Germinie Lacerteux. By Edmond de Goncourt FULL Audiobook
Germinie Lacerteux is a novel written by Edmond de Goncourt and Jules de Goncourt. The story revolves around Germinie, an orphan who is sent to Paris to live with her sister and brother-in-law. She starts working as a waitress in a café, where she becomes pregnant after being raped by one of the waiters. Germinie suffers many indignities at the hands of her relatives because she will not tell them that she has been raped. Her child is born dead, and giving birth almost kills Germinie. Finally, a retired actor takes pity on her and hires her as a maid and companion. Germinie then fills a host of positions as maid to kept women and boarding school mistresses. One day, Mademoiselle de Varandeuil’s maid dies suddenly. Through the influence of her sister, Germinie is given the position. Mademoiselle de Varandeuil is an old maid whose father prevented her from being anything but a servant to him until his death, so that she now has few friends and acquaintances. Other members of her family have died, and she is an old woman. She has a sufficient income to live fairly comfortably, but she cannot afford many extravagances. In her old age, she needs someone to look after her, as much a companion as a maidservant. For a time after her entry into Mademoiselle de Varandeuil’s service, Germinie is a devoted Christian. She spends a great deal of time at church and goes to confession regularly. Through her devotions, she falls in love with a young priest, but he, sensing her state of mind, sends her to another confessor and refuses to speak to her. With that, Germinie’s devotions cease. Germinie’s next devotion is to her sister’s niece, who had been left in her care when the mother died. Germinie’s happiness, however, is short-lived, for another sister takes the child to Africa. When word comes by letter that the child is ill and the sister’s husband out of work, Germinie sends everything she can spare to aid the stricken child and the family that is taking care of her. After depriving herself of necessities for two years, Germinie learns that the child died shortly after leaving Paris and that the letters from her sister and her husband were a ruse to get Germinie’s hard-earned money. About that time, a dairy store opens very close to the house in which Germinie lives with Mademoiselle de Varandeuil. In her dealings with the store, Germinie finds a friend in Madame Jupillon, the proprietress. Madame Jupillon has a son, who is at a trade school learning to become a glove maker. Germinie is quite impressed by the youngster and often goes with his mother to see him on visiting days.
The novel is a grim, anti-Romantic novel that presents a "clinic of love." It is the fourth of six novels written by the Goncourt brothers. The story is that of a poor country girl who comes to Paris, where her temperament renders her peculiarly liable to temptation. The novel is a realistic portrayal of the life of a working-class woman in nineteenth-century France. It is a powerful indictment of the social and economic conditions that made it difficult for women to survive in a male-dominated society. The novel is also a study of the human condition, of the struggle for survival, and of the search for meaning in a world that seems to offer little hope. The novel is a masterpiece of French literature and a classic of the nineteenth century. It is a powerful and moving work that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the human condition..
More: Germinie Lacerteux, Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt
French literature, 19th century, Realism
Naturalism, Female protagonist, Paris
Domestic work, Poverty, Social class
Morality, Religion, Sickness
00:00:00 Preface to First Edition
00:04:18 Second Preface
00:26:17 Germinie Lacerteux. I
00:37:08 II
01:23:11 III
01:35:41 IV
01:46:07 V
01:52:59 VI
02:03:46 VII
02:08:46 VIII
02:12:40 IX
02:19:38 X
02:22:45 XI
02:26:10 XII
02:36:14 XIII
02:38:25 XIV
02:43:38 XV
02:47:48 XVI
02:57:06 XVII
03:04:18 XVIII
03:08:34 XIX
03:12:27 XX
03:22:33 XXI
03:28:35 XXII
03:33:35 XXIII
03:36:18 XXIV
03:42:14 XXV
03:44:45 XXVI
03:52:11 XXVII
03:56:31 XXVIII
04:01:26 XXIX
04:06:31 XXX
04:12:00 XXXI
04:16:53 XXXII
04:24:18 XXXIII
04:27:59 XXXIV
04:30:26 XXXV
04:34:24 XXXVI
04:41:54 XXXVII
04:45:56 XXXVIII
04:52:50 XXXIX
04:59:49 XL
05:03:14 XLI
05:08:06 XLII
05:10:15 XLIII
05:13:38 XLIV
05:16:39 XLV
05:20:33 XLVI
05:23:31 XLVII
05:28:12 XLVIII
05:41:11 XLIX
05:49:20 L
05:55:50 LI
06:02:34 LII
06:10:28 LIII
06:20:32 LIV
06:22:32 LV
06:26:58 LVI
06:30:20 LVII
06:33:12 LVIII
06:36:49 LIX
06:41:23 LX
06:46:11 LXI
06:49:50 LXII
06:52:32 LXIII
06:55:56 LXIV
06:59:36 LXV
07:06:17 LXVI
07:12:16 LXVII
07:14:00 LXVIII
07:21:08 LXIX
07:27:40 LXX
