61 pages • 2 hours read
Stephanie DrayA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In 1915, as Beatrice makes her way across the ocean with the Chapmans and Emily, she becomes increasingly aware of how isolated she is from her husband and how deliberately he is trying to keep her at arm’s length. When they arrive in Bordeaux, they meet with other women working in war relief, namely Marie-Louise LeVerrier and Clara Simon, both of whom underscore how important and needed the Lafayette kits are. When they move to Paris, they find the city armed for war. They take their lodgings at the remnants of the Hôtel de Noailles, where Lafayette once lived with Adrienne, and feel a connection to the historic couple. When Beatrice calls Willie to tell him of their arrival, his manservant tells her that he is unable to take her call. Fuming, Beatrice focuses on bringing the ambulance and supplies to the American hospital, where she learns of gas warfare and resolves to add cloths to the kits for soldiers to protect them against the gas. That night at the hotel, she finds a message from Willie, telling her to meet him alone at a restaurant.
In 1777, Lafayette is still trying to board a ship to America, and Adrienne must contend with her family’s divisive reaction to his ambitions. Secretly, she tries to help her husband by calling in favors for people to give him shelter or look the other way should they notice him. Though encumbered by her second pregnancy, she attends a family wedding, where her aunt disparages the shame that Lafayette has brought on Adrienne. Adrienne claims publicly that she is proud of her husband. Stories begin to abound of Lafayette’s intrepid escapes until he finally boards the Victoire for America. Adrienne gives birth to a second daughter, Anastasie, in August. A month later, she receives her first letter from Gilbert, asking for forgiveness. As they exchange letters, Adrienne also has a chance meeting with the American minister Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who respects Adrienne for her fervent commitment to their cause. To renew Lafayette’s reputation and convince the French public to support Americans, she begins to send copies of their correspondences to the queen. She impresses the court with Lafayette’s heroism and raises funds for American soldiers’ equipment. A sudden illness strikes her and her sister’s children, however, and both Henriette and her nephew Adrien succumb to the illness, leaving Adrienne distraught and inconsolable. When the king of France recognizes America’s independence in December, Adrienne resolves to live for her daughter, Anastasie.
Marthe discovers that her mother’s name is Minerva Furlaud. She wonders why she was never informed of it and cannot understand why she did not inherit the name. Madame Simon only knows that Madame Beatrice was the one to find her as a child, but she warns Marthe against investigating her identity since finding out her heritage—specifically, if she is Jewish—could be incredibly dangerous in the current climate. Conflicted, Marthe resolves to ask the baroness about it when she returns from America. She finds old photographs in her studio of Madame LeVerrier with Allied troops and of Madame Simon with orphaned boys, one of whom is Henri. Marthe feels a pang of responsibility for the Kohn children staying with his mother. She asks Madame Simon if there is anything they might do, but Madame Simon only rebukes her and sends her into quarantine in her studio. There, she delves more deeply into the history of Adrienne Lafayette to pass the time.
Two years after Lafayette has left for America, Adrienne has garnered the attention of many high-society individuals, including Voltaire himself. Eventually, Gilbert returns to her side temporarily when he is on leave, and they reunite in love and forgiveness. Since he is still a criminal, however, he is placed under house arrest in Adrienne’s care. His homecoming to France is met with great acclaim from Adrienne’s family, the general public, and even the queen herself. He is then given the position of colonel in command of a regiment of the King’s Dragoons, while Benjamin Franklin calls Adrienne one of the founding mothers of America for all her rallying efforts. At the public unveiling of a portrait of George Washington, Adrienne is struck by the duality in Washington’s character. Although he claims liberty for all, even his painting depicts a dark-skinned enslaved person whom he keeps in bondage. Later, she gives birth to a son, George, who is named after the American general. The king of France finally decides to send an expedition to America, but rather than letting Gilbert lead it, he names Rochambeau as the head of the expedition. Gilbert finds this difficult to accept. In March of 1779, he leaves once again.
