#all trees no forest. i have to keep backing up and rereading and sternly telling myself don't get lost in the beauty again.

[coquelicoq]

i've always loved the oxford comma, but reading maupassant is making me appreciate the lack of it for the first time. it adds this really simple ambiguity that doesn't actually affect meaning in any way, just cadence. and i think perhaps this would only work in french and not english, because i'm thinking specifically of when he uses it in the construction "[nom] [adj], [adj] et [adj]". because adjectives come before the noun in english, you would either have to say "[adj] [noun], [adj] and [adj]" or put all the adjectives at the beginning; there isn't a single way to achieve both at once. but the french construction, without the serial comma, allows you to read it either way. again, it doesn't affect meaning - however you read it, all the adjectives are modifying the same noun. it's just a question of where you put the stress in the sentence.