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Part 2, Chapter 11
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Bonjour Tristesse, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age
Love vs. Passion
Decadence and Self-Destruction
Control
Summary
Analysis
The funeral is held in Paris. Raymond and Cécile greet Anne’s elderly relatives. People give Raymond their condolences. Cyril attends the service, but Cécile feels only “resentment” toward him and avoids him. Cécile feels relief when people consider Anne’s death a “dreadful, senseless event,” though Cécile herself isn’t convinced it was an accident.
Cécile’s feeling for Cyril dissipate almost as immediately as they began, reinforcing both the intoxicating effects of passionate love—and the cold clear-headedness that takes over in its absence.
Active
Themes
Raymond takes Cécile’s hand in the car after Anne’s funeral. Now, Cécile notes to herself, they “have only each other,” and they “are alone and unhappy.” Life goes on. From time to time, they reminisce about their happier times with Anne that summer, but they’re always cautious about what they say to each other. In time, it becomes easier to talk about Anne. Neither of them believes in God, but they are grateful to “believe in fate,” feeling reassurance that Anne’s death was somehow destined to be.
Ultimately, Cécile’s plan does secure its desired outcome—Anne is out of the picture, and Cécile once again has her father all to herself. But those results don’t come about in the way Cécile planned, nor do they elicit the happiness Cécile thought they would. Instead, she and her father “are alone and unhappy” as they mourn the absence of Anne and the real, lasting love she tried to offer them—but which they were too selfish and self-absorbed to appreciate before it was too late.
Active
Themes
One day, Cécile takes a liking to a young man she meets at a party, and they start spending all their time together. Raymond, who can’t stand to be alone, finds himself “an ambitious young woman.” Cécile and Raymond’s life goes back to the way it was before Anne, and they begin to joke with each other. They feel happy. Only at dawn, when Cécile is in bed, do her memories of that summer come back to her, overwhelming her with grief and remorse. “Bonjour tristesse!”
