The Salpêtrière

The Salpêtrière is one of the novel's primary settings. It is a mental institution in eighteenth century Paris, France. In Chapter 2, the narrator describes the place as "a dumping ground for women who disturb the peace. An asylum for those whose sensitivities do not tally with what is expected of them. A prison for women guilty of possessing an opinion" (27). Indeed, few of the patients interned at the Salpêtrière have the same conditions. They have been torn from their lives by those close to them, either for acting or speaking out of turn, or for displaying allegedly outsized emotions. Whatever their condemning actions were, the women are all victims. For example, a patient like Louise was sent to the hospital after her uncle raped her, because her aunt blamed her.

Geneviève is an employee of the Salpêtrière. Eug...