Can Social Class Change From One Generation to the Next?
A Commentary on Annie Ernaux’s La Place
This extract, from Annie Ernaux’s La Place occurs halfway through the novel. Ernaux is reflecting upon her early years of education. Her family have bought a café-grocery store, after much hard work. Although there are few cafés in the region, the grocery store will be the first of its kind, which makes Ernaux go into detail about the types of regular customers that once visited the store. Eranux’s parents had a dream to once own their own café-épicerie , and through bringing her father’s life to light Ernaux details the contrast between his character in other demanding jobs compared to this one with « l’évidence du bonheur » (Ernaux, 47).
The extract highlights her father’s conscientious character, which is implemented into how Ernaux was considered greedy by her parents for even mentioning another person’s possessions or experiences. Towards the end of the extract Ernaux conveys the humiliation felt by her father due to his lack of education. Down to Ernaux’s structure of each paragraph we perceive the text with cognisance. The short sentences and bluntness used in the opening paragraph of the extract to directly display her father’s repetitive comments about exactly how busy he is. Along with the extensive formation of the extract’s last section; detailing her father’s ignominy and obsession with how others perceive him.
Can Social Class Change from One Generation to the Next Generation?
1. Ernaux’s depiction of vastly differing emotions (« sous le bonheur »-« cette gosse ne compte rien ! »)
The concept of opening with her father’s most favourited « chant quotidien » effectuates a sense of familiarity between Ernaux’s father and the reader. Almost as though the reader can identify the father’s character down to the most trivial details, while still making him come across as distant due to his blunt chanting. The father’s conscientious attitude and constant interconnection with being busy is almost expected of him. Not by any greater power or named person but a need within himself to keep himself busy in order to function, due to centuries of attentive labour. Hard work is the only option in life that fully makes sense to Ernaux’s father, and any other direction in life completely loses him. We learn about this later on in the work at a greater detail; where Ernaux’s father feels a sense of shame once asked about what Ernaux is doing with herself nowadays. The thought of having to announce that she is studying rather than working causes him pangs of embarrassment, as he is under the impression that she is wasting her life away. He cannot grasp how his daughter who is faced with academic duties day upon day is not unhappy (Ernaux 79).
These short lines on her father’s brief comments are followed by Ernaux’s personal experience. The neutrality in form establishes an acquaintance from Ernaux towards the reader; inviting them in to hear her passing thoughts as she depicts her emotions surrounding the word ‘costly’. « Comment décrire la vision d’un monde où tout coûte cher ». An equilibrium here between the vagueness — how did we get onto this topic in question — and the fact that money has the capacity to be the centre of Ernaux’s world (or rather her parents’). Quickly we learn that Ernaux’s dress ripped while cycling. An image of beautiful scenery comes to mind as she is capable of identifying the song that was playing at the time. The dress was obviously expensive; as the outcome of the scenario was not met with any understanding or compassion. Rather, « Le drame, les cris, la journée est finie ». From her father’s point of view, Ernaux was too busy daydreaming to focus on her dress, or anything else ‘costly’ for that matter.
2. Ernaux’s own greed ( « sacralisation obligée des choses… » — « … plus haut qu’on l’a »)
The family learnt to appreciate everything they own. However, each brief utterance made by Ernaux was perceived as greed. The closest emotional relation that can be made to her parents’ feelings in this excerpt is jealousy; why else would they label her as greedy and claim she has « un manque continuel, sans fond ». In actual fact, there is a sense of insecurity. That is exactly why they are accusing her of being ravenous. Even though Ernaux admits herself that her parents regarded envy everywhere, their own jealousy seeps through. Even the abstract thought of Ernaux being capable of identifying certain elements that may be within one’s taste and wanting those things as a result is an outlandish concept for her parents « mais désirer pour désirer, car ne pas savoir au fond ce qui est beau, ce qu’il faudrait aimer ».
