The Fugitive (Simenon novel)
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Crime impuni (1954, English: The Fugitive) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon.
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Plot summary
Madame Lange, in Liege, rents furnished rooms to students. For three years, she has had among her tenants a Polish student who is preparing his doctorate in mathematical sciences: Élie is a studious and poor boy, not attractive, and with a secret pride.
A young Romanian, from a well-to-do family, arrives, allowing him to take full board at Madame Lange. Michel Zograffi, who has everything going for him, tries in vain to win the friendship of Élie, who is more withdrawn than ever since the arrival of the new tenant. The latter does not delay in seducing Louise, the daughter of Madame Lange, Louise. Having discovered their intimacy, Élie is repulsed: this young girl, who was part of his familiar universe, is stolen from him, from him who has nothing. This is a crime that cannot go unpunished! It is a question of justice. So Elijah decides to kill Michel. One evening, he watches for him, shoots him in the face with a revolver and flees to Hamburg.
Twenty-six years later, Élie, who has gone to America and married, leads a quiet but joyless life as a receptionist in a hotel in Carlson-City. The fate of this small town is dependent on the existence of a mine that is soon to be sold following the divorce of its owner. The future buyer is none other than Michel Zograffi, who has miraculously survived and whom destiny has put in the presence of Élie in the hotel where he works. To his former victim, whose face is deformed, he would like to explain his lost years after abandoning his studies, his need to eat continuously (he is fat now), to be warm, to finally start over. But Michel, who has recognized Élie, shies away, refuses to make contact. However, Élie had prepared his plea: that Michel should take revenge, that is his right, but that he should not force him to start again in life! Attempts to provoke the decisive conversation, which would give Élie peace, remain in vain. Then, so that the crime does not remain unpunished, Élie kills Michel.
Particular aspects of the novel
The story is divided into two main parts, corresponding to a double space-time framework, the opposition of which is accentuated by the difference in the physical and psychological climate in which the action takes place. The gap between the two stages is, as far as the narration is concerned, recovered in the second part by a brief flashback from the hero's point of view.
Details
Space and time frame
Space
Liege, 1926, then Carlson-City in Arizona, circa 1952. References to Vilna
Characters
Main character
Elijah (Élie) Waskou, Jewish Polish, originally from Vilna. Student at the University of Liege (in the 1st part); later employed at the Carlson-Hotel
Other characters
- Madame Lange, widow of a non-commissioned officer killed in World War I
- Louise, her daughter, employee
- Michel Zograffi, student Romania (in the 1st part); later, businessman based in New York.
Source
- Maurice Piron, Michel Lemoine, L'Univers de Simenon, guide des romans et nouvelles (1931-1972) de Georges Simenon, Presses de la Cité, 1983, p. 176-177
Article connexe
Liste des œuvres de Georges Simenon
