Mamzelle Aurélie is a rugged individualist whose decision to embrace her own identity has come at the cost of community. As a property owner, she manages her own land while donning men’s clothes. She lacks a husband and children, the basic 19th-century trappings of a woman, by choice. Her belief in self-determination and individual responsibility set her apart from her neighbors both physically and mentally. However, when her nearest neighbor, Odile, arrives and pressures her into caring for her four children, Mamzelle Aurélie is left shaken by her brief exposure to real love and acceptance.

To endure the isolation that results from her identity, Mamzelle Aurélie practices a certain detachment. She avoids or otherwise has not experienced the deep emotions that result from true connection with humanity. This detachment emerges in the motif of sensory experiences. As her neighbor’s children arrive and she learns to care for them, another world opens up to her, one rife with sound, color, smells, and tastes. The intensity of these sensory experiences represent the rich emotional experiences to be had when immersed in community and embracing the responsibility of caring for others out of love.

Once the children leave, before Mamzelle Aurélie is able to return to the detached but well-organized state of mind that protects her heart, she grieves.