Sibylla

A rural household in Normandy mourns successive losses and raises an orphaned infant, around whom family duty and social observation revolve. The narrative traces domestic life, neighbors' interventions, and the arrival of a stern governess, following emotional restraint, rivalry, secret affections, and social performance across three parts that chart homecomings, misunderstandings, and eventual declarations of love. Themes include grief and consolation, the contrast between sincere compassion and performative charity, aesthetic judgment and social appearances, and the shaping of identity through upbringing. Scenes move between church rituals, seaside landscapes, salons, an atelier, and intimate revelations that resolve tensions among the principal figures.