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Bonjour Tristesse Complete Revision Notes
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Detailed revision notes for Bonjour Tristesse, including context, characters, themes, summaries and writer's methods
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Le contexteValeurs traditionnelles
● France profondément catholique dans les années 50
● Valeurs traditionnelles ancrées dans la société
● Se marier jeune, le divorce très rare
● Patriarcat - mari a l’autorité sur sa femme, jusqu’à 1965 les femmes ne pouvaient pas avoir
leur propre compte bancaire ou travailler sans l’autorisation de leur mari
● Dans les 50, le taux de divorce était en train d’augmenter, et la structure familiale était en
train de changer
● Les femmes se sentaient piégées dans les valeurs traditionnelles
● Le roman causait un scandale mais il a dépeint un société en train de changer
France d’après-guerre
● Les années 50 étaient années d’insouciance et d’optimisme
● Les Français commencent à rejeter les valeurs traditionnels et éprouvent un sentiment de
libération, surtout les jeunes
● Les Trente Glorieuses - une période de prospérité de 1945 à 1975, dont la génération jeune
ont profité de la modernisation du pays et de l’émergence de la société de consommation
● Une époque marquée par la montée du pouvoir d’achat
● L’apparition des « arts ménagers » et du design
● L’influence des Etats-Unis a changé la vie des Français, qui voulaient suivre cette influence
L’émancipation des femmes
● 1944 - droit de vote
● Plusieurs mouvements féministes pendant les années 60 et 70
● Aspect majeur était l’émancipation sexuelle
● Les premiers combats pour la contraception débutent dans les années 50
● 1967 - légalisation de la pilule contraceptive (loi Neuwirth)
● 1975 - légalisation de l’avortement (loi Veil)
● Les caractères féminins représentent les nouveaux valeurs
La vie mondaine sur la Côte d’Azur
● La Côte d’Azur devient très à la mode pendant les années 50, surtout pour les jeunes
● Les vedettes sont allés là-bas pour « se montrer »
● Le festival de Cannes ont attiré un grand nombre de vedettes et de touristes
● Les paysages idylliques sont devenus emblématiques
L’influence des Etats-Unis
● Une nouvelle génération des musiciens comme Elvis Presley et Louis Armstrong
● La publicité française profite de l’expérience des Américains en appelant aux sciences
humaines et en analysant l'acte d’achat afin de transformer la publicité, qui devient un
secteur florissant
● La presse aide la diffusion des biens d’équipement de la maison pour que la femme française
puisse s’équiper et se faciliter la vie
Françoise Sagan
● Born Françoise Quoirez but chose name Sagan on publication of first novel
● Lived 1935-2004
● French playwright, novelist & screenwriter
● Known for works w/ strong romantic themes involving wealthy & disillusioned bourgeois
characters
● Published Bonjour Tristesse in 1954, written when she was a teenager, became her
best-known novel
, Early Life
● Youngest child of bourgeois parents
● Expelled from a convent for ‘lack of deep spirituality’ & from another school for hanging a
bust of Molière w/ a piece of string
● Obtained baccalauréat on second attempt & didn’t graduate university
Bonjour Tristesse
● Published when Sagan was 18
● Story about pleasure-driven 17-year-old Cécile & her relationship w/ her boyfriend &
adulterous father
● Publication created a scandal in 1950s France due to its depiction of a young girl making love
w/o consequences
● Described hedonism & amorality of society
● Morality is major theme that Sagan explores in the novel
● Scandal led to over 350,000 copies being sold in France during first 2 years
● Sagan became a celebrity & faced much criticism as many believed Cécile was herself
Legacy
● Remembered as a tragic figure, tainted by scandal & alcoholism
● Has never escaped comparisons to Cécile
● Jaques Chirac memorial statement: ‘With her death, France loses one of its most brilliant and
sensitive writers – an eminent figure of our literary life.’
Chapter Summaries (English)
Part One
Chapter 1
● Cécile is 17 & describes a holiday with her father, a widower, as well as Elsa (his mistress - he
changes mistresses often)
● Elsa is red-headed, kind & not very intelligent
● Cécile has an unusually close relationship with her father, & doesn’t mind Elsa
● The three are on holiday in an idyllic part of the south of France, allowing Cécile to forget all
the worries of her life in Paris
● On the 6th day, she meets a young law student called Cyril, who differs from her usual
preferences (men her father’s age) but she has feelings for
● Her father announces that Anne Larsen, an old friend of Cécile’s mother, will join them on
holiday
● Cécile has spent time with Anne before & respects her, but knows that her presence will
bring change/conflict to the hedonistic lifestyle she & her father share
● Anne is more serious and often spends time with intelligent people, unlike Cécile & Raymond
● Cécile is worried about how Elsa & Anne will get on, realising that her father hasn’t thought
about this
Chapter 2
● Cécile enjoys the last few days before Anne comes
● She sees Cyril on the beach & they kiss, but are interrupted by Anne’s unexpected arrival
(she comes in the car rather than by train)
● Cécile wonders why Anne has come - could she be in love with her father when they are so
different?
● Cécile leads Anne to her bedroom & tells her that Raymond & Elsa have gone to the station
● Raymond & Elsa return & Anne appears, smiling & looking elegant
● At dinner, conversation turns to people Raymond & Anne know, & Anne criticises one of
Raymond’s associates who Cécile defends
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