# XXV explained — Germinie Lacerteux

> Chapter companion for Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond de Goncourt.

## What happens

Germinie, consumed by despair and hatred, stops at a creamery and drinks heavily with other maids, including Adèle. She returns home intoxicated and is found asleep on her mattress by Mademoiselle de Varandeuil, who becomes alarmed but Germinie hides her drunkenness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Female Suffering and Sacrifice

Germinie's drinking is a response to her despair and hatred, reflecting her suffering and self-destructive coping.

### Hypocrisy and Secrecy

Germinie hides her intoxication from Mademoiselle, maintaining a facade of normalcy while concealing her堕落.

## Character check-ins

### Germinie Lacerteux

Germinie drinks heavily at the creamery and returns home intoxicated, hiding her state from her mistress.

### Mademoiselle de Varandeuil

Mademoiselle returns from collecting her income, finds Germinie asleep in a stupor, and expresses alarm.

### Adèle

Adèle is at the creamery with other maids, drinking and teasing Germinie.

### Madame Jupillon

Madame Jupillon is present at the creamery; Germinie calls for the bottle from her.

## Key lines

> One morning, after a night passed by her in turning over and over in her mind all her despairing, hate-ridden thoughts, Germinie went to the creamery for her four sous’ worth of milk and found in the back-shop three or four maids from the neighborhood engaged in 'taking an eye-opener.'

After a sleepless night of bitter thoughts, Germinie goes to buy milk at the creamery and discovers several local maids drinking early in the morning.

_Germinie's troubled state leads her to join the drinking session._

> After the third glass, she cried: 'I am tight !' And she roared with laughter.

After her third drink, Germinie declares herself drunk and laughs loudly.

_Germinie's intoxication becomes overt and uninhibited._

> Mademoiselle de Varandeuil had gone out that morning to collect her half-yearly income. When she returned at eleven o'clock, she rang once, twice! no one came.

Mademoiselle was out collecting her semi-annual income and upon returning, found no one answering the door.

_Mademoiselle's absence allows Germinie's drunkenness to go unnoticed until her return._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/germinie_lacerteux_se/chapters/xxv
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- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/germinie_lacerteux_se/chapters