My Husband

Ariane’s unnamed husband is the second main character of the novel, and its other first-person narrator. Seen through Ariane’s eyes, the husband is tall, handsome, and charming. Ariane believes her husband is growing better-looking with age, though she confesses her perception may be the result of her “warped enamored gaze” (142). 

Ariane’s husband is from a wealthy bourgeoise family. Although his profession is not specified, it is suggested he works in either law or business. Ariane thinks his degree and career are more prestigious and lucrative than hers. According to Ariane, her husband is perfect husband material, since he has the “right social class, the right degree, career, elegance” (79). She is often complimented on her luck for finding such a husband, because in addition to his wealth and education, her husband is also an involved, tender father to their two children.

While Ariane’s narration initially paints a rosy picture of her husband, as the novel unfolds the picture grows more complex. It is suggested that Ariane’s husband is not preoccupied or clueless, but slights her deliberately. For instance, he tells her he loves her in the middle of the night, but denies it coldly the next day, driving Ariane into a frenzy. These lacunae between the husband’s reality and Ariane’s perception show that he is far sharper than Ariane has assumed. 

The novel also hints that the husband, like Ariane, is status-conscious. Ariane states that though the husband judges Nicolas for his high-flying career in finance, he is also envious of Nicolas’s downtown penthouse. Furthermore, the husband likes Ariane to be well-dressed and beautiful, but in an effortless way. He considers shopping a frivolous pursuit, but likes Ariane to keep switching her wardrobe, which suggests he makes impossible demands on his wife.

In the Epilogue, the husband’s point of view reveals that he knows all about Ariane’s infidelities and punishments. What’s more, he knows Ariane in and out, and exploits her insecurities to control her. For example, at their wedding, he deliberately did not read out the elaborate vows he’d written to make Ariane doubt his love for her. He often plays such tricks on his wife, so that she is forced to try even harder to win his love and affection. 

The cool manner in which the husband exposes his motives and tactics shows a certain lack of empathy toward Ariane. The narrative shows him judging Ariane for lacking self-confidence, even though he has systematically worked to dismantle that very confidence. The Epilogue paints the husband as a somewhat negative character, even more dubious than Ariane herself. While a rounded character, the husband has a flat arc since his character remains the same over the course of the narrative.

Maxime is one of Ariane’s two lovers outside marriage in the text. He is also married and is described by Ariane as having nice eyes, “honey mixed with green” (132). Ariane sleeps with Maxime to punish her husband, which shows she uses him as an object. She also judges him unfavorably against her husband, noting that he is shorter and less polished in his manner. Maxime refers to his children, not by name, but as the “older one” and the “younger one,” which annoys the fastidious Ariane. 

Despite Ariane’s appraisement of him, Maxime emerges as a sympathetic character in his brief appearance. Maxime is a considerate lover who prioritizes Ariane’s pleasure. Ariane notes that he is far more tactile than her husband. Further, “he is not at all bourgeoise” (133), implying that Maxime is uninhibited with his passion and vocabulary during sex. Maxime’s simple considerate actions—such as cushioning Ariane’s head during lovemaking—elicit an exaggerated response of relief from Ariane. This shows that Ariane is not used to such simple care and warmth in her own marriage. Maxime also notices a purplish mole on Ariane’s lower back, urging her to get it checked out. The fact that the mole has gone unnoticed by her own husband for a while again suggests the flaws in Ariane’s domestic idyll. 

Maxime thus serves as a foil for Ariane’s husband, showing the reader how his simple kindnesses outweigh the husband’s charm and manners. However, Ariane is oblivious to the value of the kindness, as she thinks of her husband as the gold standard among men.

Louise is the wife of Ariane’s husband’s friend, Nicolas. She and Nicolas have recently had a baby girl, Violette. Louise is an important character as her interactions with Ariane highlight Ariane’s class consciousness, as well as the microaggressions Ariane faces because of her class and gender. 

Seen through Ariane’s eyes, Louise is at first elegant and glowing in her fashionable black dress. Ariane wants to compliment Louise’s dress, but stops herself, since she feels this habit makes her appear inferior. To make herself feel better in comparison to Louise, Ariane runs her down in her head, noting that Louise is not as beautiful as she is, nor as slender, nor with as refined a nose. At the same time, Ariane cannot help but envy Louise’s plush home and spontaneous manner, as well as her easygoing relationship with Nicolas.

While Ariane initially seems uncharitable toward Louise, Louise’s habit of making candid, insensitive remarks at the expense of other women shows that she is not as warm as Ariane believes. For instance, Louise dismisses mothers who do not breastfeed right in front of Ariane, knowing that Ariane did not breastfeed her children. While Ariane thinks Louise’s remarks are an example of her uncaring straightforwardness, it is implied they are a kind of indirect slight. The interaction between Louise and Ariane shows how Ariane may be judged by other mothers, contributing to her insecurity. It also shows Louise’s own need to run down others to make herself feel better, painting the picture of a highly self-conscious, hyper-critical social milieu where everyone is competing with someone else.

Described by Ariane as her “only very close friend” (85), Lucie is a key minor character in the novel. Lucie’s and Ariane’s daughters are inseparable, and the two women meet every Saturday for a tennis match. 

Despite these facts, Ariane does not think of Lucie as a confidante. In the span of one morning, she goes from thinking of Lucie as a close friend to summing her up as “precise, opinionated, and prudish” (190). Thus, Lucie serves to illustrate Ariane’s ambivalent attitude toward most people in her life. Ironically, Ariane’s summation of Louise could well apply to herself, since she is equally fastidious and judgmental.

Part of the reason Ariane cannot conceive of Lucie as a confidante is that Lucie also believes the façade of Ariane’s perfect marriage. Lucie assumes that Ariane will be unable to understand Lucie’s problems with her husband Pierre, because Ariane’s own marriage is supposedly free from strife and tension. This shows that Ariane’s summation of Lucie, while unkind, has some basis in reality. When Lucie seems to flirt with Ariane’s husband, Ariane punishes Lucie by having sex with Pierre. 

Ariane’s shocking treatment of Lucie and Pierre shows her manipulative nature. Thus, Lucie’s character illustrates Ariane’s problematic relationships with other women. Instead of forging a bond of solidarity with other women, Ariane sees them as a threat. She punishes Lucie even though she has earlier noted that her relationship with Lucie is equitable— unlike her husband, Lucie meets her midway across any room.