The Elegance of the Hedgehog

“So I’ve made up my mind. I am about to leave childhood behind and, in spite of my conviction that life is a farce, I don’t think I can hold out to the end. We are, basically, programmed to believe in something that doesn’t exist, because we are living creatures; we don’t want to suffer. So we spend all our energy persuading ourselves that there are things that are worthwhile and that that is why life has meaning. I may be very intelligent, but I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to struggle against this biological tendency. When I join the adults in the rat race, will I still be able to confront this feeling of absurdity? I don’t think so.”

Paloma announces her intention to kill herself at the very start of the novel, which establishes tension and foreshadows character development. This quote is important because it identifies her inability to cope with the absurdity of life. She hyper-analyzes the adults around her and dreads sharing that future. Rather than see a meaningless life as permission to live however she pleases, Paloma sees absurdity as depressing and indicative that life is not worth living.

“Can one be so gifted and yet so impervious to the presence of things? It seems one can. Some people are incapable of perceiving in the object of their contemplation the very thing that gives it its intrinsic life and breath, and they spend their entire lives conversing about mankind as if they were robots, and about things as though they have no soul and must be reduced to what can be said about them—all at the whim of their own subjective inspiration.”

This quote captures one of Barbery’s main points in her novel: Most people are not introspective or reflective enough about themselves and the world around them. In embracing philosophical wonderings and analyzing the world with openness and thoughtfulness, one can live as a fully cognizant human rather than as a robot.

“And above all, I’ve set myself a little challenge: if you commit suicide, you have to be sure of what you’re doing and not burn the house down for nothing. So if there is something on the planet that is worth living for, I’d better not miss it, because once you’re dead, it’s too late for regrets, and if you die by mistake, that is really, really dumb.”

Here, Paloma decides that she won’t kill herself if she can find something worth living for; therefore, she decides that she has a responsibility to herself to find out if something is worth living for before her suicide deadline. This quote implies that Paloma is not entirely serious about suicide, and that she does want to live. It is important to Paloma to find something to live for, characterizing her as a youthful, frustrated person. Furthermore, this quote foreshadows Paloma’s character development and provides context for the journals she keeps.

“We are mistaken to believe that our consciousness is awakened at the moment of our first birth—perhaps because we do not know how to imagine any other living state. It may seem to us that we have always seen and felt and, armed with this belief, we identify our entry into the world as the decisive instant where consciousness is born.”

Renée’s thoughts about consciousness echo both Paloma’s desire to find meaning and the author’s message about awareness. Though many people believe that consciousness starts at birth, Renée has learned through life experience that human consciousness is something that is evoked through certain bright moments. In an echo to Paloma’s journey to consciousness, this implies that what Paloma needs is the same revelation Renée had as a child about her selfhood and her spiritual consciousness. Waiting for a beautiful epiphany of consciousness is something Paloma should live for.

“I had for many years accustomed myself to the prospect of a solitary life. To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent, condemns one, in our society, to a dark and disillusioned life, a condition one ought to accept at an early age. To beauty, all is forgiven, even vulgarity. Intelligence no longer seems an adequate compensation for things—some sort of balancing of the scales offered by nature to those less favored among her children—no, it is a superfluous plaything that exists only to enhance the value of the jewel. As for ugliness, it is guilty from the start, and I was doomed by my tragic destiny to suffer all the more, for I was hardly stupid.”

Renée trains herself to see beyond how she thinks society perceives her. She values intelligence above beauty, which demonstrates that Renée rejects superficiality. This quote both reveals this characterization and projects the message that society as a whole has turned away from valuing intelligence. With a loss of intelligence comes a degradation of the human mind and spirit.

“I have read so many books . . . And yet, like most autodidacts, I am never quite sure of what I have gained from them. There are days when I feel I have been able to grasp all there is to know in one single gaze, as if invisible branches suddenly spring out of nowhere, weaving together all the disparate strands of my reading—and then suddenly the meaning escapes, the essence evaporates…”

This quote is an example of metafiction: Within the form of a novel, Barbery provides commentary on the reading experience. Books can be life-changing and extend intellect, but books can also be a formidable challenge to the mind. Renée is an avid reader, but even she sometimes lacks understanding of the meaning of her reading. Despite this challenge, Renée keeps reading. Barbery uses Renée’s experience with challenging reading to encourage her reader to embrace literature that is confusing and thick with hidden meaning.

