Univers des lettres Bordas

François Mauriac

A portrait of devotion twisted into possession, this novel follows Mathilde Coustous as family loyalties and private wounds collide in a household shaped by loss, resentment, and the long shadow of betrayal. When Fernand’s marriage draws near, his mother’s jealousy hardens into a fierce determination to keep him close—turning love into a weapon and suffering into a kind of power. With Mauriac’s signature psychological intensity, the story explores how desire, guilt, and moral compromise can masquerade as virtue, especially within the intimate theater of family life. Rich in emotional nuance and driven by escalating tensions, it examines the cost of control and the fragile boundary between care and cruelty.