# XXXVII explained — Germinie Lacerteux

> Chapter companion for Germinie Lacerteux by Edmond de Goncourt.

## What happens

Germinie reflects on her inescapable, degrading love for Jupillon, feeling bound to him by chains of contempt and sacrifice, and acknowledges that she has stooped to buying his affection with gifts and money.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Obsession

Germinie's love for Jupillon is depicted as a destructive obsession that binds her to him despite his contempt and abuse.

### Female Suffering and Sacrifice

Germinie sacrifices her pride, dignity, and financial resources to maintain a relationship with a man who exploits her, highlighting her suffering.

## Character check-ins

### Germinie Lacerteux

Germinie is consumed by self-loathing and despair, recognizing her own degradation and inability to break free from Jupillon.

### Madame Jupillon

Jupillon is the object of Germinie's obsessive love, treating her with disdain and forcing degrading concessions from her.

## Key lines

> To lie! nothing was left for her but that.

Germinie feels that deception is her only remaining option.

_This opening line sets the tone of Germinie's hopelessness and moral compromise._

> She could not think of herself as not belonging to him. She could not think of herself without him.

Germinie cannot imagine her identity or existence apart from Jupillon.

_Highlights the depth of her psychological dependence._

> She paid this brute, who haggled over the price of his kisses and demanded pourboires of love!

Germinie financially compensates Jupillon for his affection, which he treats as a commodity.

_Illustrates the transactional and degrading nature of their relationship._

## Links

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