« Passez-moi la rhubarbe, je vous passerai le séné »

« Passez-moi la rhubarbe, je vous passerai le séné » is a proverb about reciprocal favors. In the account examined in the novel, it describes a financial arrangement in which each party’s certification supports the other’s, making mutual accommodation look like independent proof.

Reciprocal Certifications

The signatures of Postel and Gannerac are presented as accommodations: the Cointet brothers certify, when needed, what Gannerac certifies for them. The proverb gives this circular exchange a concise name. Rather than establishing the validity of the claims independently, each side lends apparent support to the other.

Paper Entries and the Real Debt

The Cointet brothers already have a current account with Métivier, so they have no need to draw a bill between themselves. A returned bill adds only another line to the account’s credit or debit. Once the elaborate account is stripped down, the amount actually owed is about 1,000 francs, plus a 13-franc protest charge and half a percent interest for one month’s delay—perhaps 1,018 francs altogether.

The Proverb’s Critical Force

The saying’s neat reciprocity contrasts with the account’s inflated appearance: mutual certifications and repeated entries give a modest debt the form of a much larger financial operation. The surrounding calculation extends the criticism to banking practice, imagining how recurring accounts of return could yield substantial revenue from fictitious capital. The proverb thus serves not merely as a label for an exchange of favors, but as a key to the gap between the reality of a debt and the machinery of its accounting.