PhD James L. Roberts, Cliffsnotes Nana (1989) by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Summary

After throwing both Count Muffat and Steiner out, Nana takes up living with the actor Fontan. She sells as much as she can and slips away to elude all of her creditors. Fontan adds seven thousand francs to the ten thousand that Nana brings and they find an apartment which they will share together. Nana begins to feel that she is in a "rapture of love," and she delights in this new sacrifice she is making for a man whom she adores.

After three weeks, she meets Francis, her former hairdresser, who tells her how much she is missed in the old neighborhood. She also learns that Count Muffat is now having an affair with Rose Mignon. Nana has a moment's regret but then remembers her "idyllic" life with Fontan and returns home to tell him with amusement about the news she has just heard.

While attending the Italian Theater one evening, Fontan is charmed by a new actress in the troupe. Nana ridicules the actress and that night a quarrel ensues. After Nana complains about some cake crumbs in the bed and tries for the second time to get out, Fontan slaps her so hard that she feels dazed. At first Nana resents this brutality, but after a few minutes, she even respects him for treating her in such a manner.

Cliffs Notes on Nana © 1967

22

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From this point on, however, their life together undergoes a drastic change; Fontan now slaps and beats her frequently. Sometimes, "he would force her against the wall and talk of strangling her," but this makes her love him more. When Fontan starts staying out more and more, Nana relieves her loneliness by renewing her association with Satin. She is never allowed to bring Satin to her place because Fontan has forbidden Nana to bring any prostitutes into the apartment.

One day, Satin takes Nana to meet Madame Robert, a lady whom Nana considers respectable and discreet, but the lady is not at home. Nana offers to take Satin the following day to a restaurant she has heard about. The restaurant is filled with women who are looking for other women. Suddenly, Madame Robert appears, and while Nana is occupied observing something else, Satin leaves with this lady. Nana is disgusted at the idea of a respectable lady acting as Madame Robert did.

That night, Fontan writes a letter to Georges for Nana. He has always amused himself by writing Nana's love letters, but that night, Nana does not respond correctly to his efforts and another argument begins.

Fontan demands to see how much money there is left in their joint account. When he discovers that it is less than seven thousand, he decides to keep it all. Nana reminds him that she put ten thousand into the undertaking, but Fontan only beats her severely as a rejoinder. From that day onward, he gives her only three francs a day with which to buy groceries. Then, after a while, he even forgets to give her this paltry amount. Consequently, when Nana meets Madame Tricon one day by accident, she begins to accept side visits from customers.

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