In 1915, Beatrice meets Willie, armed with a new hat, for their secret meeting. Because the war is raging, Willie is not happy with her return to France, but Beatrice implores him to find a way to reunite the Chapmans with Victor. He initially refuses, as he is meant to leave for Switzerland to meet with a specialist for his leg. Beatrice brings up their marriage and asks for a divorce, which prompts Willie to believe that she is in love with another man. Enraged at his assumptions, Beatrice points to their estrangement over the last five years and his inability to communicate with her as the real reasons she wants to separate. He, in turn, tells her that their marriage is fine as it is and asserts that she hasn’t truly considered the social ramifications and exile she would experience should they divorce. He tries to convince her to wait until he returns from Switzerland, but after he insults her by trying to push her to leave France, Beatrice storms out of the restaurant. He does not follow.
In 1941, the baroness returns from America and gives a glowing appraisal of Marthe’s sketches of Adrienne Lafayette. Marthe confronts the baroness about her childhood and asks whether or not she knew her mother. The baroness states that she doesn’t know anyone by the name of Minerva Furlaud, but her reaction indicates otherwise. Before Marthe can confront her further, Madame Simon enters, furious with the baron, who has requested that she take a year off, given her Jewish heritage. Though the baroness acknowledges that the Vichy government’s antisemitic laws are disgusting, Madam Simon is infuriated by the baron and baroness’s refusal to publicly denounce them. Madam Simon resigns and demands to be compensated for her long service, but the baron accuses her of stealing from the preventorium’s discretionary cash. In truth, Madame Simon used the money for black-market goods that were needed for the preventorium. However, rather than reveal the staff’s illegal activities, she lies and accepts the blame. Later, Madame Simon convinces Marthe to forge papers for Gabriella Kohn so that she can be treated at the preventorium. She swears Marthe to secrecy, especially from Anna, who is meant to take over Madame Simon’s position and is sympathetic to her father’s way of thinking.
In 1781, Adrienne is doing her best to manage Gilbert’s estate and finances, but much of their wealth is being donated to the war effort. She meets a newly arrived friend of Gilbert’s, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, and escorts him to several social functions. He entreats the French nobility to help the Americans to overcome the British. Laurens’s approach is too aggressive, especially when he corners the foreign minister of France. Adrienne devises a scheme that places him directly in the king’s path, which luckily earns him an audience rather than a reprimand. The king agrees to supply more guns and funds, and in the autumn of 1782, America is victorious. Just as the king and queen put on a celebration for the dauphin’s birth, Lafayette returns, and the queen personally escorts Adrienne back to the Hôtel de Noailles in her procession so that they might be reunited.
A day after leaving Willie behind at the restaurant, Beatrice finds herself volunteering at the American hospital again. She meets the baron whom Emily loves and approves of the match. She and Emily go shopping, and Emily offers Beatrice a new perfume to replace the old one she favored since it was Willie’s favorite. They meet the baron for a night at the opera, but after the show, Beatrice cuts the evening short and walks home alone. In almost absolute darkness, she soon gets lost. When a man calls to her, she slips, falls, and hurts her hand. The man helps her and treats her wound, and Beatrice realizes that it has been years since anyone has taken care of her with such delicacy. He escorts her back to her hotel, flirting along the way, and nicknames her Marthe after an opera singer since he heard her singing. Beatrice learns that the man is a captain in the French army by the name of Maxime Furlaud. He is working as a liaison with the British. When he is about to leave her at the hotel, she asks for his assistance in contacting her nephew.
In December of 1941, Gabriella is admitted to the preventorium under the false identity of Gabrielle Beaufort, thanks to Marthe’s efforts. Marthe then checks in on Anna, and though she feels bitter about the manner of Madame Simon’s departure, she feels a sudden urge to kiss her friend. Realizing that her feelings are developing, Marthe retreats, admonishing herself for forgetting about Henri at such a time. Sam finds her as she’s leaving to tell her that the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor and that the United States is officially taking part in the war. That night, Anna finds Marthe in her studio, and they both reminisce about how the war has taken so much from them and frozen them in time at Chavaniac.
In June of 1782, Gilbert’s triumphant return makes him an incredibly popular man in French high society, and he receives a ceremonial sword of honor from Benjamin Franklin for his service to America. He is promoted to field marshal and made a knight of the Order of Saint Louis. Adrienne’s grandmother warns her that Gilbert has changed and that he will have enemies because he is now the most beloved man in France—a title, her grandmother intimates, that should only be the king’s. When Gilbert tries to encourage France to trade with America, he finds resistance from the trade minister during a social soirée. Later, Adrienne realizes that Gilbert’s sudden mastery in bed indicates his infidelity.