“I believe that my fate has taught me, better than anyone, to resist the negative influences of world thought. Let me explain: if, thus far, you have imagined that the ugliness of ageing and conciergely widowhood have made a pitiful wretch of me, resigned to the lowliness of her fate—then you are truly lacking in imagination. I have withdrawn, to be sure, and refuse to fight. But within the safety of my own mind, there is no challenge I cannot accept. I may be indigent in name, position, and appearance, but in my own mind I am an unrivalled goddess.”

Here, Barbery encourages her reader to find internal peace. Finding “safety of mind” protects people from the negative influences of society and gives space for self-induced growth and important reflection. Renée says that she has stopped fighting for herself in society, but in fact this safety of her mind is a defense tactic. Implied here is that Paloma needs to find this same safety of mind so she may still live within society without letting the flaws of society degrade her sense of self and wonder.

“To rich people it must seem that the ordinary little people—perhaps because their lives are more rarified, deprived of the oxygen of money and savoir-faire—experience human emotions with less intensity and greater indifference. Since we were concierges, it was a given that death, for us, must be a matter of course, whereas for our privileged neighbors it carried all the weight of injustice and drama.”

This quote provides a commentary on the inequality between social classes in contemporary culture. More attention is paid to wealthy and powerful people who suffer and die as though their suffering is antithetical to their status. Meanwhile, people in lower socio-economic classes are commonly disregarded; their sufferings are an assumed part of their life. This commentary stems from Renée’s own experiences receiving little empathy from the tenants when her husband died.

“When tea becomes ritual, it takes its place at the heart of our ability to see greatness in small things. Where is beauty to be found? In great things that, like everything else, are doomed to die, or in small things that aspire to nothing, yet know how to set a jewel of infinity in a single moment?”

This quote captures one of Barbery’s more optimistic messages: There is beauty everywhere if we only open ourselves up to it. This is a hopeful message because it communicates that no matter how difficult life and living can be, there is always the potential to find beauty in big and small things. Though beauty is impermanent, here Barbery establishes that its transience also contributes to its beauty, therefore making it urgent that people seek out beauty while it lasts.

“Which way lies truth, in the end? In power, or in Art? Is it not the power of well-crafted discourse which enables us not only to sing the praises of mankind’s creations but also to denounce as a crime of illusory vanity the urge to dominate, which moves us all…”

In this quote, Barbery provides two options for truth: power and art. Power can be truth because power represents the reality of human societies that place importance in power over others. Art can be truth because it taps into the human soul. The “power of well-crafted discourse” mentioned here potentially combines power and art, implying that art can be power, and power can be art. Thus, both power and art are equally truthful. These introspections demonstrate that Renée is not an absolutist, which makes her life multi-layered and interesting.

“That’s what the future is for: to build the present, with real plans, made by living people.”

In this quote, Barbery infuses positivity into Paloma’s diary entries. While Paloma has decided to kill herself, she also understands the importance of building something important. This quote implies that Paloma is not wholly resolved to suicide. She is thinking about how her actions in the present can impact the future, and in imagining the future Paloma comes closer to finding a reason to live. This quote marks a turning point in Paloma’s character development.

“Do you know what an involuntary act signifies? Psychoanalysts say that it reflects the insidious maneuvering of one’s hidden unconscious. What a pointless theory, in fact. When we do something involuntarily, this is the most visible sign of the power of our conscious will; for our will, when opposed by emotion, makes use all of its wiles to attain its ends.”

Renée again experiences consciousness when she is taken aback by Kakuro Ozu’s literary quote. She shudders, which is an involuntary act she analyzes with depth. This analysis is important because it acknowledges that as introspective as a person can be, their body and mind can act in uncontrollable ways thanks to certain stimuli. Her shudder is an example of her will working on its own, which is yet another layer to human existence. It is proof that the human experience is multilayered and largely exists within ourselves.

“Madame Michel has the elegance of the hedgehog: on the outside, she’s covered in quills, a real fortress, but my gut feeling is that on the inside, she has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog: a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary—and terribly elegant.”

In this quote, Paloma characterizes Renée as having “the elegance of the hedgehog,” a direct allusion to the title of the novel. The metaphor is attuned to Renée’s persona. She appears on the outside as a prickly woman, but on the inside, she is elegant and solitary. This characterization emphasizes that Renée’s assumptions that other people don’t see her as intellectual is false, and it also demonstrates that Paloma has been watching her closely. In Renée, Paloma sees someone who parallels her own inner journey and philosophical reflections.

