What are Girls on Track

Late in the novel, Agnès describes a news story in which two girls who, after falling asleep on a train track, were run over and lost their legs; for Agnès, these girls represent an idealized version of herself and Fabienne. She notes that, for these girls, “life was real—and will always be, I hope… in a way that Fabienne once wanted for us” (340). These girls, unlike Agnès and Fabienne, share an experience that completely and inextricably ties them together. This union renders their life unmistakably “real” (340). For Agnès, the girls’ situation recalls her conversation with Fabienne in the cemetery, during which Fabienne argued that they will never be able to fully share a life together. In this way, the girls embody an idealized, potentially unachievable bond between two humans.