A few days after meeting Maxime, the Germans sink the Lusitania, the steamer ship that Beatrice used only a few days prior. Beatrice follows the Chapmans to Amiens to reunite with Victor, and as her nephew embraces his parents, Maxime appears and confesses that he knows she is Willie’s wife. Caught, Beatrice is quick to say they are separated. He requests permission to take Beatrice out to dinner when he is next in Paris. She declines, given that it would lead to unwanted gossip, but Maxime still gives her his phone number before he leaves. She and the Chapmans discuss Victor’s time in the war over dinner, and Victor tells Beatrice how prized her Lafayette kits are among the troops. Left alone with him, Beatrice steers the conversation to enlisting in the aviators, but Victor does not believe in nepotism—which is how he believes he will be perceived because of his connection to Willie. He promises to think about it as long as Beatrice doesn’t give up on his uncle. He then asks her to mail letters to the family of a dear friend who died in his arms in battle. When she returns to Paris, Beatrice finds that Emily is now engaged to the baron. As melancholy sets in, Beatrice changes her mind about Furlaud and calls him.
In 1782, Adrienne cannot stop wondering who Gilbert’s lover is. Though she knows that faithfulness is a rarity in French society, she is still disappointed. Eventually, she hears a rumor that his lover is Aglaé d’Hunolstein, a former lover of Philippe, Duc des Chartres. This is confirmed when she is on an outing with her father and sees Gilbert and Aglaé together from her carriage. As she sobs, her father tries to console her—a first in their parent-child relationship. The very next day, rumors abound that Aglaé has left Gilbert, but Adrienne is unconvinced. Two months later, she gives birth to their third daughter, Virgine, and her physician tells her that she should not bear more children. Later, on her way to give food to the poor, Aglaé enters Adrienne’s carriage and begs her to save her from ruin. Aglaé explains that although she has tried to end things with Lafayette, society now believes her to be a sex worker, and she suspects that the Duc d’Ayen is the source of the rumors. She begs Adrienne to call him off and prevail upon Lafayette to publicly end their affair so that the legitimacy of her children will not be questioned and she will not be sent to a nunnery to cover her shame. Though Adrienne does not speak to her father, she does confront Gilbert and uses America as a stand-in metaphor for his affair with Aglaé. She reminds him that he is far too honorable to let a woman suffer. The next morning, he packs his trunks and leaves for Chavaniac to reflect on his actions.
Weeks after the Lusitania has sunk, Beatrice tells Emily that she has asked for a divorce. Emily worries for her friend, but she cannot help as she is sent north to meet the family of her husband-to-be. For over a week, Beatrice has been having intimate but chaste meetings with Furlaud over tea, so after Emily leaves, she goes to meet him again. They discuss America’s stance on the war, and Beatrice predicts that President Wilson will not be able to avoid joining for very much longer. Furlaud takes an interest in her education and is surprised to learn that she has been raised in poverty. She tells him how the butcher she had considered to be her father was in fact married to another woman. When he died, Beatrice discovered that her mother had to engage in sex work to support her sons when her first husband died and that her biological father was likely one of her mother’s customers. At the age of eight, Beatrice had to sing and dance for money. Furlaud finds her remarkable and insists that she call him Max. They go on a date the next day, visiting Notre Dame and then moving to Max’s apartment, where they share a reverent kiss for the first time. He asks if he can send her letters from the front.
Tensions are rising in February 1942 as French boys are being shot for popularizing Churchill’s V for Victory. Arrests are being made in Chavaniac because Vs are being graffitied in chalk in the village. When Marthe goes to the well for water one day, she notices a group of boys loitering by the mill. When they see her, they scatter, but she grabs Oscar, their leader, and sees that he was writing a V on the side of the mill. When she questions his sanity, he says that he is only doing what his father would want him to do, and he knows that she won’t tell on him. As the upcoming trials for France’s former political leaders in Riom loom, Marthe feels that she should be doing more to work against the Nazis.