“So here is my profound thought for the day: this is the first time I have met someone who seeks out people and who sees beyond. That may seem trivial but I think it is profound all the same. We never look beyond our assumptions and, what’s worse, we have given up trying to meet others; we just meet ourselves. We don’t recognize each other because other people have become our permanent mirrors.”

In this quote, Paloma expresses one of Barbery’s main messages about how people live in the world. Though we tend to project ourselves onto others, there is a depth to other people that we don’t access if all we do is fit those people into a box. This also means that people feel they are constantly on display as a mirror to other people. It is rare to find human connection that is more meaningful than projection, and when that human connection is discovered, we must embrace that connection. This quote demonstrates Paloma’s lack of superficiality and her loneliness in looking for people who she can truly connect with.

“Never in my life have I felt so at ease. How can I explain? For the first time, I feel utterly trusting, even though I am not alone. Even with Manuela, to whom I would gladly entrust my life, I do not have this feeling of absolute security that comes when one is sure that understanding is mutual. Entrusting one’s life is not the same as opening up one’s soul, and although I love Manuela like a sister, I cannot share with her the things that constitute the tiny portion of meaning and emotion that my incongruous existence has stolen from the universe.”

In this quote, Barbery emphasizes the importance of authentic and deep human connection. Even in friendship, it can be difficult to portray your true self. The key is to find someone who sees your true self. Renée discovers this connection with Kakuro, which emphasizes Kakuro’s role as a secondary character who transforms the tone and pace of the novel’s themes and plot. This quote is also important because it parallels Renée’s discovery of authentic connection with Paloma’s desperate desire to find authentic connection. Both Renée and Paloma are going through the same thing, though they are far apart in age and social status.

“What is both disconcerting and marvelous about Kakuro Ozu is that he combines a sort of childish enthusiasm and candor with the attentiveness and kindliness of an old sage. I am not accustomed to such a relationship with the world; it seems to me that he views it with indulgence and curiosity, whereas the other human beings I know display either wariness and kindness (Manuela), ingenuity and kindness (Olympe) or arrogance and cruelty (everyone else). Such a combination of eagerness, lucidity and magnanimity is delightfully unusual.”

This quote characterizes Kakuro as inherently different than anyone else Renée knows or admires. He is both childish and sophisticated, highlighting that intellectualism is akin to play. His natural curiosity impresses Renée because it demonstrates that his pursuit of art and literature is based on a pure joy and pleasure at what the world has to offer. This differentiates Kakuro from other people and emphasizes the importance of his character in the novel.

“Do you know what a summer rain is? To start with, pure beauty striking the summer sky, awe-filled respect absconding with your heart, a feeling of insignificance at the very heart of the sublime, so fragile and swollen with the majesty of things, trapped, ravished, amazed by the bounty of the world.”

In this quote, Barbery subverts literary symbolism of rain to emphasize the sublime beauty of small things. In literature, authors often employ rain to symbolize sadness, gloominess, and the potential of clarity after the rain has passed. However, in this instance Barbery uses summer rain to symbolize beauty, transcendence, and pure joy. This subversion expresses Barbery’s message that the connection between the human experience and nature is sacred and can teach people a great deal about themselves. Rather than reject nature, we should embrace it to see what it can teach us.

“For the quest for meaning and beauty is hardly a sign that man has an elevated nature, that by leaving behind his animal impulses he will go on to find the justification of his existence in the enlightenment of the spirit: no, it is a primed weapon in the service of a trivial and material goal.”

Here, Barbery presents a challenge to meaning and beauty. While the main characters in this novel seek out meaning and beauty to discover more about themselves and the world around them, meaning and beauty can also be used to dominate others. The quest for meaning can be taken up by people in power while the quest for beauty can be utilized to diminish other people. Furthermore, Renée sees that many people seek self-gratification within their quest for meaning and beauty, which gives them the fallacy that they can leave their animalism behind. This fallacy only dilutes beauty and meaning.

“Should you study Plato, Epicurus, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel or even Husserl? Esthetics, politics, morality, epistemology, metaphysics? Should you devote your time to teaching, to producing a body of work, to research, to Culture? It makes no difference. The only thing that matters is your intention: are you elevating thought and contributing to the common good, or rather joining the ranks in a field of study whose only purpose is its own perpetuation, and only function the self-reproduction of a sterile elite—for this turns the university into a sect.”

