[A book and a quote] Les Petites Filles Modèles by the Countess of Segur

[The Book]

Les Petites Filles Modèles ("The Perfect Little Girls" -far less awful than it sounds) is a French childhood book which is quite popular, still now, by the Countess of Segur. It's part of a trilogy beginning with Les Malheurs de Sophie ("Sophie's Misfortunes") and ending with Les Vacances ("The Holidays").

Les Malheurs de Sophie has been adapted for television but the appeal of this work doesn't seem so great now, altho it definitively was for me. I read all the books by her that I could put my hands on. They taught me some (christian) values despite myself that I can't shake off , not that I mind :

- never say something wrong about someone, you don't know what they're going through.  Sophie is very angry at a man who was supposed to come pick her up for some fun, she learns later he had an accident and died while she was being mean about him.

- children shouldn't be indulged all the time. In Les Caprices de Gizelle ( "Gizelle's tantrums"), you learn how hard it is to shake off bad habits you took on when you were a child, indulged beyond belief by parents. I loved that book, and one of the argument given by the aunt of Gizelle when she's sulking stayed with me (but it's soooo anti-feminist). She told the child : "you look so ugly when sulking, try on a smile!". And of course, being nice makes you prettier. Oh it's so silly but it worked so well for me. It also helped me as a teacher.

- you should help people in need if you can. Camille and Madeleine are always going with their mum to help the poor and it really had a huge impact on me.

Here is a good and honest review of the books, if you're interested.

[The quote]

"elle se souvint (...) que, lorsqu’on arrivait au fond de l’eau, il fallait, pour remonter à la surface, frapper le sol du pied"

"she remembered (...) that, whenever you ended up at the bottom of the pond, you had to, in order to go back up again, push the ground with your feet"

I think this quote had an impact on my outlook to life. It gave a useful advice in case I'd get in a scary situation in water for a start. Then it showed me you can always face difficult time but some well-spent energy at the appropriate time will get you out of it. Last but not least, there is an end to sorrows and hardships, as long as you're ready to get down to their source (the bottom of the pond).