How different do you think this story would be if it were set in the USA?

This novel explores taboo subjects and family secrets in a conservative French bourgeois society. How different do you think it would be if the novel were set in the USA? What do you think really happened the day Clarisse went to confront Blanche?

If it took place during the same time frame and with the same social classes, I don't think it would have been much different. The same prejudices existed here. Only in the last 20 years has society been more accepting of homosexuality in the US.

Gay relationships, infidelity, divorce etc are things that were as taboo and unspoken of in the past in the USA a they are in the past in France. I think the time difference and gerational differences that we see are the same in either country so putting the story in the US would probably not change it much.

I think it's more likely that in the US, they may have used the information to make her leave and leave the kids behind, rather than try to force her to stay with her husband. Though I guess we don't officially know what they tried to do, it's clear Blanche didn't try to run her off.

I think this story is pretty universal and would probably played out the same in the U.S. There was,, however, a haunting beauty about its particular setting.

I agree with Christine B. about the univeral nature of the story. But the haunting setting helped to illuminate the story. Especially, the image of the Gois passage to the island being covered and uncovered by the ebb and flow of tides and the rescue stations along the way for people who might get caught is a haunting metaphor for the give and take of Rey family relationships and the safety stations they sought to sustain them.

I think that if set in the early 20th century, in a moneyed family, there might not be any difference in the guarding of the secret. In our society too, there was at that time a mantra of "we take care of our own". We don't wash dirty linen in public.

Of course if the same situation came up in the 21st century, it would be accepted as a sign of the times. Today, homosexual and bisexual relationships are accepted more routinely. Families today who are experiencing any of their members adopting an alternative life style are faced with the decision of whether to keep those they love in their circle, or, exile them from the family. It's a difficult decision, but, I know many families who are able to respect these choices in order to keep the family unit intact.