A major theme in this novel is the importance of self-discovery. In this quote, Renée identifies the problem with established, institutionalized education. While institutions of education do teach important philosophers, the goal of philosophical thinking is to experience it, not just to use it as a stamp on a degree. Here, Barbery emphasizes the importance of intention. If one studies philosophy with the intention of getting ahead in their career, then they are abusing the study of philosophy. This highlights the overall point that self-education is just as meaningful, if not more so, than elite established forms of education.

“I understood that I was suffering because I couldn’t make anyone else around me feel better. I understood that I have a grudge against Papa, Maman and above all Colombe because I’m incapable of being useful to them, because there’s nothing I can do for them. They are already too far gone in their sickness, and I am too weak. I can see their symptoms clearly but I’m not skilled to treat them and so as a result that makes me as sick as they are, only I don’t see it. Whereas when I was holding Madame Michel’s hand I could feel how I was sick, too. And one thing is sure, no matter what: I won’t get any better by punishing the people I can’t heal. I might have to rethink this business about fire and suicide. Besides, I may as well admit it: I don’t really feel like dying…”

This quote is a major turning point for Paloma’s character development. She realizes that she has been projecting her frustrations onto her family because she can’t help them find a path out of their fallacies. Paloma does care for her family despite their differences, and the separation she feels from them is actually inside of her own perspective. Though she feels like the black sheep, she realizes that the disconnect is due to her own insecurities about dealing with a world without her family. This quote also highlights the overarching lesson that life and self-discovery are made significant in being useful to other people. Though individuals must endure their own journeys independent of others, it is important to help other people, otherwise people can become too isolated behind philosophical thinking. Paloma is tired of living not because her family is bad or exhausting but because it makes her sad to see them commit to the farce of society. Notably, in this quote she also recognizes that she likes being alive, so killing herself is foolish.

“So many quests, all these different worlds . . . Can we all be so similar yet live in such disparate worlds? Is it possible that we are all sharing the same frenetic agitation, even though we have not sprung from the same earth or the same blood and do not share the same ambition? Tiberius . . . I feel weary, to be honest, weary of all these rich people, all these poor people, weary of the whole farce…”

In this quote, Renée’s character development echoes that of Paloma’s. While Paloma discovers the sadness of not being able to help her family, so too does Renée discover the value in human connection. Both Renée and Paloma have tried to hide away from other people, but Renée learns that her decision to hide only meant that she was hiding herself from people who could be meaningful. This quote is important to her character development because it demonstrates that she lets go of her decades-long belief that other people judge her on her looks when in fact it is she who has been judging other people. Though people have their differences, they also share similarities that are more important than those differences. While reading has expanded Renée’s understanding of herself, she has only recently discovered that other people can aid in that expansion as well.

“I know now what you have to experience before you die: let me tell you. What you have to experience before you die is a driving rain transformed into light.”

In one of Renée’s final chapters, she again alludes to the symbolic power of rain. While rain typically symbolizes despair or gloominess, in this novel Barbery subverts the symbol and makes rain a symbol of revitalized hope. This quote is poignant because Renée does know what it is to die and can therefore attest to the importance of driving rain transformed into light. Renée has literally transformed her memories of rain, which are negative and tied to her sister’s destruction into memories of enlightenment. She has also metaphorically driven from rain to light by opening herself up to human connection after years of embracing a misanthropic lifestyle.

“For the first time in my life I understood the meaning of the word never. And it’s really awful. You say the word a hundred times a day but you don’t really know what you’re saying until you’re faced with a real ‘never again’. Ultimately you always have the illusion that you’re in control of what’s happening; nothing seems definitive. I may have been telling myself all these weeks that I was going to commit suicide, but did I really believe it? Did my decision really make me understand the meaning of the word ‘never’? Not at all. It made me understand that it’s in my power to decide. And I think that even a few seconds before dying, “never again” would still just be empty words.”

In this novel, Paloma and Renée both struggle to understand how language can sufficiently encompass their human experience. Here, Paloma discovers the importance of the word “never.” It’s an easy word to say, but not an easy word to understand in its full meaning. Death teaches people what never truly means. Though the majority of the novel teases the idea of Paloma’s death, it is Renée’s death that teaches both Paloma and the reader the depths of “never.” This quote is also important because of Paloma’s major character development. She realizes that her suicidal ideation was a desire for control, not for death. Now that she knows she has the power to die by suicide, she is comforted by her power and resolves to keep living.