“If you live long enough, you’ll see that every victory turns into a defeat.” – Simone de Beauvoir
The Little Girl and the Cigarette by the French novelist Benoît Duteurtre is considered one of the most important modern narratives to highlight the dystopia that stands in contrast to the utopias that has been addressed by philosophers and intellectuals throughout the ages. The novel recounts some of the social violations and compulsions that humanity is sometimes forced to accept, or challenge in their daily lives, no matter how hard they try to avoid them by remaining in a bubble filled with similar habits, or as the fun-loving main character of the book describes it as:
“Epicurus said you should live for pleasure—adding that nothing brings more pleasure than a little sun and a glass of water. It is on this principle that our conjugal existence has rested for three years, devoted to making love, reading, eating excellent meals, spending a few days in a nice hotel by the sea, visiting our friends (not very many, all without children), going to concerts and movies, sleeping, cultivating our garden.”
Désiré Johnson… LONG LIVE LIFE!
The story revolves around an ordinary man who works an office job in the administrative department of the municipality. His life could be said to be in ‘vain’; he has no aspirations and all he seeks from life is the simple pleasures and the routine he spent his entire life repeating, as shown in the previous quote, of his understanding of Epicurus’s views; as if saying: “only I can hear my voice, but that comforts me.” As if his lifestyle consists of building walls between himself and his society, he does not concern them with his business, just like he does not concern himself with public opinion. He avoids mingling with them, except for his girlfriend Latifa and many friends. We can summarize the novel’s main character as someone rebellious and divergent in his world; someone who does not feel a sense of belonging in society, nor towards its people and issues.
The characteristics of the main character, particularly their rebellion, can be linked to three different instances related to societal issues. While some of these issues may seem trivial in comparison to others, we cannot overlook how the narrator—who also constructs this world—effectively uses these three issues as symbols that reflect the deeper truths within the main character and the society they inhabit. The first issue pertained to children and the purpose of reproduction, whereas the second issue surrounded the public opinion around smoking, and the harassments exchanged between smokers and non-smokers in the contemporary dystopian world of this novel. Finally, the issue of the public opinion regarding Désiré Johnson’s case, a death-row inmate who is condemned to execution because of committing first-degree murder.
The novelist introduces the world by saying: “Each of the two texts seemed indisputable… except that they led to opposite conclusions. According to government law, the condemned man, Désiré Johnson, was acting entirely within his rights when he invoked Article 47 of the Code of Application of Punishments, which authorized him to have one last smoke before execution. Whereas on his side, Mr. Quam Lao Ching, warden of the penitentiary, strictly applied paragraph 176.b of the prison policies, which prohibited Johnson from lighting that cigarette. This paragraph was added a year earlier under pressure of the Associations for Defense of Public Health, this addendum banned consumption of tobacco within the confines of the prison. Obviously, the idea of defending the health of a man condemned to death could be considered puzzling unless you viewed it as a refinement of cruelty; but such a measure is warranted, as long as it is in the interests of the greater number of people. From another point of view, Article 47, although it had fallen into abeyance, unquestionably authorized the prisoner to drag on the last few puffs through which his final wish was breathed out.”
Désiré Johnson’s story is considered a secondary story in the novel, revolving around a prisoner condemned to death, taking advantage of a loophole in the law that helped him postpone his execution date by a few months; simply by asking to smoke one last cigarette before his execution, in an institution where smoking was prohibited. A massive buzz was created in the media by several international tobacco companies, bringing this case to the public eye. These global tobacco companies used Désiré Johnson’s case to promote their product, and they even vowed to build a smoking space within the confines of the prison. The defendant added a dramatic flair to the pre-execution smoking scene, which was anticipated by the public, and Benoît Duteurtre describes the scene in writing:
“Johnson’s large body finally stands up. His relaxed face turns towards the camera; then he moves aside and lets appear, in vegetable letters placed on the white table, this brief phrase made up of stems, petals, stamens; three words offered to millions of television viewers: ‘LONG LIVE LIFE.’ After a brief moment of silence, Misha’s voice continues: ‘You are discovering this phrase at the same time as we are. Incredible Johnson! One more time, he disconcerts everyone by not saying. ‘I am innocent…’ No, the meaning is much more general.”
There is no doubt that the global tobacco companies benefited from this case that held the public opinion hostage to the issue for a period of time; on one hand, “the prison administration cannot legally carry out a smoking execution, unless it entrusts the organization of the execution to a subcontractor.” Duteurtre goes on to say that “In exchange for its support, the cigarette company wanted to obtain the audiovisual rights to the event; but it had to agree not to do anything, during the broadcast, that could be perceived as disguised advertising for its cigarette brands.” Although the global tobacco company was surprised by the defendant’s tactic to delay his execution date, they turned the situation to their advantage due to the legislative restrictions on tobacco advertising campaigns.
