Germinie Lacerteux · Chapter
LXI explained
The doctor informs Mademoiselle de Varandeuil that Germinie's left lung is entirely gone and the right is affected, giving her at most two months to live.
What happens
The doctor informs Mademoiselle de Varandeuil that Germinie's left lung is entirely gone and the right is affected, giving her at most two months to live. He recommends placing Germinie in an institution like Lariboisière hospital, but Mademoiselle refuses, insisting on keeping her at home despite the poor conditions of the servant's quarters. The doctor warns of the cold and lack of fireplace, but Mademoiselle delays the decision, unwilling to part with her.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Decay
Germinie's rapid physical decline and imminent death are central; the doctor describes her lungs as 'entirely gone,' and Mademoiselle confronts the inevitability of loss.
Female Suffering and Sacrifice
Mademoiselle de Varandeuil sacrifices her own comfort and health to care for Germinie, refusing to send her away despite the burden and her own grief.
Characters to notice
- Germinie Lacerteux
Terminally ill with consumption; left lung entirely gone, right lung affected; still keeps about but will soon be bedridden.
- Mademoiselle de Varandeuil
Refuses to send Germinie to a hospital despite doctor's advice; considers Germinie like family; struggles with grief and poverty.
Key passages
“The left lung is entirely gone. The right has begun to be affected at the top, and I fear that there is more or less difficulty all through it. She’s a dead woman. She may live six weeks, two months at most.”
The doctor states that Germinie's left lung is completely destroyed and the right lung is also diseased, giving her only six weeks to two months to live.
Medical prognosis of Germinie's terminal condition.
“No, monsieur, no, I haven’t thought of it. Oh! yes, I am likely to send her away. Why you must have seen, monsieur: that girl isn’t a maid, she isn’t a servant in my eyes; she’s like the family I never had!”
Mademoiselle de Varandeuil refuses to consider sending Germinie to an institution, insisting that Germinie is like family to her, not just a servant.
Mademoiselle's emotional refusal to institutionalize Germinie.