A spate of French stories at the moment. The books come from completely different shelves. This story came from the magnificent word 'sensibilisation'.
Et De Sexualité
Mme Sang had an adolescent daughter. That daughter was very beautiful, with long careless hair and even longer careless legs. Both were starting to attract increasing attention from similarly aged boys in the neighbourhood.
It was time to think about sensibilisation. Mme Sang thought hard. She couldn't keep her daughter, Cecile, in the house all the time. She couldn't fit her with a tracking device, which would be a violation of her liberté. Nor could she be on hand at every corner, popping up in cafes, appearing in shopping arcades, manifesting three rows behind in the cinema while her daughter was cosying with a new friend. They had a close relationship, but the coincidences would eventually become obvious, even to her daughter.
It was time to get the neighbours involved – une exercise de collaboration avec les ressources du milieu. There were lots of them, they all knew her daughter, and there was one on every corner, in every café and arcade, and at least one always three rows behind in the cinema. She wrote to them all, and set up Daughter Watch. Now they produce a monthly newsletter - a joyful document of young French life.
Ah! Cecile! You are so very loved.
© 2007 Jules Horne
1/11/2007
Dominique Viart
Le roman francais au XXe siècle, 1999
p 115
Comments