Chapter 23, The Soap Dish Summary

Louis finds Léonie examining the old lavatory in the yard. He has the shed door nailed shut. Léonie admits to herself that she enjoys the act of defecating. She helps Victorine and Baptiste scoop up horse manure from the road to fertilize the garden. Léonie uses the bathroom after Louis has vacated it. She stares at the soap and toiletries arranged in the room around her. Léonie flushes the toilet, washes her hands, and goes downstairs.

Chapter 23, The Soap Dish Analysis

Léonie's fascination with defecation is another way that she celebrates the body, even though this act normally is considered base. Again in this chapter Thérèse sidles up to her father and tries to look sweet and well-mannered in comparison to her cousin...