“Persecuted for years for their activity as dealers in death, the leaders of the multinational company had discovered, forty-eight hours earlier, the postponement of the execution of Désiré Johnson, and this event had seemed like a miracle to them: the positive sign they had given up hoping for. Although it concerned a criminal who was condemned to capital punishment, the incredible legal turn of events announced by the newspapers for once associated tobacco with life as no ad campaign had managed to do before. An individual had just been saved by tobacco, at least for a few days (they awaited the decision of the Court) […] A glimmer of hope appeared for an entire threatened economic network. Just after the postponement of the execution, Maren had alerted the news agencies, and the affair had spread in a few hours. At noon, the media had gathered in from of the prison to report the event.”
The Children’s Dystopian City
This novel is one of the most important contemporary literary works in dystopian literature. Dystopian societies are one of the most essential genres of science fiction, facing its opposite in the Utopian world. The concept of a Utopia has always been prevalent with many philosophers, artists, and intellectuals, and some may have added their contributions to the concept, to develop the definition of good through the utopian world and its services, and accordingly, the concept of the dystopian world remained to represent the evil in this equation, as an example of the worst parts in the world; something we must avoid and be wary of.
In his novel, Benoit Duteurtre describes the dystopian world in where children are revered and hold a higher respect than other: “The arrogance with which they have understood that from now on we are on their turf.” He also goes on to say that it is like “A permanent humiliation.” Children have rights and privileges that are denied to adults; the narrator describes his work environment and his career in this kind of dystopian world by saying: “while the personnel try their best to respect certain rules of communal life, the children take it upon themselves to do whatever they like, whenever and wherever they like. It is not rare when I go to the bathroom to find the hall blocked by a group of kids playing marbles or hopscotch; but I must above all not disturb the cherubs, who would take advantage of that to complain to the educational assistants.”
These privileges manifest in the novel through some secondary scenes in the everyday life, such as when the children hold on to their bus seats, whereas adults are forced to stand and hold onto the railings, while the two monitors stand by idly, “Chosen for the protection of the little ones, they see no reason to favor older people by giving them seats. Am I the only one who can remember the distant era when children owed respect to adults?” or as he describes other secondary events in the work force, like the security attendants in the Administration City who would give “affectionate pat for the little ones; unpleasant tone to the employees and a request to their badges.” In this town, harming children in any way at all is considered a criminal offence: “the process is always the same: a hostile attitude towards the children ends up being spotted and brought to the attention of the management, which is anxious to keep all potential danger away from the young people. In six months, a dozen suspects were—out of precautionary measures— transferred to other offices. By such methods, the municipality thinks it can protect its young flock. Such is, in brief, the hell I hope to escape every night, when I leave Administration City to go home. That is why that insignificant-seeming scene on the bust seemed to unbearable to me, as if the swarm of kids that had already spoiled my day were continuing to pursue me down the stairs, into the street, into the bus, everywhere; as if the harm were spreading to the point that it was impossible to escape it since, from now on, in this country, the children represent the law.”
While the main character in the novel was irritated by the overwhelming presence of children, and thus against the public opinion of reproduction, because he lives for the pleasures of life— he still must face the idea of having a child with his girlfriend, Latifa as she progresses in age. While his answer to her suggestion was “Why a child? So we can wipe his ass? So, we can educate an ingrate? Isn’t that the opposite of what we chose when we decided to live together?” Latifa’s response was that “Soon, it will be too late for me. And I wouldn’t want to regret it someday.” But our main character completely despised the idea of a family life, and he does not think it is something fitting for him, “[his] flowery little house, my tender love, and even the stinking streets of the city, all these everyday things seem more preferable to me than family life.”
In this novel, Duteurtre wasn’t satisfied by just forming a superficial character; his annoyances towards children were not born out of thin air, in fact, this character was deeply sensitive to what was happening in the corrupt dystopian city overtaken by madness, or as he would express it: “for years, I had tried to escape the surrounding madness, the tyrannies of time; I didn’t have a car, I didn’t have children, I didn’t watch TV much, I turned a deaf ear to people who wanted to protect me despite myself. For years I had tried to forget these constraints so that I could devote myself to my work, to my love, to our gentle, guarded existence.” In addition to being a smoker, albeit not a heavy smoker, he still smoked enough that he would sneak out of work from time to time to sneakily smoke a cigarette in the bathroom, whilst sensing society’s attempts to prevent this bad habit— by assigning uncomfortable smoking areas, or by people pretending to cough and give out unsolicited comments— like being told in a work meeting “Before you concern yourself with the city’s pollution and the lungs of your fellow citizens, you should start by stopping smoking in the toilets!”
