Across the Bridge by Mavis Gallant
"Across the Bridge" by Mavis Gallant is a poignant exploration of self-discovery and societal expectations set against the backdrop of Paris. The story centers on Sylvie Castelli, who confesses to her mother during a walk that she does not love her fiancé, Arnaud Pons, but instead harbors feelings for another man, Bernard Brunelle. This revelation leads to a series of impulsive decisions by Madame Castelli, who believes her daughter can abandon her engagement and marry Bernard instead. As Sylvie's fantasy of a perfect life with Bernard crumbles, she confronts the harsh reality of unreciprocated feelings and familial pressure.
The narrative highlights the limited options available to women during the time, as Sylvie grapples with the prospect of independence in a world that offers few career paths. The story pivots when Arnaud expresses a modern, albeit surprising, view on gender roles and childcare, challenging Sylvie's perceptions of relationships and her own identity. Ultimately, the tale culminates in Sylvie's subtle rejection of her parents' control as she begins to see herself as an adult and an individual, navigating the complex interplay between personal desire and familial obligations.
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Across the Bridge by Mavis Gallant
First published: 1991
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: Around 1950
Locale: Paris
Principal Characters:
Sylvie Castelli , the narrator and protagonist, a young woman who has not yet left her parents' homeMadame Castelli , her motherMonsieur Castelli , her fatherArnaud Pons , her fiancéMonsieur Pons , her fiancé's fatherBernard Brunelle , a young man with whom Sylvie has been correspondingMonsieur Brunelle , the father of Bernard
The Story
Sylvie Castelli recalls the time when she and her mother walked together near the Place de la Concorde in Paris. As they cross a bridge, Sylvie shocks her mother by saying that she does not love her fiancé, Arnaud Pons, and that she would rather marry another man, Bernard Brunelle. Madame Castelli questions her daughter, and is misled by Sylvie's vague, diffident answers, which convince her that Bernard Brunelle has written Sylvie a letter proposing marriage. Believing that Sylvie can marry Bernard instead of Arnaud, Madame Castelli impulsively dumps her daughter's wedding invitations into the Seine River.
As Sylvie dreams about a perfect, enchanted life with Bernard, her parents cancel her scheduled wedding and break her engagement to Arnaud. Sylvie's fantasies suddenly collapse, however, when Bernard's father states emphatically in a letter that Bernard has not promised to marry Sylvie and that Bernard has no interest in Sylvie. When Madame Castelli demands that Sylvie show her the letter in which Bernard promises marriage, she realizes that the proposal existed only in Sylvie's vivid imagination. Furious with his daughter, Monsieur Castelli blames his wife for the family's humiliation. He and his wife both believe that they have allowed Sylvie too much freedom, and that had Sylvie been restricted as daughters were a generation earlier, the "fiasco" would never have occurred.
Uncertain what to do next, Sylvie considers putting aside the idea of marriage and going to work instead. There are few career opportunities for women at this time, however, and Sylvie does not know how properly to pursue permanent employment. She drifts through the days until her mother persuades her to have her hair cut and to buy some new clothes. With short hair for women once again fashionable, Madame Castelli thinks that a makeover will make it easier for Sylvie to find a husband.
Madame and Monsieur Castelli approach the Pons family, hoping that Sylvie's former fiancé might mend the broken engagement. Arnaud, who has been working in the city of Rennes, agrees to meet Sylvie for lunch in Paris, where he calmly tells her that he is no longer possessed by passionate feelings of love but still wishes to marry her.
Afterward Arnaud and Sylvie walk together back to the train that will return Arnaud to Rennes. Arnaud, who is conservative with money, wants Sylvie to work after they are married, as his own mother did. He also suggests that after they have children, he will tend the children during the summers, so that Sylvie, an amateur artist, will have time free to paint (an offer that is extraordinary for the time). Shocked at the idea of a man's taking care of children, Sylvie says nothing but thinks slightly the less of Arnaud.
After Arnaud's train leaves, Sylvie decides to walk home, going far out of her way in order to arrive at approximately the same time that Arnaud reaches Rennes. In her mind this binds her to Arnaud. For the first time she begins to think of herself as part of a couple and as an adult woman. In deciding not to tell her parents why she is so late returning home, she subtly but symbolically breaks with her parents.
Bibliography
Canadian Fiction Magazine 28 (1978). Special issue on Mavis Gallant.
Essays in Canadian Writing 42 (Winter, 1990). Special issue on Mavis Gallant.
Gadpaille, Michelle. "Mavis Gallant." In The Canadian Short Story. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Grant, Judith Skleton. "Mavis Gallant." In Canadian Writers and Their Works, edited by Robert Lecker, Jack David, and Ellen Quigley. Toronto: ECW Press, 1989.
Keith, William John. "Mavis Gallant." In A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada. Toronto: ECW Press, 1988.
Kulyk Keefer, Janice. Reading Mavis Gallant. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Schaub, Danielle. Mavis Gallant. New York: Twayne, 1998.
Simmons, Diane. "Remittance Men: Exile and Identity in the Short Stories of Mavis Gallant." In Canadian Women Writing Fiction, edited by Mickey Pearlman. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993.
Smythe, Karen. Gallant, Munro, and the Poetics of Elegy. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992.