As Adrienne knew he would, Gilbert sends a letter explaining that he had been Aglaé’s pursuer and that he was breaking off their affair. The letter is shared at court, and though it pains Adrienne to read it, the letter does not have the desired effect; Aglaé is still forced to the nunnery. However, Gilbert’s reputation only increases, and Adrienne steels herself and her heart, knowing that Gilbert might find another mistress. She joins him in Chavaniac regardless, and as she arrives in the wild forests near the castle, she falls in love with the place. When it becomes known that the tenants are starving, Adrienne and Gilbert open their granaries and offer food to the villagers, who gift them with trinkets. Gilbert is ashamed to accept them, as he would have them be less dependent on him. He and Adrienne work to improve the estate by building a school for lacemaking, creating new roads, and building a hospital and markets for their tenants using a grant that Adrienne obtained. They also buy a plantation in Cayenne, where they plan to pay the Black laborers with the ultimate goal of giving them ownership of the plantation. Committed to changing the feudalistic system, Adrienne and Gilbert buy a townhouse in Paris where Adrienne plays hostess to visiting Americans while Gilbert is often gone to advocate for government reforms.
When the nation’s finances are revealed to be in turmoil, most blame Queen Marie Antoinette and her gambling. Adrienne, however, believes that the system of monopolies and unfair taxation is responsible, and when Gilbert voices a need for change at the Assembly of Notables, he angers the entire royal faction, including the king, and is soon subjected to fierce criticism. Gilbert hesitates to continue demanding change, but Adrienne reminds him that fame and glory mean nothing if they are not used for good. Gilbert perseveres and protests national corruption, supports reforms to the judicial system, and also argues for the civil rights of Protestants and Jews. He is stripped of his rank, and in his response, he signs the last record of the Assembly with no title or military rank, only his name, Lafayette.
When Beatrice joins the Chapmans for the annual Independence Day pilgrimage to Lafayette’s grave, they are made aware that the Woman’s Peace Party has held a failed peace conference, thereby painting a caricature of women as being too sentimental to understand politics. They meet up with Victor, and Beatrice introduces him to Madame Kohn, the French wife of Victor’s deceased friend. Victor gives a tricolor pin to his friend’s son Uriah and tells him that his father was the bravest man. At Picpus Cemetery, the American ambassador makes a speech and praises Beatrice and the other women who carry on Adrienne’s legacy of helping in the war effort. Later that evening, Victor tells Beatrice that he will seek the transfer and become an aviator. He also reveals that Willie’s leg has been paralyzed since the surgery; because it will not heal, it will need to be amputated. When Beatrice confronts her in-laws for their secrecy, they admit that they didn’t tell her because Willie does not want her there. Beatrice forces a call on Willie, confronts him about his leg, and insists on meeting him in Switzerland. He staunchly refuses but tells her that he intends to return to New York. He asks her to promise that he will still have a wife waiting for him when he emerges from the amputation. Beatrice gives him her promise.
Two years after Gilbert signed “Lafayette” on the Assembly record, the king calls for the Estates-General, as Gilbert has relentlessly persuaded the countryside of the need for a government that represents the people. Many of Adrienne’s family members believe that she and Gilbert will soon be sent to the Bastille for what they perceive as making threats of civil war with their call for reforms. Six weeks later, the king finally gives in and allows a constitutional monarchy with a formal declaration of rights. The newest American envoy, Mr. Morris, warns Adrienne against the violence that such a change would inflict, but she continues to believe that the French are not lesser in their republican ideals. As Gilbert works on the wording of the declaration, Adrienne worries that he might become a marked man, especially since she learns that even Philippe, now Duc d’Orléans, has approached Gilbert to join forces with him against the king. His intentions, however, are only to seize the throne for himself, so Gilbert declines. Out of fear for her and the children’s safety, Gilbert sends his family out of Paris before he reads out his Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen to the public. The French Revolution thus begins.
When the baron agrees to testify at the Riom trials in May 1942, most of the occupants at Chavaniac criticize him for it, and the boys defile his car. Anna proposes to run errands in his place once the car is clean and brings Marthe along with her. Anna tries to defend her father’s decision since she believes his participation in the trial was only because he blames the ministers’ bad management for their defeat. Marthe, however, sees that he is complicit in selling out France and criticizes his inability to take a stand. When Anna brings up the fact that Marthe has also been complicit when she signed her loyalty oath, Marthe leaves Anna behind and walks back to the castle alone. She cuts through the forest, and on the way, she is caught by a group of men, one of whom is Uriah Kohn. He apologizes for the rough treatment she received but explains that they had no choice since they are maquisards, people who are part of the Resistance. After asking after his daughter, he lets her go, and she continues back to the castle. There, she encounters Sergeant Travert, who seems suspicious of her disheveled look. He offers to drive her back and tries to subtly ask for any information she might have on people living in the forest. He implies that her closeness to Anna has been remarked upon. Dodging every question, she leaves him, and by the time she returns to the castle, Anna meets her with an official letter about Henri; the letter bears a Nazi stamp.
