Christian's house near Strasbourg

Christian's house near Strasbourg is a secluded forest home that also serves as the base of his furniture-reselling business. Its richly furnished salon becomes the setting for Bénédicte and Christian's meeting, bringing the practical world of his work together with the private space in which their relationship develops.

Setting and Use

The house stands a few kilometres from Strasbourg in a forest, and Christian describes it as an old, beautiful home. His business is based there too: he stores furniture in a large building and resells it without operating a shop. The location is therefore both domestic retreat and workplace, set apart from the ordinary storefront model of commerce.

The Salon

After entering the salon, Bénédicte sits on a leather club chair whose armrests have been scratched by a cat. While Christian goes to prepare coffee, she gets up to look around. The room follows the pattern of a cabinet of curiosities: display cases hold stuffed animals, insects, shells, and mammal skeletons; scientific engravings and botanical plates hang nearby. A finely detailed Spanish galleon stands on a console, with an apparently centuries-old globe and a python coiled around a trunk completing the room's striking assortment. An aged, peeling chaise longue upholstered in worn pinkish silk adds another piece of furniture to the scene she explores.

Role in the Relationship

The house is the setting for Bénédicte's visit to Christian and for the private encounter that develops there. Their meeting culminates in intimacy, as they make love twice. The salon's crowded, personal character distinguishes the encounter from a meeting in a public venue: the home is also the space where Bénédicte can look closely at Christian's surroundings and where their relationship takes a more intimate turn.