The Counterfeiters · Chapter
XVII: Armand and Olivier explained
Olivier receives a visit from Armand Vedel, who has become Passavant's secretary and editor of a new review.
What happens
Olivier receives a visit from Armand Vedel, who has become Passavant's secretary and editor of a new review. Armand discusses his cynical views on virtue, his family's hypocrisy, and his own possible illness, while also revealing that he told Rachel about Bernard and Sarah's affair.
Themes in this chapter
Morality and Corruption
Armand's cynical rejection of virtue and his critique of his father's hypocritical faith highlight the tension between outward morality and inner corruption.
Art and the Novel
The discussion of the new review 'The Flat Iron' and its plan to deface the Mona Lisa reflects debates about artistic value and the role of provocation in literature.
Family and Paternity
Armand's resentment of his Puritan upbringing and his father's role as a pastor reveal the impact of family expectations on personal identity.
Characters to notice
- Olivier Molinier
Receives Armand's visit; listens to his cynical confessions and expresses sympathy.
- Armand Vedel
Visits Olivier; reveals his new role as Passavant's secretary, his hatred of virtue, his possible illness, and his betrayal of Bernard and Sarah to Rachel.
- Robert de Passavant
Mentioned as Armand's employer and the editor of the new review; his encounter with Cob-Lafleur is recounted.
- Strouvilhou
Mentioned as the uncle of a schoolboy who recommended Cob-Lafleur to Passavant.
- Rachel
Mentioned as the person Armand loves and respects; he told her about Bernard and Sarah.
- Bernard Profitendieu
Mentioned as having left the pension and as having been involved with Sarah.
Key passages
“I respect her because she is virtuous. And I always behave in such a way as to offend her virtue.”
Armand says he loves and respects Rachel for her virtue, yet he deliberately acts to offend it.
Reveals Armand's self-destructive and contradictory attitude toward morality.
“The object of The Flat Iron (it's to be the name of the review too) is to make this reverence appear grotesque—to discredit it.”
Armand explains that the review aims to mock and undermine the public's reverence for classic artworks.
Illustrates the iconoclastic artistic philosophy of the new review.