And the tone of his voice was so convinced, so tender, that I understood that he was unhappy. Late at night, we talked about love and its complications. In my father’s eyes, they were imaginary. He systematically refused the notions of fidelity, seriousness, and commitment. He explained to me that they were arbitrary and sterile. From anyone other than him, that would have shocked me. But I knew that in his case, that did not exclude tenderness or devotion, feelings that came to him more easily because he wanted them, knew them to be temporary. This conception appealed to me: rapid, fierce, and fleeting loves. I was not at the age when fidelity could seduce someone. I knew little about love: dates, kisses, and boredom. “
From “Bonjour tristesse” by Françoise Sagan.” Translated by Louis Villalba
Seventeen-year-old Françoise Sagan wrote this beautifully crafted short novel in 1954. She described the cynicism of an epoch that questioned human morality. An avid reader, and frequent customer at a local café in Paris, she was a superb observer and a terrific writer, “And the tone of his voice was so convinced, so tender, that I understood that he was unhappy. Late at night, we talked about love and its complications. In my father’s eyes, they were imaginary. He systematically refused the notions of fidelity, seriousness, and commitment. He explained to me that they were arbitrary and sterile. From anyone other than him, that would have shocked me.”
Original text:
Et le ton de sa voix était si convaincu, si tendre, que je compris qu’il aurait été malheureux. Tard dans la nuit, nous parlâmes de l’amour, de ses complications. Aux yeux de mon père, elles étaient imaginaires. Il refusait systématiquement les notions de fidélité, de gravité, d’engagement. Il m’expliquait qu’elles étaient arbitraires, stériles. D’un autre que lui, cela m’eût choquée. Mais je savais que dans son cas, cela n’excluait ni la tendresse ni la dévotion, sentiments qui lui venaient d’autant plus facilement qu’il les voulait, les savait provisoires. Cette conception me séduisait : des amours rapides, violentes et passagères. Je n’étais pas à l’âge où la fidélité séduit. Je connaissais peu de chose de l’amour : des rendez-vous, des baisers et des lassitudes.