The process in which Ernaux conveys her parents’ valued possessions undoubtedly discloses that they have no sense of culture. Compared to their daughter, they don’t apply value to style especially at contemporary measures. This description even suggests that Ernaux’s parents do not have a sense of culture; they opt for the ordinary in order to have ‘enough’ in their standard possessions. Their living area is taken over by bric-a-brac, random figurines and Ernaux’s sentimental reminders of childhood. The China being the most unique particle of the house was a gift, and accompanied with that gift the leitmotif « il ne faut pas péter plus haut qu’on l’a» suggesting that other people are even aware of their lack of taste.
Within this excerpt, Ernaux’s social alienation from being an intellectual is increasingly evident. Ernaux is attempting to shape herself into a social individual; split between the two worlds of her background and her future in academia (Tondeur & Ernaux, 1995). Any suggestion of envy or greed are immediately blamed upon her education; her differing class towards her parents, and even her differing cultural behaviours. The only logical explanation for their reaction to such statements made by Ernaux that lack any importance is due to the fact that they fear her intellectually. They fear what she is capable of due to her education; how much she knows, and how little she doesn’t. They are also terrified of the fact that they are not ‘good enough’ for her now that she has been exposed to so many other opinions and ideas thanks to her schooling. This further feeds the jealousy felt initially by her parents.
3. Language as a reflection of social status (« la peur d’être déplacé … » — « c’est-à-dire inférieurs »)
In the final section of this excerpt, Ernaux projects another side of her father different to the hard-working man illustrated at the beginning. Ernaux deciphers a mishap involving her father misspelling a word and leading to his utter humiliation. Her father finds it practically impossible to forget about the instance. Of course, every person has more than one side to their character, but these emotions are far from the overly busy man we were acquainted with previously.
This element to the excerpt proves the concept that language is a form of social hierarchy. Not just what we use language for, but also how we use language. Her father’s ignorance got the better of him, the ma was bet up over a single mistake that was more than likely overlooked.
Ernaux clearly puts great emphasis on social class. In fact, her preoccupation with social hierarchies and behaviours were definitely implemented by her parents. The opinions of other people are a repeated issue throughout the body of work; revolving around one central thought ‘what will everyone else think?’
Ernaux and her family mock representations of naïve country folk on the media involved in the dreaded situation of being placed in « les milieux mondains ». Once reflecting, Ernaux herself wonders if she would have acted the same way had she been in a similar scenario. Never mind her parents who are much less exposed to those matters ! The penultimate word of this extract leaves a lasting tone on the reader ; a word that almost lingers a taste in the mouth. « C’est-à-dire inférieurs » conveys perfectly how this family considers themselves in comparison to others. They are simply not good enough. Ironic due to their language they are placed on a lower social class, but Ernaux as a member of this family is capable of such eloquent word choice. This, along with several other elements throughout the piece, questions if class can ultimately change from generation to generation.
Consequently, the multitudes of literary devices and language used by Ernaux depicts a conscientious family with a hard-working background perfectly as they settle into their life with a business and a young scholar child. Through personal experience along with the opinions of family, the reader can perceive that class most certainly can change between generations along with the use of education in order to do so. From the beginning of this extract when Ernaux depicted completely different emotions between herself and her father over a costly item, to the middle of the excerpt that focused on Ernaux’s greed as one who has been exposed to such elements of life that were unimaginable for her parents. Finally, the topic of language and word choice highlights the socially hierarchical sub-plot of this novel proving that although one generation may have been raised by the generation before them, that does not define future class.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Ernaux, Annie. La Place. (Paris: Gallimard, 1983)
Secondary Sources
Tondeur, C. L. and Ernaux, A. (1995) Entretien avec Annie Ernaux, The French Review, 69:1 (1995) https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/396992.pdf?casa_token=9u4wdl4LwhoAAAAA:H_bEnW0i7tCzfLSiATQIKnEhyzL-_sYoV_9M-OyXMBOOERvS9dGdje_06Z-U8S4ZLPf2ZQ4g4NLnyDYi3mJek1_4HSnYdWXrVH8RL3I6HvwC_KHMK5I
[accessed 12/12/21].
