Pierre and Jean are the sons of a jeweller. Pierre works as a doctor, and Jean a lawyer. It recounts the story of a middle-class French family whose lives are changed when Léon Maréchal, a deceased family friend, leaves his inheritance to Jean. This provokes Pierre to doubt the fidelity of his mother and the legitimacy of his brother. An investigation sparks violent reactions in Pierre, whose external appearance vis a vis his mother visibly changes. In his anguish, most notably shown during family meals, he tortures her with allusions to the past that he has now uncovered. Provoked by his brother's accusations of jealousy, Pierre reveals to Jean what he has learned. However, unlike Pierre, Jean offers his mother love and protection. The novel closes with Pierre's departure on an ocean liner. Pierre and Jean is a realist work, notably so by the subjects on which it treats, including knowledge of one's heredity (whether one is a legitimate son or a bastard), the bourgeoisie, and the problems stemming from money.

莫泊桑的小说《两兄弟》，围绕一次遗产赠与给一个平静的家庭带来的巨大风波展开，刻画了主人公复杂痛苦的情感历程。父母的一个朋友死后却将遗产全部留给了这家人的次子，长子皮埃尔由嫉妒到怀疑，捕捉蛛丝马迹并最终证实了弟弟是母亲跟那个死去的朋友的儿子。她对母亲那种圣洁的爱转变成了噬心的愤恨。他无处倾诉、难以释怀、绝望无助。原本融洽的四口之家因此分崩离析，无法共处一室。皮埃尔最终只得孤身离开，母亲也为失去了一个儿子而在痛苦绝望中无法自拔。