: The other boys mock Simon about not having a father, ultimately beating him and taunting him to tell his nonexistent father about it. Guy de Maupassant compares it to a group of chickens killing one of their own that has been wounded. They continue mocking him after he "adopts" Phillip as a replacement. However, Phillip proposing to Simon's mother and taking Simon under his protection silences the taunting.
* MarryTheNanny: Simon's problems with the other boys and adoption of Phillip as a father figure introduce the blacksmith to his mother, and they end up engaged by the end of the story.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The bullies accidentally create the happy ending of the story by telling Simon that Phillip isn't his father because he isn't married to his mother. When Simon repeats this to Phillip, it ultimately leads to the blacksmith proposing marriage to La Blanchotte, shutting the boys up once and for all.

* DefiledForever: PlayedWith. The ladies of the village disdain La Blanchotte for having become pregnant with Simon outside of marriage, which causes the plot because their sons catch their condescension without understanding it. However, near the end of the story, one of the blacksmiths speaking with Phillip (said to speak for them all) comments that La Blanchotte would make a worthy wife if a man were inclined to propose, and claims to know others considered respectable who sinned the same way. In any case, it doesn't dissuade Phillip.