The Pregnant Body

This flow traces how pregnancy changes Annie Duchesne’s bodily sensations, self-image, and understanding of agency.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

An Unnamed Condition

An Unnamed Condition Avoiding the Word Annie Duchesne avoids terms that imply a birth will occur, writing instead of “that thing.” Language becomes a way to refuse the future imposed by pregnancy. A Body Out of Reach She alternates between disbelief and a sense that the event was inevitable. Her body seems to have entered a reality that her intellect cannot control.

Nausea and Interruption

Nausea and Interruption Physical Symptoms Nausea, dizziness, and altered appetite disrupt Annie Duchesne’s classes and daily habits. Sensations make the pregnancy impossible to keep wholly abstract. Intellectual Displacement She cannot organize her thesis notes or sustain her former confidence in academic work. The body’s demands unsettle her identity as a student and aspiring writer.

A Changed Sexual Self

A Changed Sexual Self Desire and Fear Annie Duchesne notices attraction at a dance but cannot imagine going further. Pregnancy has changed the meaning of intimacy without erasing desire. Bodily Contradiction She reflects on a body that can remain sexually responsive while carrying an unwanted embryo. The contradiction reveals how little control she feels she has over its processes.

Labor and Expulsion

Labor and Expulsion A Sudden Recognition When the contractions intensify, Annie Duchesne experiences the expulsion as a birth. The unexpected physical event breaks through her earlier habit of treating pregnancy as unreal. Life and Death Together She and O cut the cord and look at the tiny body in silence. The scene joins bodily agency, terror, grief, and survival in an irreversible moment.

The Body Afterward

The Body Afterward Exposure and Recovery Hospital treatment leaves Annie Duchesne feeling scraped open and estranged from her former body. Her breasts produce milk even after the pregnancy has ended. A New Sense of Continuity She comes to understand the experience as part of reproduction rather than outside it. The body has carried her through an ordeal that remains both private and historical.

November 1963

November 1963

December 1963

January 20–21, 1964

Late January to February 1964