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“Who is Juliette Gervaise?” Julien says and it shocks me a little to hear that name from him. I close my eyes and in the darkness that smells of mildew and bygone lives, my mind casts back, a line thrown across years and continents. Against my will—or maybe in tandem with it, who knows anymore?—I remember.
This quote can be found in Chapter 1. In 1995, a much older Vianne looks through a trunk of mementos and finds a French ID card bearing the name “Juliette Gervaise.” Her son, a young doctor who has encouraged her to move to a more convenient apartment after her cancer diagnosis, is surprised by the ID, as he does not recognize the name. When he asks his mother about Juliette, she experiences shock upon hearing him use a name from her past. At this point in the novel, she thinks of these two parts of her life as fully separate. For decades, she has refused to talk or even think about the war, hoping to move on and leave the past behind her. When her son examines the ID card, however, his question draws “a line” between her earlier life in France and her current life in the United States. She has a difficult time interpreting her own emotions and wonders whether this sudden flash of memories reflects a subconscious desire to confront the past. Ultimately, her son’s question about “Juliette Gervaise” sparks a profound change in Vianne’s attitude about her own personal history.
For years, I kept the memories at bay. I hid them in a dusty attic, far from prying eyes. I told my husband, my children, myself, that there was nothing for me in France. I thought I could come to America and make this new life for myself and forget what I had done to survive.
This quote can be found in Chapter 26. When she is invited to the passeurs reunion event in Paris, Vianne at first rejects the invitation. In the following days, however, she finds that she cannot push the idea out of her mind. Usually, she finds it very easy to repress her feelings and hide from her painful memories. Desiring a “new life” for herself and her family, she chose to forget her difficult experiences in the war. Now, at the end of her life, she finds that the past is not so easy to leave behind, and she finally decides to confront her past directly by finally returning to France and attending the reunion.
After that, I am sucked into a whirlwind of gratitude and memories and photographs. Everyone in the room wants to thank me personally and tell me how much Isabelle and my father meant to them. At some point, Julien settles himself along my side and becomes a bodyguard of sorts. I hear him say, “It looks like we have a lot to talk about."
In Chapter 39, Vianne’s decision to attend the passeurs reunion in Paris reflects a marked change in her attitude regarding the past. Previously, she thought of her memories as a liability, and she attempted to forget the past in order to move forward and start her new life in the United States. At the reunion, she faces her past directly as she is surrounded by “memories and photographs” from her earlier life. As other guests thank Vianne and express gratitude towards her family, Vianne realizes just how many lives were touched by Isabelle’s heroic sacrifice. Her son, Julien, is confused by the attention his mother receives at the reunion, standing by her side as a “bodyguard of sorts.” He still thinks of his mother as a defenseless old lady who requires his protection, but as he learns more about her exploits during the war, he gains a better appreciation of her courage and strength. Ultimately, after Julien notes that they “have a lot to talk about” when the event ends, Vianne acknowledges that it was a mistake to conceal the story of her family from her son, agreeing to speak openly with Julien about their family and her past.
