In Claudine and Annie, original title Claudine s’en va (trans. Antonia White 1962), we hear someone else’s impression of the free-spirited heroine, as the novel is told from the point of view of Annie, a very different woman to Claudine.
“I don’t know anything…except how to obey. He has taught me that and I achieve obedience as the sole task of my existence…assiduously…joyfully.”
He is her husband, Alain, who she has loved since childhood and has left her for many months in order to travel to Brazil and claim a legacy. We never meet Alain but he seems fairly repulsive, including saying that she shouldn’t take his rare compliments to heart, as:
“It is my own work I’m admiring; a lovable child, fashioned little by little into and without great difficulty into an irreproachable young woman and an accomplished housewife.”
He is controlling and has left her a list of instructions, including:
“Only one call on Renaud and Claudine, too fantastically unconventional a couple”
Thankfully, for those of us who are so fond of Claudine from the previous novels, Annie ends up disregarding this advice. She and Claudine get on well, spending time together as Claudine is part of Marthe’s, Annie’s sister-in-law, social circle.
“I was animated by an indiscreet curiosity, as if, by questioning Claudine, I was about to discover the secret, the ‘recipe’ of her lucky disposition that detached her from everything, and made her indifferent to gossip, petty quarrels, even to conventions.”
Claudine is attracted to Annie, but she and Renaud have an agreement to just have two people in their marriage since the Rezi drama, so nothing romantic occurs. From Annie we learn they are a devoted and very happy couple. Annie’s marriage, by contrast, is crumbling:
“Shattered, I searched obstinately for one memory in our past as a young married couple that could give me back the husband I believed I had. Nothing, I could find nothing – only my whipped child’s submissiveness, only his cold condescending smile.”
Marthe and her social set are not a happy bunch (apart from Renaud and Claudine). There are infidelities, relentless bitching, worries about money… and yet Annie has her eyes opened to the nature of her relationship with Alain and she cannot turn back. Realistically, Annie is not ecstatic at her new life; she only knows it must happen.
“In those days which seem strangely far away I was more meek than terrified and almost happy in a timid, colourless way. Is my lot any better today, wandering hither and thither, demoralised yet more self-willed? It’s a very arduous problem for such a tired brain.”
Although I missed Claudine in this novella as the focus is very much on Annie, I still enjoyed this greatly. It was entertaining to see a character we know so well from a first-person point of view depicted through the eyes of Annie. I thought the voice of Annie was distinct from Claudine and of course I was rooting for her to leave Alain.
The story is fairly slight, but at just over 100 pages it is well-paced and suits its novella length. The final sentence was pitch perfect and such a satisfying ending to Annie’s story despite – or perhaps because of – many unanswered questions.
And so I bid farewell to Claudine and I’m so sorry to see her go. Tomorrow, a stand-alone novella – is it any wonder I love Colette so much when her novels are so blissfully short? 🙂
madame bibi lophile recommends 
How interesting that she decided to this instalment of Claudine’s story from an entirely different perspective. I wonder how it was received given Claudine’s popularity.
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I know, I was really surprised when I started the novella and the narrator had changed. I wondered if she’d gained in confidence as a writer and wanted to try out new characters? Annie is so different from Claudine, I’m not sure how it was received, but Colette remained hugely popular it can’t have been too disappointing for her readers.
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There’s certainly a lot to be said for the slimness of Colette’s works – they’re easily slipped into the odd hour or two spare… ;D
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Absolutely! And she still manages to write so descriptively, its hugely impressive.
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I love the shortnes of her books as well. In many ways they are richer than a lot of longer books.
I think it’s fascinating to see a character from another angle.
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I’m a real fan of novellas and I think Colette is great at the form. She gets so much detail into such a short space.
It was really interesting to see Claudine from another perspective, especially Annie’s, who has lived such a different life.
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