This is a collection of four short stories including Forgiveness, Moonlight, The Assignation and The Test. All are about spousal cheating. True love is priceless; it cannot be measured by gold. Love is something fragile; it is intolerant of betray. However, there are always so many men and women, regardless of his or her responsibility, attempting to have a taste of the forbidden fruit. A case in point is Madame Haggan, who deems love as the relief from her boring life and has a secret liaison with another man. The Assignation is going to tell you a story about how Madame Haggan betrays her husband, feels great hatred for her present lover Viscount and nestles in the arms of a Baron. Maupassant draws a debauched aristocratic society with a fast woman.
《约会》是对当时社会真实的生活写照，羡慕上流社会，追求虚荣，已经成为小资产阶级民众普遍的心理特征。它讲述了一个已婚女子趁丈夫去交易所时，跟她的情夫约会的故事，在去赴约的路上，她迎面遇上了一位男爵，邀请她去他家里参观他的收藏品。她则写信给她的情夫，谎称因身体不适，不能赴约。莫泊桑用朴实无华的语言和故事淋漓尽致地反映出在金钱统治的社会里，重财轻情的价值观已完全支配了人们的道德行为。