Beatrice sends a letter to Max to break off their relationship. She, Clara Simon, and Marie-Louise LeVerrier return to New York with a plan to sell French dolls made by wounded soldiers, widows, and refugee children for war relief funds at the next Lafayette Fund gala. In the meantime, they all go to the Chanler villa in Newport and plan the event. Emily announces that she will be resigning from her position, as she plans to marry Amaury de LaGrange in France. Happy for her friend, Beatrice gives her a hat to wear on her wedding or honeymoon. She then plans a national Lafayette Day as she and her children wait for Willie to return. Months pass, and although Willie’s surgery has been successful, there is still no news from him. In France, Emily is expecting her first child, and Victor has become a national hero for his aviation exploits and near-death experience. In June 1916, Willie finally contacts Beatrice to tell her that Victor has been killed in action. Grief-stricken, Beatrice realizes that she has been shaming a nation into joining a war that would lead more young Americans to die like Victor.
The underlying premise of Part 2 is that war does not subsume the mundane aspects of an individual’s life; instead, it melds itself into a person’s lifestyle until it becomes normalized. This pattern becomes apparent in the interpersonal issues that the three main characters experience as hostilities accelerate. Within this context, Dray emphasizes The Complexities of Marriage to showcase her heroines’ human faults, for the outbreak of war only exacerbates their need for connection and belonging. Marthe’s developing feelings for Anna are a prime example, as Marthe lives under two oppressive regimes (a direct one in the Vichy government and an indirect one through the Nazi regime), and she frequently feels threatened by the nebulous risk of collaborators and the constant surveillance of local authorities. Despite the tight-knit community at Chavaniac, trust becomes a rare commodity, but despite the pressures of such a situation, Marthe still allows herself the possibility of attraction because her loneliness outweighs all other concerns. As she states, “My stomach clenches because I realize it’s been so long since I saw Henri last that I’m starting to forget his voice, his smile, his scent. Maybe the reason why I feel the way I do about Anna is just because I’m lonely” (205). With this admission, Marthe reveals that the subtler psychological effects of war can be just as damaging as the battles, carnage, and overt losses that occur. For Marthe, the environment fostered by war is one that promotes isolation, for she is deprived of Henri’s companionship and has no inkling of his current situation and struggles. Though she genuinely loves him, Henri no longer impacts her daily life, and this separation leads Marthe to seek comfort and love from Anna, even though the risks of such a relationship under the looming shadow of the Nazi regime could put her life in danger. Thus, the war creates a temporary environment in which interpersonal dynamics are fundamentally redrawn to adapt to these new lifestyles.
While the three protagonists find multiple ways to adapt to the challenges that beset them, those who do not adapt are doomed to fail, and Beatrice’s troubles with Willie highlight this dynamic. While Beatrice is an active agent and a prominent participant in the war effort, Willie is stagnant at best, and he is often absent from the proceedings. Fundamentally, the two characters are in very different stages of their lives, as Beatrice thrives amidst the challenges of running the fund, while Willie struggles to complete a difficult path to recovery. War worsens their issues and highlights their increasing incompatibility since pride keeps Willie from properly communicating with Beatrice, and the arrival of Beatrice’s new love interest, Maxime Furlaud, draws attention to the ways in which her marriage is poisoned by toxic dynamics. Like Marthe’s infatuation with Anna, Beatrice’s new love is not without its risks; Beatrice admits, “I liked [Max] […] Nevertheless, the reality of my husband’s family so near […] was a cold dose of reality. I wasn’t free, no matter how much I wanted to be” (215). But even in this moment, as Beatrice worries about the social ramifications of being with Max, the need to be with someone who truly loves her is ultimately stronger than her apprehensions, and this development foreshadows the eventual end of her relationship with Willie. Thus, it is clear that war redefines the context and environment in which such connections can be made and integrated within a person’s life.
By Stephanie Dray
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