The Summer Household’s Transformation

Bonjour tristesse

This flow follows the household from easy intimacy through attempted respectability to a sorrowful return to old habits.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Life Without Rules Life Without Rules from "Bonjour tristesse". Life Without Rules Shared indulgence Cécile and Raymond treat companionship as a private alliance.

Life Without Rules from "Bonjour tristesse". Life Without Rules Shared indulgence Cécile and Raymond treat companionship as a private alliance.

Life Without Rules Shared indulgence Cécile and Raymond treat companionship as a private alliance. Elsa fits into their social life without demanding a permanent place. The appeal of ease The arrangement is imperfect but familiar. Cécile associates its spontaneity with happiness and personal freedom.

A More Ordered Future A More Ordered Future from "Bonjour tristesse". A More Ordered Future Anne’s influence Anne’s standards make study, manners, and responsibility newly present in the household.

A More Ordered Future from "Bonjour tristesse". A More Ordered Future Anne’s influence Anne’s standards make study, manners, and responsibility newly present in the household.

A More Ordered Future Anne’s influence Anne’s standards make study, manners, and responsibility newly present in the household. Raymond’s attentions toward her suggest that the change may last. Cécile’s divided response Cécile admires Anne’s refinement, yet feels the old household losing its ease. Respectability is attractive until it begins to feel imposed.

Domestic Plans Domestic Plans from "Bonjour tristesse". Domestic Plans An imagined family The three discuss routines and a shared life after returning to Paris.

Domestic Plans from "Bonjour tristesse". Domestic Plans An imagined family The three discuss routines and a shared life after returning to Paris.

Domestic Plans An imagined family The three discuss routines and a shared life after returning to Paris. Cécile briefly imagines belonging to a stable, admired household. A fragile agreement Their plans are more aspirational than practical. Raymond and Cécile have little experience with the orderly life they appear ready to embrace.

The Household Divides The Household Divides from "Bonjour tristesse". The Household Divides Private loyalties Cécile and Cyril continue their relationship while Elsa performs the role Cécile devised.

The Household Divides from "Bonjour tristesse". The Household Divides Private loyalties Cécile and Cyril continue their relationship while Elsa performs the role Cécile devised.

The Household Divides Private loyalties Cécile and Cyril continue their relationship while Elsa performs the role Cécile devised. Raymond is drawn toward the past that Anne hoped to leave behind. The cost of duplicity The household’s apparent calm depends on concealed motives. Each person’s behavior now serves competing versions of the family’s future.

An Empty Villa An Empty Villa from "Bonjour tristesse". An Empty Villa Familiar rooms, altered meaning Cécile and Raymond return to the villa and find Anne’s belongings still present.

An Empty Villa from "Bonjour tristesse". An Empty Villa Familiar rooms, altered meaning Cécile and Raymond return to the villa and find Anne’s belongings still present.

An Empty Villa Familiar rooms, altered meaning Cécile and Raymond return to the villa and find Anne’s belongings still present. The home contains reminders of the future that has vanished. A compromised reunion They drink together and avoid the letters they wrote asking Anne to return. Their former closeness survives, but innocence does not.

Early in the holiday

The morning after Anne’s first night at the villa

The week following the engagement

After the lovers’ staged appearances begin

The day after Anne’s death