The text Bonjour Tristesse (1954) by Françoise Sagan for me was an exciting text, to say the least, and additionally kept me engaged till the very end. The novel discusses a relationship between a wealthy father and his daughter. The main character is a girl named Cécile who is 17 years old and changing her family dynamic. The change in this family dynamic is reflected at the start of the novel, where we are introduced to the characters and the father’s mistress (Sagan, 3). However, it is essential to note that the father does consider the main character’s feelings. Though the main character does reply that her father’s mistress, “Elsa would not get in our way” (Sagan, 4). The father’s relationships change based on a given amount of time, though the main character did accept it as the father’s new lifestyle after he had lost his wife. 

Though, there is something perverse about the mentality that Cécile has when it comes to being interested in other men. Such as, when there is a mention of a university student, she states that she “much preferred my father’s friends, men of fourty, who spoke to me with courtesy and tenderness,” (Sagan, 5). The relationship that Cécile has with her father must be incredibly embedded in her due to Cécile losing her mother figure and growing up without her mother. That makes me wonder whether Cécile may lack attention from her father, and due to that, she prefers “men of fourty,” (Sagan, 5). There is also the relationship that Cécile has with Anne, her mother’s closest friend. Such as, when Cécile’s mother had passed, it was Anne who “taught me something of life,” while her father was managing his grief (Sagan, 7). Throughout the novel, we understand that Anne has intentions are not pure, as Elsa’s feeling of being threatened could show that. There is also an aspect in the novel that Cécile takes another role. Cécile also takes on the role of an adult when it comes to her father. Such as when she states that her “father must be protected. He’s nothing but a big baby,” when it comes to Anne interrupting the lives of Cécile, her father, and Elsa (Sagan, 66). The protectiveness that Cécile feels could stem from the fact that since her father has multiple partners over a short period of time, Cécile is the constant female in her father’s life. Therefore, there could be an understanding that Cécile must approve or agree to a relationship with her father and guide him to the right woman. This is also shown with Cécile’s judgments of her father’s mistresses. 

Therefore a question that I would ask is: does it seem as though Cécile lacks affection or attention from her father? If so, how does this reflect their relationship?

-Muskan Shukla