In any case, these societal harassments were not encouraging—if even a little bit— to abstain from smoking, as non-smokers would assume; prohibitions have existed since the beginning of time “but also human ingenuity, and no one can prevent me from smoking this cigarette, in the shelter of a locked door.” The main character testified, “The fight isn’t an even one, but I can still fight.” Perhaps cigarettes and smoking are one of the main themes in the novel, but the main message was simply to pinpoint the double standards. While Désiré Johnson, the murderer, was gaining fame and garnering the public’s sympathy because of his last cigarette, the weight of the plot falls on our protagonist because of smoking in the bathroom; in a scene where he is immersed in his cigarette, he forgets to lock the stall door while he smokes which leads us to the main conflict, in which a little girl called Amandine opens the door with him in a strange position, and it escalates to him being accused of committing a crime against a child, and losing everything.
An Uneven Fight
The conflict in the plot revolves around the prosecution that deals with the protagonist following a strict absolute rule, and it is that “Children never lie.” Driven by their desire to protect children from any evil and potential danger, and taking into consideration Amandine’s mother and her fiery passion to protect her daughter which only worsened the case, “Amandine’s mother had implied that others could have been the victims of my fondling, as certain nightmares of her daughter led her to believe”, the protagonist finds himself in a predicament closely resembling a storm destroying the quaint, trivial life he created for himself; starting from being suspended from work, to being imprisoned amongst some of the most notorious criminals in the city.
No one in the dystopic, corrupt city could have supported the defendant’s statements; a man in his forties, against the statements of Amandine, who has only lived a decade, along with her mother’s heated emotional defense. Of course, not one international tobacco company would dare to defend the protagonist because of his association to crime against children, a reputation of infamy that they try to stay away from, though Johnson’s case was a different one; it added cigarettes in an equation of: Cigarettes = Life. This was evident in Ms. Maren Pateki’s discussion with global tobacco companies, attempting to show that she had an upper hand on the situation:
- “That’s why I’m only accepting small, unimportant cases… which reminds me, did you get my e-mail about that poor guy accused of a crime against children after he smoked a cigarette in the bathroom at Administration City?
- Frankly, that’s not a case for us. Whatever he did, or didn’t do, we keep our hands off crimes against children— it’s too distasteful.
Désiré, who was returning from the smoking lounge, approved in a confident voice, like a man who knows the truth:
- Hands off children, you’re right! Hands off life!”
For the public opinion, this was a case depending on sympathy, surely, nobody would sympathize with an ordinary man in his forties over a little girl. Sympathy is an emotional state in which people do not really have an option; it is like choosing between two beggars, one is a little girl with braided hair and bare feet, the other is a grown man in ragged clothing, at an old age where he may already have four children. If given the choice, people would prioritize sympathizing with the first over the second; sympathy is usually geared towards children, and the novel portrays that in the following dialogue:
- “If you’re innocent, why give yourself up as a hostage?
- Because they never let me prove my innocence for a second!
- You could have waited for the trial.
- It would have taken place behind closed doors, so as not to ‘traumatize’ the girl. My lawyer is convinced there’s nothing left to hope for. Let’s say I’m doing this gesture for honor!
- You can still change your mind.
- I’ve lost everything in any case. And also…I have an idea in the back of my mind. Because of that Johnson affair, you know? When he wrote ‘Long Live Life’ with his bouquet of flowers.
- That was clever of him— the priest observed—He became popular. With a little luck, he’ll soon be proven innocent and even compensated.
- All the better for him. Anyway, I wanted to answer his theory: ‘I’ll never hurt an old man, a woman, a child….’
- …or a handicapped person!’ Yes, I remember. It’s a very old principle, you know: ‘Women and children first!’
- Okay, but in this world, that’s so preoccupied with protecting the weak, doesn’t a man, an ordinary forty- or fifty-year-old man, deserve a little compassion?”
