Sagan ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Blog post

This week I chose to read ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ by Sagan. I think initially what attracted me toward this read was the fact that the title was French, which I love to read. Overall, I did really enjoy this read quite a bit, but I can sympathize with others if they did not. 


Cecile is a young girl who spends most of her time accompanied by her father, who is a widow. Her father finds happiness through short-lived relationships with women that never seem to last too long or be too serious. Beginning their vacation by the ocean, they are accompanied by Elsa, a young woman who is Cecile's father's Raymond's current interest. Cecile has mixed feelings about Elsa, but I sense that she knew it wouldn't last. However, not long after they are joined by Anne, an old friend of Cecile’s mom. The four of them live in the beachside house, where Elsa and Raymond share a bedroom. But that doesn't last. To keep it brief, it does not take long for Raymond’s attention to shift towards Anne instead. Anne is a beautiful, elegant woman and radiates happiness, and is also closer in age to Raymond. 


Although Cecile really enjoyed Anne’s presence initially, her admiration for her slowly shifts to hatred as she takes more of a ‘motherly’ role towards Cecile. Cecile is not used to an authoritative figure telling her what to do. Anne expresses the importance for Cecile to study for her Philosophy exam, but she doesn't care much for it. This brings out a side of her that is not so admirable. Her mission is to separate her father from Anne thinking this will be what's best, she even claims “Already, I was sorry for Anne, as if I was certain that I would conquer her” (54). This situation reminds me of one similar to that of many of my friends' experiences with their stepmoms in high school. I can sympathize that Cecile is not welcoming to her as it disturbs her current simple life with her Dad, yet, I also understand that this is an overall positive relationship for Raymond and even Cecile. 



Cecile’s sole purpose is to split her relationships father, and will really go to any measure to achieve that. I was shocked when I read that she would use Cyril and Elsa in hopes to make her father jealous. Although she was never super interested in Cyril, it was still an interesting choice, yet also clever. It was strange to me that she continued to progress with her plan even though for the most part Anne’s presence didn't seem to bother her too much. Not only was Raymond happy, but Cecile seemed to sometimes enjoy her as well. All that for Cecile’s plan to eventually work out… and in turn creates an outcome she will even regret. 



Question: Are Cecile’s negative feelings towards Anne valid? Should her father have been more sensitive towards Anne becoming such a large part of their life?


Comments

  1. Jennifer NagtegaalFebruary 13, 2022 at 7:48 PM

    Hi Daisy! I find it interesting that you were attracted to the book by its untranslated title (which is also its concluding words). I wonder if you have any thoughts on why the title and final phrase is left in the original language, when we are very clearly reading a translation. You may or may not have already encountered Jon's observations on this in his lecture transcript for this week...

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  2. my writingsFebruary 13, 2022 at 9:18 PM

    Hi! I thought that her feelings were a little valid - Anna had so quickly entered the household which Cecile had shared so freely with her father for only a short amount of time, and on top of that, Anne was enforcing restrictions on her very fast. However, the extent to which Cecile acted in spite against Anne definitely crossed a line. I think Cecile could've gone about it a number of different ways and ultimately chose the worst option. I did think her father could've been more sensitive and should've stepped up more though!

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  3. my writingsFebruary 13, 2022 at 9:19 PM

    ^^ my writings = nandita! It wont let me change my account for some reason..

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arielle LFebruary 13, 2022 at 9:51 PM

    Hi Daisy! I think Cécile's feeling towards Anne and her father's fast-moving relationship to be a big change to drop on her. I think her father could have eased into the relationship although we have seen his character and that definitely not the case. One thing I'm curious about further is why the father decided to marry Anne. He had a history of mistresses but lacked commitment, so why the sudden change?

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