Summary

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Part 1

In her memoir, Shame, Ernaux begins with a jarring recollection: "My father tried to kill my mother one Sunday in June, in the early afternoon." She vividly recounts the events surrounding that fateful day. Fresh from church, she found herself amidst her parents' heated dispute, where her father's wrath manifested in the threat of a scythe.

Ernaux shares how she has often recounted this haunting opening to various men who entered her life, believing it demonstrated her intense feelings for them. Yet, this revelation only served to drive them away, a realization she later came to regret.

Following her memoir's completion, Ernaux reflects on the universality of such family violence, pondering its prevalence. Yet, she admits that until she penned down her experience, "that Sunday was like a veil that came between me and everything I did," obscuring her perception of reality.

Ernaux possesses two photographs of herself from that period, one capturing her innocence just after her First Holy Communion, and the other taken during a visit to Lourdes with her father. She scrutinizes these images, almost as an outsider, struggling to reconcile the child in the photographs with herself, particularly the latter photo, which she associates with an enduring sense of shame.

To further evoke her memories, she examines cherished mementoes, each carrying fragments of her youthful experiences. Her quest for understanding leads her to the archives in Rouen, a quaint city near Paris, where she delves into newspapers from 1952. Though the historical events are known to her as an adult, she seeks an elusive connection to her childhood, recognizing only a single cartoon from that era. It is the sole relic of a day otherwise dominated by her personal tragedy.

Part 2

As Part 2 unfolds, Ernaux paints a vivid portrait of the world surrounding her hometown, a place she had never strayed far from in 1952. Nestled in northern France's Normandy, her small town lay tucked between the bustling cities of Le Havre and Rouen. Her life unfolded mostly within its confines, with sporadic trips to the larger cities for necessities, guided by her mother.

She recounts the townsfolk's perception of the cities, their attire for such excursions, and the shift in their self-regard when mingling with the city's more educated and polished populace. Ernaux juxtaposes this with the comforting familiarity of her hometown, where every face is known to her.

She expands the description of her town, illustrating the contrast between the bustling city center and the diverse neighborhoods that fringe its outskirts. This progression hints at a "social hierarchy," visible as she wanders from wealth to poverty. Her parents' grocery-haberdashery-cafe, entwined with their living space, becomes the focal point of her narrative, offering scant privacy.

Delving deeper, Ernaux elaborates on her parents' daily toil within their store, the clientele they serve, and the rhythm of their days. Her account extends to her extended family, their homes, occupations, and the ways she and her cousins whittle away the hours. Language becomes a marker of social class, with proper French spoken in the city center, while a regional dialect pervades her neighborhood.

She recalls the gestures her family knew well, practical acts like conserving water, or expressing disdain—"shrugging one’s shoulders, turning round and vigorously slapping one’s a—." Conversations among adults often revolve around poignant memories, predominantly the indelible impact of World War II, a defining event against which all else is measured.

Ernaux shares that children were viewed as inherently "malicious," enduring corporal punishments that parents recounted with pride, boasting of their severity. When not disciplining, adults engaged in gossip, their curiosity...

(This entire section contains 1129 words.)

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leading them to surreptitious observations of their neighbors.

She concludes with insights on the community's social fabric, illustrating how individuals are judged by their social adeptness, encompassing more than mere communication skills. Mastery of local customs is essential, such as avoiding personal questions, reciprocating gifts, and discerning when salutations are appropriate. She recalls the etiquette she was taught to maintain when greeting customers in the cafe.

Part 3

In the third part, Ernaux paints a vivid picture of her school days. Enrolled at a private boarding school under the Catholic Church's watchful eye, she was a day student amidst a sea of boarders. Unique in her extended family and neighborhood as the only one not at a public institution, Ernaux was subject to a regimented code of conduct. The rules were as intricate as they were rigid: children kept their hands from the stairway railings, stood in hushed lines for five minutes before returning indoors post-lunch, avoided the gaze of their instructors, and held their bladders until the end of class. Religious practices, from prayer to confession, were seamlessly woven into the curriculum, with Ernaux noting, "The observance of religious practices . . . appears to take precedence over the acquisition of knowledge."

In 1952, Ernaux found herself in the fifth grade, on the cusp of adolescence but not quite there. She watched the older girls who had blossomed into young women with a mix of envy and admiration, their blouses a billowing symbol of maturity she had yet to attain. Feeling left behind in the race to adulthood, she scoured fashion magazines for inspiration, attempting to bridge the gap between her youthful innocence and her aspirations. However, her mother’s strict rules, coupled with those of the school, left her with limited options.

Part 4

The memoir reaches its poignant conclusion with Ernaux reflecting on the seismic shift in her life following her father's attempt on her mother's life. This cataclysmic event, she believed, marked her family with permanent disgrace, echoing through her memories of that fateful summer. "I feel that all the events of that summer served only to confirm our state of disgrace," she laments. Her narrative is punctuated by heart-wrenching episodes: the death of her grandmother, the public humiliation of her uncle's brutality towards his wife, a persistent cold that plagued her through the season, and an episode of her father smashing her glasses in a fit of rage. All this unfolds amidst a poignant trip to Lourdes with her father.

During their pilgrimage to Lourdes, Ernaux becomes acutely aware of her family's diminished social standing beyond their village confines. Her father's distrustful nature, her plain attire standing in stark contrast to that of another young traveler, and her father's ignorance of societal niceties painted a picture of isolation. His disdain for the city's culinary elegance seemed a barrier between them and the sophistication of urban life. Ernaux felt trapped in this world, one where luxuries like indoor plumbing, fresh linens, and a decent pair of shoes were foreign wonders glimpsed only during their journey.

Ernaux closes her memoir with a haunting reflection: "There is no point in going on. My shame was followed by more shame, only to be followed by more shame."

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