A Chambermaid's Diary

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mirbeau, Octave, 1848-1917

Contributor:

Tucker, Benjamin Ricketson, 1854-1939

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"A Chambermaid's Diary" by Octave Mirbeau is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story is narrated by Célestine, a French chambermaid who has taken a position in the country with a wealthy couple. Through her diary entries, she offers a candid and satirical glimpse into the lives of both the upper class and the servants, revealing the dark underbelly of social dynamics, exploitation, and the often grotesque nature of human relationships. At the start of the novel, Célestine reflects on her experiences as a chambermaid and her latest employment at the Priory estate. Feeling a mix of anxiety and dissatisfaction, she details her arrival, first impressions of her new masters, Monsieur and Madame Lanlaire, and her disdain for the mundanity and hypocrisy surrounding her. Her observations on the disparaging attitudes of both her employers and fellow servants, along with the satire of bourgeois norms, hint at deeper issues of class and morality that will be explored throughout the diary. Célestine's character is complex; she is both proud and vulnerable, conveying a yearning to break free from the constraints of her position while simultaneously entangled in the very fabric of the social hierarchy she critiques. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe (Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.)

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Chambermaid_(novel)

Reading ease score: 82.3 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Release date is 2013-11-28