Les Inséparable
by Simone de Beauvoir was maybe one of the books more waited this 2020.
Why this? Because in this book for the first time, Simone de Beauvoir tells her strong friendship with a girl, Zaza, known at school when they were just 9 years old. In the book, fictionalizing the characters, the names are the ones of Sylvie for Simone and Andrée for Zaza.
It's the first book that I read written by Simone de Beauvoir; she wrote wonderfully well, with extreme elegance, let me add this.
The story is pretty intense.
Sylvie knows Andrée when at school.
Andrée was just 9 years old but a girl with strong opinions and affirmations. Maybe it was this one the part of the character that intrigued the most Sylvie.
Being friends, they shared most of their time together during the years and Sylvie discovers for Andrée a strong and an exclusive friendship and maybe also other feelings.
She loves Andrée under many ways, because it wouldn't be possible to do differently.
At the same time Andrée with a sister more old than her, Malou and two twins lives in a social tissue, the one of her family, populated by a strong and firm catholicism.
The girl becomes always more dependant by her parents, and she treats them with great respect.
Once, when she was a teenager, Sylvie was invited at the summer-house of Andrée for staying with her for two weeks.
Madam Gallard was a strong, egoist person and she loved to keep everyone under control, in particular Andrée.
According to her point of view, her daughter lived a bad influence staying continuously with Sylvie, more opened, more free to do what she loved to do.
She specifies in that occasion that there is someone special in the heart of Andrèe. His name is Bernard and Andrée knew him when she had an incident.
Sylvie understands immediately that the permanence in the summer-house of Andrée won't be a nice walk. Not all the times, although when she arrives at destination she finds many little and big attentions created by Andrée for her in the bedroom; all of it for a warm arrival of her friend.
Andrée explained to Sylvie her relationship with Bernard. Bernard, many hopes were focused on him, left for another country, leaving behind Andrée. A destiny, this one repeated in the time.
The girls are now more adults, they go to the university. Sylvie meets along his way Pascal, the real name of this boy was Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Looking at the picture he appears an unsecure boy, someone not completely clear...
Anyway, Sylvie loves to speak with him of philosophy, religion, destiny, life, death, and soon will introduce his friend to Andrée. Andrée is fascinated by him, intellectually and physically and they start a voracious correspondence. She loves him and Andrée thinks that her feelings are reciprocated. The mother of Andrée is tired to see letters delivered without any sense and ask to the girl what kind of sense these letters have.
Andrée explains her that she has strong feelings for him.
The mother asks for an official relationship, an engagement and Andrée is more than sure that Pascal will be more than happy of being engaged with her.
But... no: it is the opposite. He is too young, he prefers to wait.
Why not staying separated?
After all they could resist isolated affectively for two years, the years that Andrée should spend to UK for studying, if not engaged.
Andrée is dilaniated and she speaks of this problems with Sylvie. Or she will engage Pascal or her mother will send her as a package in the UK for studying.
Sylvie understands that to her Pascal is fundamental, and he is the object of the desire of her love. And that Andrée she would want to spend the rest of her existence with him; simply Pascal doesn't want.
A phrase to me emblematic of this girl, Andrée, is this one: Est-ce que je dois passer ma vie a lutter contre le gens que j'aime?
She understands that she is fighting for building an existence, meeting many resistances, fighting for keeping people sheloves close to her.
Sylvie decides that helping her friend is indispensible. Plus she doesn't want to lose her friend! If she will afford to UK she won't see her for a long time. Two years are a long time when friendship or love are strong.
Pascal doesn't accept the suggestions of Sylvie and more he will adds something that will surely upset Sylvie: "L'intimité des faincailles, ce n'est pas facile a vivre pour des chrétiens. Andrée est une vraie femme, una femme de chair. Meme si nous ne cédons pas aux tentations, elles nous seront sans cesse présentes: ce genre d'obsession est en soi-meme un péche."
The dialogue becomes impossible; Pascal remains of his opinions and, hurted, Simone goes away.
She reports to Andrée what Pascal said, involving also the sister Emma and the father, regarding his own impossibility of staying with her more seriously, apart the young age of both.
So, Andrée, with great dignity, one day arrives to the house of the father of Pascal for speaking with him about the situation. She doesn't want to meet Pascal, but that father! the one of Pascal, who, according to the point of view of her boyfriend hasn't never warmly suggested to his son an engagement.
The father of Pascal appears surprised by the arrival of Andrée. She doesn't know her, and his son has never mentioned her as best friend or something more.
When she leaves, Andrée will ask to Pascal why he hasn't never hugged her.
Andrée will fall sick, dying soon.
It's a sad story, this one but a story, real, that marked the existence of Simone de Beauvoir; Simone has never forgotten how special Zza has been to her.
In the middle of the book many documents and pictures and letters.
A precious book of friendship, loss, death, and christian values lived too paroxistically and egoistically.
Highly recommended.
I thank L'Editions de l'Herné for the physical copy of the book.
Anna Maria Polidori
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