Germinie Lacerteux · Chapter
XXXIV explained
After a horrifying encounter where she contemplated disfiguring her rival with vitriol, Germinie returns to the apartment on Rue de Laval and indulges in heavy drinking.
What happens
After a horrifying encounter where she contemplated disfiguring her rival with vitriol, Germinie returns to the apartment on Rue de Laval and indulges in heavy drinking. Left alone because Mademoiselle de Varandeuil is away for six weeks, Germinie drinks excessively, falls, suffers a miscarriage and severe hemorrhage, and nearly dies. She is saved by Adèle, who hears her groans and calls a locksmith and midwife. When Mademoiselle returns, she is told Germinie had a hemorrhage and suspects nothing.
Themes in this chapter
Female Suffering and Sacrifice
Germinie's physical and emotional suffering culminates in a near-fatal miscarriage and hemorrhage, highlighting the toll of her secret life.
Hypocrisy and Secrecy
Mademoiselle is deceived about the true cause of Germinie's illness, maintaining the facade of normalcy.
Characters to notice
- Germinie Lacerteux
Returns home after contemplating violence, drinks heavily, suffers a miscarriage and hemorrhage, and nearly dies.
- Mademoiselle de Varandeuil
Away for six weeks in the country; returns to find Germinie weak but suspects nothing.
- Adèle
Hears Germinie's groans, fetches a locksmith and midwife to save her.
Key passages
“Half an hour after the horrible meeting when—her mind having dabbled in crime as if with her fingers—she had determined to disfigure her rival with vitriol and had believed that she had done so, Germinie returned to Rue de Laval with a bottle of brandy procured at the grocer’s.”
Shortly after a terrifying encounter where she imagined attacking her rival with acid, Germinie came home with a bottle of brandy.
Germinie's mental state deteriorates after contemplating violence.
“She tried to rise and go out on the landing to call; she tried to stand up: she could not. She felt that she was gliding on to death, entering its portals and descending with gentle moderation.”
She attempted to get up and call for help but failed, feeling herself slipping toward death calmly.
Germinie's near-death experience is described with a sense of resignation.