Suzanne says to Guillaume, "I want to remember us exactly like this. No fights, no disappointments. No broken hearts. Just a perfect memory." Do you empathize with her decision?

After Suzanne and Guillaume's night together, Suzanne has no interest in seeing him again: "I want to remember us exactly like this. No fights, no disappointments. No broken hearts. Just a perfect memory." Do you empathize with her decision? Is a perfect memory sometimes worth sacrificing a potential relationship?

I thought it was a very romantic statement. I don't really empathize with her statement, but it would be wonderful to have only happy memories of loves.

Suzanne is pregnant when she makes this statement knowing that her time with Guillaume is a temporary moment to be cherished without any complications. It is too bad that Guillaume does not understand Suzanne’s meaning. I emphasize with her as she lives in the moment knowing that a different future awaits
her.

I completely agree with you mildas. I want to empathize with Suzanne, however I also feel like she used Guillaume to escape from her reality for the moment.

Any long-term friendship will have good and bad memories...such is life. It would be nice if you only had the good. I actually liked this sentiment.

I too agree with mildas. It's a shame (for his sake) that Guillaume did not take her at her word rather than fantasizing his own parenthood of her child.

Does anyone think there's a chance that Suzanne was lying to Guillaume about the child? Perhaps it IS his but she doesn't want to complicate things?
Not sure that I even agree with this idea, but it did cross my mind.

Also, why was she always with different men? I thought that at some point Suzanne and Therese's paths would cross (prostitution).

At first I thought -oh, how romantic. But as I thought about it I realized it wasn't romantic--it was a selfish desire to be spared the effort of compromise, sometimes forgiveness, that is required in a long lasting relationship. Later, when the painting's appearance was revealed, at first it made no sense to me that she loved it. I'd expected a portrait of her. But again, she liked it because it showed her as unattainable, somewhere hidden in that windowless house with a door impossible to reach. That is how she wanted to be--isolated from everything except the momentary euphoria of love-making. When it was revealed, much later, that she'd been pregnant at the time and when she disappears after the fire it was even more evident that, but for her maternal love for a child, who will not hurt her, she is totally shut herself away from any true intimacy with anyone.

It is certainly a romantic statement, but not truly based in realism. The truth is, we tend to remember things not as they really were anyway.

I completely agree with katherinep. It's one of those statements that reads as romantic until you really think about it and it reveals itself to be an excuse for something deeper and more personal. I do empathize with her fear of intimacy, but I also empathize with Guillaume because he had such strong feelings for her and they weren't reciprocated - not because she couldn't love him, but because she wouldn't.

I agree with Mildas. I also appreciate the sentiment. Men have been bedding women for years without commitment or complications and are often exempt from criticism or question. Why can't women feel the same way? Why can't Suzanne just have fallen into the moment and enjoyed a physical, romantic moment, without judgement? She was honest with Guillaume. He refused to accept and give her wishes the respect they deserved. She did not lead him on and in fact his pursuit of her felt creepy to me. I can only imagine if I had been in her situation and he had been "stalking " me for so many years. Ick.

Hadn't looked at it that way, gerrieb but still don't empathize with either a man or a woman who uses another person so selfishly. As to Guillaume's fixation, I agree, very obsessive, creepy and immature. Not out of character for the rest of his decisions--lol

Really interesting take on it, @gerrieb. I hadn't thought of it that way and had actually felt sorry for him when he did finally confront her, but you're right...that is quite creepy!

Yes, I do empathize with her. Sometimes sweet memories are more satisfying than undertaking the hard work required by an ongoing relationship.

I don't know enough about her to opine. All I could imagine was perhaps she had been hurt, especially once I found out about the child whose father was not part of her life, it seems.

I think it is very poetic to think of only remembering relationships in a positive light with none of the negative, but also think it is not realistic and was very unfair to Guillaume for her to do this to him. He spent so much of his life grieving over this relationship and "what if"... I think Suzanne should have been honest with him so he could have had a better life.

Suzanne was honest. She said she would not see him again. He chose not to hear.

I think her quest to have only sweet memories is naive. Without depth, memories are not important or meaningful. Her effort was much like reading a book-superficial at best. It was really a satisfaction of sexual urge, which is fine, but not a real experience to cherish.