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Sasha
René is a young man whom Sasha meets in Paris. Sasha suspects that he’s a sex worker who targets wealthy older women and, because of this suspicion, she doesn’t believe what he tells her about his past. He claims that he joined the Foreign Legion (a branch of the French army) and was stationed in Morocco until he decided to run away. He eventually made his way to Paris and now needs help obtaining official travel documents so he can go to England, where he knows people who can help him. He tells this story to Sasha, but Sasha just thinks he’s after her money. Nonetheless, she agrees to spend time with him, figuring she has nothing to lose because she’s not rich, despite what René seems to think. Once they grow closer, René subtly acknowledges that he’s a sex worker, or at least alludes to the fact that he knows quite a few male sex workers and is knowledgeable about the trade. And though he talks about various tricks to convince wealthy woman to part with their money, he also talks to Sasha with compassion when discussing what it’s like to have been hurt by others. He says he knows what it’s like to have “wounds,” and he promises that, if he and Sasha made love, he would relieve her of all her sadness and tension. When they embrace in Sasha’s room later that night, Sasha suddenly changes her mind and asks him to leave, but René turns violent and attempts to rape her. He only stops when she tells him where she keeps her money. After he leaves, though, Sasha discovers that he didn’t take any cash—perhaps suggesting that René cared more about her as a person than he cared about money (though this obviously doesn’t excuse his violent behavior).
René Quotes in Good Morning, Midnight
The Good Morning, Midnight quotes below are all either spoken by René or refer to René. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part Four
Quotes
He takes my hand in his and looks at my ring, his eyes narrowing.
‘No good,’ I say. ‘Only worth about fifty francs—if that.’
‘What, your hand?’
‘You weren’t looking at my hand, you were looking at my ring.’
‘Oh, how suspicious she is, this woman! It’s extraordinary. But you will come this evening, won’t you ?’
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‘Oh no, not yet, not yet. When I ask her for something it’ll be something. But one mustn’t do that too quickly, of course. She must be ready....She’s nearly ready. I think perhaps tomorrow she’ll be ready.’
He looks straight into my eyes all the time he is talking, with that air of someone defying you.
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‘Then what are you afraid of? Tell me. I’m interested. Of men, of love?...What, still?...Impossible.’
You are walking along a road peacefully. You trip. You fall into blackness. That’s the past—or perhaps the future. And you know that there is no past, no future, there is only this blackness, changing faintly, slowly, but always the same.
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I have my arms round him and I begin to laugh, because I am so happy. I stand there hugging him, so terribly happy. Now everything is in my arms on this dark landing—love, youth, spring, happiness, everything I thought I’d lost. I was a fool, wasn’t I? to think all that was finished for me. How could it be finished?
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René Quotes in Good Morning, Midnight
The Good Morning, Midnight quotes below are all either spoken by René or refer to René. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part Four
Quotes
He takes my hand in his and looks at my ring, his eyes narrowing.
‘No good,’ I say. ‘Only worth about fifty francs—if that.’
‘What, your hand?’
‘You weren’t looking at my hand, you were looking at my ring.’
‘Oh, how suspicious she is, this woman! It’s extraordinary. But you will come this evening, won’t you ?’
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
‘Oh no, not yet, not yet. When I ask her for something it’ll be something. But one mustn’t do that too quickly, of course. She must be ready....She’s nearly ready. I think perhaps tomorrow she’ll be ready.’
He looks straight into my eyes all the time he is talking, with that air of someone defying you.
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Explanation and Analysis:
‘Then what are you afraid of? Tell me. I’m interested. Of men, of love?...What, still?...Impossible.’
You are walking along a road peacefully. You trip. You fall into blackness. That’s the past—or perhaps the future. And you know that there is no past, no future, there is only this blackness, changing faintly, slowly, but always the same.
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I have my arms round him and I begin to laugh, because I am so happy. I stand there hugging him, so terribly happy. Now everything is in my arms on this dark landing—love, youth, spring, happiness, everything I thought I’d lost. I was a fool, wasn’t I? to think all that was finished for me. How could it be finished?
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