The Grandmother (Simenon novel)
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La Vieille (1959) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon. It tells the story of Sophie Emel and her grandmother.
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Summary
The commissaire de police Charon comes to ask Sophie Emel for help: her grandmother, whom she has lost sight of for a long time, fiercely refuses to leave the building that is scheduled to be demolished by the sanitation plan of the Saint-Paul district. She threatens, if forced, to throw herself out of the window; it is a question of making her leave.
The grandmother agrees to "make her corner" at her granddaughter's house. Sophie, a well-known sports star, leads a broad and somewhat bohemian life. She takes in a young artist, Lélia. A maid, Louise, is at the service of both women.
The arrival of the old woman brings out the common traits between Juliette Viou and Sophie: a penchant for drinking, an independent character... One night, Sophie brings some friends home and uses the supply of canned goods that the old woman was keeping for her personal use. The next day, she comes to apologize, but it turns out to be useless. It is then that the grandmother's pride begins to crack, when, for no apparent reason, she revives her past, which she mixes with the present with a ruthless lucidity that worries and frightens Sophie.
The two women, after this painful scene, will measure themselves through their talks. The old woman is jealous of the independence of her granddaughter, whom she tries to interest in herself and in what she has been. Lélia will pay the price of this duel: not being able to support Juliette, she argues with Sophie and leaves.
It is not long before, drunk, Sophie makes the old woman confess how she caused the death of her grandfather, a tyrannical patient whom she put to sleep with an overdose of sedative. At dawn, the grandmother's body is found on the sidewalk: she has thrown herself out of the window.
Who or what will Sophie cling to?
Special aspects of the novel
Four women each spying on the movements of the other three, leading to the drama of an imperious but difficult communication between two protagonists who are too similar, despite the age difference. Numerous flashbacks, especially in the confidences of Juliette Viou.
Description of the work
Space and time frame
Space
Paris (Ile Saint-Louis).
Time
Contemporary era.
Characters
Main characters
- Sophie Emel. Pilot and parachutist. Single. 27 years old.
- Juliette Viou. Widow after three marriages. Grandmother of Sophie Emel.
Other characters
- Lélia, young cabaret singer, separated from her husband, friend of Sophie
- Louise, Sophie's maid.
Dutch 'De oude dame' 1980 blurb
De beroemde parachutiste Sophie Emel laat zich onder de druk der omstandigheden overhalen om haar grootmoeder bij haar in huis te nemen. De grootmoeder woont n.l. nog als enige in een oud Parijs' appartementengebouw, dat zo snel mogelijk gesloopt moet worden. Politie noch psychiater lukt het de oude vrouw ervan te overtuigen dat zij werkelijk verhuizen moet. Het dreigement dat zij zich uit het raam zal storten als iemand bij haar binnendringt, weerhoudt de politie van harde actie. Haar kleindochter moet eraan te pas komen om haar met zachte drang te laten vertrekken. Eenmaal bij Sophie in huis zorgt de grootmoeder voor een gespannen sfeer tussen de vier vrouwen die in het appartement wonen. Rond Sophie en haar vriendin, de dienstmeid en de oude vrouw speelt zich een drama af dat sterk aan de films van Bergman doet denken.
See also
