Summary

In IV, a year after Eddy’s appendix incident, Monique called him in the middle of the night to say she had left his father. When he had failed to come home, she suddenly realized she was “fed up with waiting” (67). She threw all of his things outside and locked him out. He tried to get her to take him back, but she refused to “give in” (68). Eddy was proud of her. She spoke as if they were co-conspirators.

Once Eddy left home, he realized how much violence defined Monique’s life. Other women in Amiens did not experience violence “in such a systematic manner” (69). Becoming part “of the bourgeoisie of Amiens,” made Eddy see his childhood, his mother, and violence anew (69).

Eddy was desperate for Monique to hurry up and change her life. He had pressured her to leave his father...