Triptych: Analysis of Major Characters
"Triptych: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate lives of various individuals intertwined in a narrative rich with themes of love, loss, and moral ambiguity. Central to the story is Corinne, a middle-aged actress grappling with her son’s drug problems and ongoing police investigations, reflecting the complex dynamics of parental concern. Surrounding her are characters such as Lambert, a friend who becomes romantically involved with her, and Brown, who engages in dubious activities to secure her son's release, illustrating the lengths friends will go to for one another in times of crisis.
The narrative also delves into the lives of others, like Lily, a barmaid entangled with a young groom on his wedding day, highlighting themes of infidelity and the chaotic nature of relationships. The young bride, abandoned and heartbroken, contrasts with the vibrant youth depicted in the story, such as the fishing boys and the adolescent with his curiosities. Through these diverse characters, the narrative paints a multifaceted portrait of human experience, emphasizing the interplay of actions and consequences within a community. Overall, "Triptych" offers a poignant examination of the choices people make and their ripple effects in the lives of those around them.
Triptych: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Claude Simon
First published: Triptyque, 1973 (English translation, 1976)
Genre: Novel
Locale: A farm valley, a Riviera beach resort, and a city in northern France
Plot: Antistory
Time: The 1970's
Corinne, a middle-aged actress. She spends her time in bed reading about a young man and woman who have recently been married. She is worried about her son, who has problems with drugs and who is under investigation by the police. She asks her friends Brown and Lambert to secure the release of her son.
Lambert, an Englishman who has made love to Corinne with the apparent understanding that he will intervene with the police authorities to secure her son's release from jail.
Brown, an overweight, middle-aged friend of Corinne. He has a conversation with a man in a bar, where he exchanges money for little packages of powder. He later assures Corinne that her son will be freed. He also completes a jigsaw puzzle that represents the boys in the fishing scene and then scatters it.
Aclown, who is pictured on a circus advertisement hanging on a barn. He participates in a dumb show with a monkey and another man who torments him. His performance is staged against a background of music that is frequently interrupted by the lion tamer's animals.
Two young boys, who are fishing and take time to examine some film strips that they try to arrange in the proper sequence. Some of their film relates the story of Corinne at the beach. They notice a young mother leaving her child to meet her lover in a barn. They then head toward the barn to spy on the lovemaking.
Young men, who are part of a boisterous wedding celebration. They accompany the groom into a bar.
Man, who appears in a bar wearing a leather jacket and a cap and has a swarthy complexion. After talking with one of the women there, he leaves and finds Lily with the young husband on the street. He continues his ride into the country, where, after meeting the young married woman in the barn, he repeatedly makes love to her.
Lily, a barmaid. She has a conversation in the bar with a young groom on his wedding day. She apparently has known him for some time. While his friends noisily celebrate the marriage with much drinking and loud music, she leaves the bar to rejoin him in an alley, where the two make love. He has vomited, and she tries to clean him with her rolled-up underwear. She unsuccessfully tries to keep him from leaving her.
The groom, who abandons his wife to return to a bar, at the entrance of which he had earlier seen Lily and another woman. Once he has become inebriated and has made love to Lily, he returns to his hotel room in clothes now soiled with vomit and dirt. He goes to bed without undressing and falls into a deep sleep.
The young bride, still in her wedding clothes, who has been crying because she has been left alone. When her inebriated husband returns and she finds him asleep in bed, she undresses him and then herself.
An adolescent, who is studying geometry and drawing triangular figures. He is interested in a photograph of a naked woman that he intermittently takes out from his desk drawer.
A young boy, with tow-colored hair, who herds cows in a pasture. Nearby, two other young boys are fishing.
An elderly woman, who crosses the field with a rabbit in hand and walks past the barn where the couple is making love. She had been feeding several rabbits and has just chosen the one that she eventually kills and skins. She belongs to the household of the young woman whose child is missing.
A young married woman, who goes on a walk with her little girl and leaves her with the boys who are fishing when she sees a motorcyclist ride by. She crosses the field to join him in a barn, where they make love. She later discovers that her little girl is missing.
Two young girls, who take a walk in the countryside. They take care of the little girl, who has been turned over to them by the boys who were fishing. They, in turn, abandon her, and she drowns in the river.
Young boys, who try to slip into a barn where a motion picture is being shown. The film features the story of Corinne.