Memory and the Past

Maître Susane’s encounter with Gilles Principaux at the start of the narrative incites the novel’s explorations of memory. As soon as Gilles enters her law office about defending his wife Marlyne, Maître’s memory comes back “to her with such force and clarity that it [feels] like a sharp clout to her forehead” (3). His presence triggers her memories, and thus tugs her into the past. However, over the course of the pages that follow, Maître becomes increasingly confused as to how she knows Gilles and the specific nature of their connection 32 years prior. Her memories prove slippery and unreliable, because she cannot discern her emotions towards Gilles. She feels “anguish rather than joy” upon seeing him again, although she is certain that he was “someone who had enraptured her” in the past (4). Over the course of the novel...