“Bonjour Tristesse” was exactly the type of novel I was expecting to read in this course. A series of romances intertwined with family drama and a backdrop of summer, it felt like a classic French story. But wow, did this book make me uneasy…
Right from the beginning, I found Célie’s relationship with her father very odd. There is little backstory provided about her mother or her life prior to when the book starts, but I’m curious if there’s any cause of this infatuation with her father. There are many passages that made me cringe but this one has to take the cake…”I went up to my room to put on an evening dress, as it happened the only one I possessed. It had been chosen by my father, and was made of an exotic material, probably too exotic for a girl of my age” (pg.35). Then Célie tells her father “’You’re the best-looking man I know'” (pg. 35). Célie describes her father almost in a romantic tone, then combined with the protectiveness over him and wanting him all to herself, it made me quite uncomfortable.
Célie is essentially a 17-year-old being treated like a 30-year-old and a toddler at the same time. Her father exposes this strange mature lifestyle to his teenage daughter along with his fascination with women. This is then reflected in her own relationship with 25-year-old Cyril and her not knowing what she wants with him. I also don’t think she’s been told ‘no’ by her father in her entire life which is the reason she takes Anne’s discipline as a threat to her relationship with him. “At all costs I must save myself, regain my father and our former life”(pg.52).
I really didn’t like Célie as a character. I would describe her as impulsive, manipulative, and careless. “For the first time in my life I had known the intense pleasure of analyzing another person, manipulating that person toward my own ends” (Pg.71). This is what she says after manipulating Elsa into trying to make her father jealous so he wouldn’t marry Anne. She gets pleasure out of selfishly using people to her advantage and is fully aware of that.
Célie never seems to express how she genuinely feels to anyone because I don’t think she even knows herself. For example, in part 2 of the book she says, “For the first time in my life my “self ” seemed to be split, and I discovered opposing forces within that shocked me” (p.g 57). This feels like the devil and angel on Célie’s shoulders trying to reconcile with the thought of Anne barging into what she believes is the perfect family dynamic, just her and her father. Honestly, it really annoyed me seeing Celie like this because it’s not up to her, yet she is so consumed by her father’s love life. On the other hand, being a child of divorce myself and dealing with ambiguous stepparent figures, I do relate to this conflicting feeling she has. I believe she thinks she is just wanting the best for her father but she’s actually wanting the best for herself, again relating to her cynicism and ego.
Although I don’t like Célie, she does make an interesting narrator because of her intense conflicting emotions that kept me on my toes as a reader. It made me wonder how the book would differ if it was narrated from another point of view. So, my question for the class is: Who else would you like to see narrate this story and why? How would it affect the series of events?
“Célie is essentially a 17-year-old being treated like a 30-year-old and a toddler at the same time” – Is she treated mature at times and childish at others? Or do her actions fluctuate between mature and childish? Or both?
And, what an interesting / thought-provoking question! I have added it to our list of possible in-class discussion topics.
Hi Anna! I really enjoyed reading your reflection on this week’s reading! I think it would be really interesting to see through Elsa or Anne’s perspective. I think learning more about Elsa’s take on the family and thoughts about Cécile’s scheme would be cool to read. Great question!
Hi Anna! I enjoyed your analysis a lot. I also feel like your question is incredibly interesting and a good question to as. There is no one way to a story, as it can be told in multiple ways. I would want to read the story either from Elsa’s point of view or Anne’s. I feel that each woman would have their own take on what occurs in the novel.
– Muskan Shukla
Anna,
This is such a well-written blog post! The line that Jennifer pointed out above was also one that stood out to me as it made me laugh. I understand that there are some things Cecile says that can seem a bit questionable to us, but I wonder if this is more normal than we would think. It was published in the 1950s (I would assume that the idea of having “daddy issues” wasn’t as mainstream back then). I often feel uncomfortable when I see daughters hugging or cuddling with their fathers, calling them “daddy” or spending time going to fancy dinners and typical date activities with their fathers. However, I have to remind myself that the reason why I find these so strange is that I do not have a tight relationship with my own dad. Could it be that this is more innocent than we are thinking and that Cecile is simply so attached to her father because he is all that she has ever had? Her father is the only constant in her life; with all the travelling, switching of girlfriends, and laid-back lifestyle, it seems that she doesn’t have much stability. To answer your question at the end, I would love to see the father’s point of view in order to understand their relationship better. Thank you for posting this, Anna!
Hi.
I like your question a lot as I had not thought of how things could be different if someone else narrated the story. Having said that, I think I would like to know Anne side of the story just to have the question that if she indeed committed suicide or not answered.