[Les Thibault 05] • 5 - La Sorellina

La sorellina begins with Jacques unaccounted for. His ailing father believes

that he has committed suicide, but Antoine discovers that someone using the

name "Jack Baulthy" has recently published a novella in a Swiss magazine and

quickly determines that the author is his brother. Written in a florid style

and set in Italy, the novella, which itself is entitled La sorellina ("The

Little Sister" in Italian) proves to be a roman à clef. Its hero, Giuseppe,

has defied his devoutly Catholic father and fallen in love with a young

English Protestant named Sybil (based on Jenny); but he has also developed an

ardent—and reciprocated—attraction for his younger sister Annetta, a character

clearly modeled on Gise. The novella ends with Giuseppe's flight, after a

confrontation with his father during which he vows to kill himself. Antoine

travels to Lausanne, finds Jacques, who has become embroiled in radical

politics, and persuades him to return with him to Paris to see their father

before he dies.