Book Review: The Inseparables, by Simone de Beauvoir
Do you believe in God? The question is one of the themes of Simone de Beauvoir’s novella The Inseparables, as its two main characters wrestle with this question in their strict Roman Catholic families in early 20th century France.
Sylvie makes friends with the waif like but intelligent and mature Andrée at school. The story follows their friendship through school and college as they grow into mature young women as their conversations turn to love and marriage. Stifling parental control, self-harm, youthful rebelliousness, the overbearing influence of the church and its priests, sexism and what is expected of young women and a window into the everyday life in both rural France and in Paris all feature in the novella.
The God question though is where the two girls part ways with Sylvie preferring to think for herself and to expand her horizons and Andrée choosing to remain devout and obedient despite continuing to question her faith and parents and wishing to stay home with Pascal rather than attend university in England. The discussions the two girls have about God, religion and faith echo those I had when attending a convent school from the ages of 5 to 10, where the Catholic faith took the form of an indoctrination. The numerous prayers and sermons, the Friday morning church service – in which as a non-Catholic I had to sit at the back – and the nuns who were also the teachers who drummed into us the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Stella Maris Convent School in Seaton was a private school – and I only attended free as my mother was a PE teacher for the upper school. When the job ended, I was moved to the state primary school up the road which was so much better.
At home and out of school I could escape the constant propaganda – but not Andrée whose mother never lets up with trying to control her mind and behaviour. It seems that the main religious disciplinarian are not the priests but Madame Gallard who kept Andrée busy in order to prevent her from experiencing any unwanted influences. Written in the first person the novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Simone de Beauvoir’s friendship with Elisabeth Lacoin, better known as Zaza and as such considering how the two stories mirror each other feels more real and also more poignant.
When they first meet there is the stunning opening line from Andrée: “I’m nine. If I look younger, it’s because I got burned alive and didn’t grow much after that.” And despite missing a year of schooling Andrée very quickly moves to the top of the class with the help of Sylvie as they become friends. Or do they? As Andrée seems unaware for a long time that Sylvie loves her since she is so wrapped up in her own life.
And Sylvie’s faith is shaken when Abbé Dominique takes her confession and says, “I have been told that my little Sylvie is not the same girl she was… she has become distracted, disobedient and insolent.’ Following that when a man exposes himself to her, she becomes even more disillusioned with the church and God.
My own disillusionment with the idea of a supernatural all-powerful God began when I visited Cheddar Caves as a child and saw the skeleton of a Neanderthal man who had no chance of becoming a Christian and concluded with my first biology lesson at senior school which was on Darwin and evolution. School was a constant purveyor of the Christian faith but by our teenage years it was generally dismissed by all of my friends. My parents were split as my Church going mother said we must believe ‘like a child’ which to me was very was unconvincing, while my father saw religion as ‘a lot of old rope.’ Now, I have no faith in any religion, but I do have a certain affection for Christian music, churches, biblical texts, buildings and services – and in particular some of the social codes of Christianity such as the Good Samaritan. Like Sylvie in this coming-of-age story, my faith was chipped away, until it evaporated.
Harry Mottram
Rapscallion Magazine is an online publication and is edited by Harry Mottram and is published his own interest.
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