Bonjour Tristesse was a very interesting read. It’s about Cecile and her relationship with her father as he falls in love with Anne, the woman Cecile believes threatens their free and youthful way of living. All this is to disguise the sense of instability has within herself, with the thought of losing the only other […]
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This week I read Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. This book was not my favourite as I found almost no redeeming qualities in any of the characters. I tried to sympathize with Cecile over her actions. She had grown up … Continue reading →
Posted in Blogs, Sagan | Tagged with antagonist, growing up, Selfish
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?
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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?
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“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 … Continue reading “Thoughts on Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse””
After the class discussion on Thursday talking about the first page of Nada for most of the class I was curious to fully analyze the first page of Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. I noticed how the main character, Cécile started off by “I have known boredom, regret, and occasionally remorse, but never sorrow” (Pg. …
Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse” centres around, a 16 year old girl who is on a summer vacation at the French Riviera with her father and and the events that unfolded. The book begins with the idle 16 year old basking in … Continue reading →
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This week, I chose to read Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Segan.
At the beginning of the novel, it mentioned how the protagonist’s mother has passed away for fifteen years and her dad seems to have many relationships after that, as “he was young for his age, full of vitality and possibilities” (p3). It even took her “longer to realize that it was a different one every six month” (p3) when her dad told her he was living with someone.
When Cecile saw Cyril, a university student, she mentioned how she “does not care for younger people, but much preferred [her] father’s friends, men of forty, who to me with courtesy and tenderness and treated her with the gentleness of a father or a lover”(p5). The fact that she is into older guys around her dad’s age made me wonder if it is because she longed for fatherly love or if it is because her dad is the ‘only one’ she has. Which caused her to want to date guys around her dad’s age because of their ‘father figure’. This also explains what Cecile meant when she said she knew Elsa “would not get into our way” (p4). She seems to be able to accept Elsa because Elsa would not get into her relationships with her dad.
I found Cecile’s father’s behaviour selfish. As he invited Anne over to join their vacation just because he wanted to. He didn’t think about how the situation would be if he invited Anne over since Elsa is also there with them. He should have talked and discussed with both Elsa and Cecile before inviting Anne. He also did not mention to Anne that Elsa is also there. After Anne arrived at the villa, her father began to distance himself from Elsa. He didn’t even realize that he was wrong even when Cecile blasted out what he did “You take a red haired girl to the seaside, expose her to the hot sun which she can’t stand, and when her skin has all peeled you abandon her.” (p38). Without realizing the problem, he then told Cecile that he and Anne are getting married the next day. If he is thinking of marrying Anne, he should have ended his relationship with Elsa first. He should also talk to his daughter first before making the decision, as it will not only impact him but Cecile as well. On the other hand, Cecile is also being very selfish. She created a plan to separate her dad and Anne just because she is afraid of losing her ‘normal life’.
My questions for the class are: As Anne felt she had some responsibility for Cecile, she told Cecile thatshe should not see Cyril again. Do you think Anne has the right to interfere with Cecile’s relationship or
life? Another of my questions is: Do you think the reason ‘being afraid of losing normal life’ justify
Cecile’s plan and what she had done to others?
This week, I chose to read Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Segan.
At the beginning of the novel, it mentioned how the protagonist’s mother has passed away for fifteen years and her dad seems to have many relationships after that, as “he was young for his age, full of vitality and possibilities” (p3). It even took her “longer to realize that it was a different one every six month” (p3) when her dad told her he was living with someone.
When Cecile saw Cyril, a university student, she mentioned how she “does not care for younger people, but much preferred [her] father’s friends, men of forty, who to me with courtesy and tenderness and treated her with the gentleness of a father or a lover”(p5). The fact that she is into older guys around her dad’s age made me wonder if it is because she longed for fatherly love or if it is because her dad is the ‘only one’ she has. Which caused her to want to date guys around her dad’s age because of their ‘father figure’. This also explains what Cecile meant when she said she knew Elsa “would not get into our way” (p4). She seems to be able to accept Elsa because Elsa would not get into her relationships with her dad.
I found Cecile’s father’s behaviour selfish. As he invited Anne over to join their vacation just because he wanted to. He didn’t think about how the situation would be if he invited Anne over since Elsa is also there with them. He should have talked and discussed with both Elsa and Cecile before inviting Anne. He also did not mention to Anne that Elsa is also there. After Anne arrived at the villa, her father began to distance himself from Elsa. He didn’t even realize that he was wrong even when Cecile blasted out what he did “You take a red haired girl to the seaside, expose her to the hot sun which she can’t stand, and when her skin has all peeled you abandon her.” (p38). Without realizing the problem, he then told Cecile that he and Anne are getting married the next day. If he is thinking of marrying Anne, he should have ended his relationship with Elsa first. He should also talk to his daughter first before making the decision, as it will not only impact him but Cecile as well. On the other hand, Cecile is also being very selfish. She created a plan to separate her dad and Anne just because she is afraid of losing her ‘normal life’.
My questions for the class are: As Anne felt she had some responsibility for Cecile, she told Cecile thatshe should not see Cyril again. Do you think Anne has the right to interfere with Cecile’s relationship or
life? Another of my questions is: Do you think the reason ‘being afraid of losing normal life’ justify
Cecile’s plan and what she had done to others?
Cecile is a young, beautiful girl who appears to be very extraverted and has a knack for sensation seeking. She likes to be out in the world, experience new places, meet new people and connect with nature. She is too young to understand her own thoughts and feelings especially because she was never taught to question her thoughts or actions. She has trouble labeling how she feels any time she experiences intense emotion. I could see that her narcissistic father could be to blame for this. He is a man who loves his daughter but does not know how to care for her. He is more concerned with living his life and he simply strings his daughter along with him everywhere. He subjects her to people and environments that are shaping her perspective on love and life.
Cecile loved her life with her dad, afterall, it was quite easy! She didn’t have to do anything she didn’t feel like doing, she was free to make her own decisions, she could drink, smoke and party endlessly. Cecile started to struggle only when order peeked its head in the form of a new potential stepmom – Anna. Cecile wasn’t surprised to see that Anna had problems with the way she was living her life. But because she had never had to defend her actions, she found it incredibly hard to stand up to Anna or even argue with her. An interesting quote from Cecile read: “I realized that carelessness can govern our lives, but it does not provide us with any arguments in its defense”.
Everytime Anna asked Cecile to do something she didn’t want to, she never argued, she simply walked away and thought angry thoughts and came up with vicious ways to make the problem – Anna – go away. She didn’t care that her plans could cause pain to 4 people! Any time she started to feel bad about her actions, Cecile made sure to distract herself by lighting a cigarette or putting on a record until the thoughts were successfully pushed out of her mind.
The tragic ending made this book one of my favorites. The way Cecile and her dad handled Anna’s death was shocking, did they even care at all? Cecile even contemplated that Anna committed suicide because of her and her dad, people who ‘have no need of anybody, living or dead’. She thought that calling it a suicide is romantacizing it. We can clearly see Cecile’s narcissistic tendencies arise, how little she cares for other people and their feelings and how what she wants comes before everything and everyone.
Would you agree that Cecile’s problematic personality is a reflection of her troubled upbringing? Is her dad only to blame? How much of her self centered personality is a result of nature and how much of it is a result of her environment?
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