Truth be told, Duteurtre excelled in creating a plot that forces the protagonist to face conflicts through the narrative. Finding himself in tricky situations far out of his control, which brings him to a point of hopelessness, “It’s in these precarious social, material, and psychological conditions that I wait, day after day, for news from my lawyer and especially from Latifa who, outside, is continuing to do everything she can to save me.” The protagonist describes his weak and desperate attempts to get out of this predicament and the prosecution thrown against him, even within the prison’s confines, and within criminals who committed more heinous crimes: “Only the instinct for survival prevented me from losing my grip. My situation, looked at objectively, was terrifying: to go instantaneously from the status of executive, of a well-off Western intellectual, an adult man free in his movements, to the condition of a prisoner incarcerated by the law; to be suddenly deprived of my basic rights, subjected to a routine and to a set of regulations, taken away from the light of day, threatened with abuse by my co-detainees; to see myself potentially ruined financially from paying the lawyers and victims’ compensation… Some people would lose their reason, would let themselves die. Especially when, even within the class of outlaws, you’re classified as belonging to the most abject category, from the simple fact that your case file mentions the worst possible misdeed: crime against children. In such a case, you will benefit from no form of compassion or solidarity.”
Human Compassion Under a Microscope
The novel satirically addresses sensitive societal issues like smoking, sexual harassment, and terrorism in an extremely cynical manner without negatively impacting the narrative and plot; the satirical novel mocks the events in the dystopian city, like the little girl, Amandine’s mother with her accusation that the defendant assaulted or ‘fondled’ other children, which was a baseless claim with no proof, only for it to be held against the accused, forced to defend himself against these outrageous accusations of severe conviction, and thus, he is accused of crimes against 15—faceless, and nameless children, apart from Amandine.
This state of helplessness that was drawn out by Duteurtre comes to life in many instances, yet there is only one aspect of life that the protagonist is suited for: the life with an easy relationship free from any strings and obligations, together with his beloved, Latifa; yet because of that undefined relationship, he finds himself in trouble in certain occasions, some troubles were simple, like when Latifa is not allowed to attend the trials and hearings since there are no legal documents nor marriage tying them together, and in other cases, bigger troubles follow him when Latifa is called to testify, yet when she is asked whether she still wants to have children with the defendant, she answers that it is no longer possible, considering the situation he is in.
Not only did the defendant lose everything in his life, but he also did not gain the public’s sympathy with his case, although he really was innocent. Everyone expected punishment in a case in which he could not defend himself, while a real criminal like Désiré Johnson got his fame and full rights, because of his dramatic scene with the last cigarette. This puts the main character in a position where he gives up his full tact in court; he no longer fears death, as he declares, realizing that he has lost everything, and that his life will never be the same: “All I have to say to you, is that I never could have touched that little idiot Amandine, no more than I could the fourteen others; because I don’t know of anything less interesting than a child. For me you’re not even human beings yet, but little animals that I would never hurt—so long as they stay in their cages and don’t disturb my adult life, which is infinitely more difficult, richer, and more problematic than yours, and, when it is wasted, infinitely more beautiful and tragic than your baby actions. For me, you don’t exist. The fourteen kids don’t exist, Amandine doesn’t exist. In short, I don’t give a fuck about that little asshole.”
Perhaps the protagonist’s renunciation of his desire to live is driven by his feelings for the corrupt city as well, as events put him in a position where he can understand its subtleties, as even the safe environment he created from the daily habits in which he likes to spend his time, represented by the absurd life he used to live with his lover, is no longer possible either. Rather, the city loses its identity in its journey to accept modernity, to be a duplicate of modern consumer cities that ‘think they’re capital of the world,’ as he says in the book, “As I think about it, I find I’m returning to this neighborhood without any nostalgia. Everything I loved in this city, when I came here for the first time, seems to have disappeared today […] the cheese stores, the fishmongers and craftsmen’s studios, the bars at night and the restaurants in the early morning, the dark streets and the dusty secondhand shops, the neighborhood movie theaters… In their place, I see almost nothing but clothing stores, clothing stores, clothing stores. The city is proudly filling up with the commonplace specialties you can find from one end of the planet to the other: fast-food restaurants for poor people and not so poor people (in which case fast food is disguised as traditional cuisine); a rhythm of life completely regulated by weekends and work schedules; general closing of bistros after midnight; no smoking anywhere; children’s rights, which are increasing everywhere (in front of the school near where I live, at a little crossroads without any cars, they have planted no less than eight red lights). In short, the self-conscious comforts of a provincial city dumped onto this city that thought of itself as one of the greatest cities in the world. I perceive this in my police van, and I tell myself that when it comes down to it, I’m not losing much; I’ll just have to be brave.”
The Little Girl and the Cigarette is one of the most important narratives of modern times, dealing with several sensitive societal issues in a cynical way. Within the novel’s events is a capsule of contradictory emotions, and at times, disgusting attitudes, to understand human compassion, and the limits of the freedom that each modern individual has.
Quotations in the article are from this version of the novel:
- Benoit Detertre (2005), The Little Girl and the Cigarette, (translated by: Charlotte Mandell), Hoboken, New Jersey, Melville House Publishing.
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