From Late Period to Secret Abortion

Happening

This flow traces Annie Duchesne’s pregnancy from the first missed period through the clandestine procedure and its aftermath.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Missing Period The Missing Period from "Happening". A Missing Period Waiting Annie Duchesne waits for her period in Rouen, recording each empty day in her diary. Ordinary routines begin to feel suspended.

The Missing Period from "Happening". A Missing Period Waiting Annie Duchesne waits for her period in Rouen, recording each empty day in her diary. Ordinary routines begin to feel suspended.

A Missing Period Waiting Annie Duchesne waits for her period in Rouen, recording each empty day in her diary. Ordinary routines begin to feel suspended. Recognition A film and a play sharpen her dread rather than distract her. She gradually understands that the absence has become the central fact of her life.

The Diagnosis The Diagnosis from "Happening". The Diagnosis Confirmation Doctor N tells Annie Duchesne that she is pregnant.

The Diagnosis Confirmation Doctor N tells Annie Duchesne that she is pregnant. His cheerful remark about children strikes her as cruelly detached from her own decision. A Future Refused A certificate records a delivery date in July. She tears it up, rejecting the future it presumes and committing herself to ending the pregnancy.

Searching for Help Searching for Help from "Happening". Searching for Help Closed Doors Annie Duchesne seeks a doctor willing to help, but fear of the law and professional ruin closes off respectable routes.

Searching for Help from "Happening". Searching for Help Closed Doors Annie Duchesne seeks a doctor willing to help, but fear of the law and professional ruin closes off respectable routes.

Searching for Help Closed Doors Annie Duchesne seeks a doctor willing to help, but fear of the law and professional ruin closes off respectable routes. Her search makes the prohibition tangible. A Possible Address Jean T eventually connects her with LB, who offers the address of Madame P-R in Paris. Money and a specific method turn desperation into a plan.

The Procedure Begins The Procedure Begins from "Happening". The Procedure Begins A Stranger’s Room At Passage Cardinet, Madame P-R inserts a probe into Annie Duchesne’s womb.

The Procedure Begins from "Happening". The Procedure Begins A Stranger’s Room At Passage Cardinet, Madame P-R inserts a probe into Annie Duchesne’s womb.

The Procedure Begins A Stranger’s Room At Passage Cardinet, Madame P-R inserts a probe into Annie Duchesne’s womb. The practical manner of the procedure offers little comfort against its pain and danger. Waiting for Its Effect The first attempt does not bring on the expected miscarriage. Annie returns, and Madame P-R replaces the probe, setting the process in motion again.

Birth and Aftermath Birth and Aftermath from "Happening". Birth and Aftermath The Crisis Annie Duchesne expels the fetus in her dormitory bathroom with O beside her.

Birth and Aftermath from "Happening". Birth and Aftermath The Crisis Annie Duchesne expels the fetus in her dormitory bathroom with O beside her.

Birth and Aftermath The Crisis Annie Duchesne expels the fetus in her dormitory bathroom with O beside her. Severe bleeding forces her to accept emergency medical care. Survival At Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, a surgeon curettes her while staff judge and classify her. Discharge begins a difficult return to daily life, not an instant restoration.

October 1963

November 8, 1963

November to December 1963

January 15, 1964

January 20–25, 1964