The Dinner

“Serge makes the reservation on the day itself—he says he thinks of it as a sport.” 

The contrast between Paul and Serge is evident. Paul, who frets about the idea of going out to dinner, cannot abide plotting ahead or making reservations. For his famous politician brother, such a display of conspicuous consumerism is a sport in and of itself. Serge enjoys demonstrating his power by securing the seemingly impossible, providing a constant demonstration of his heightened social importance. The two brothers are dissimilar though understand each other very well. 

“But my son—in the face of all the evidence—still believed in a different version of his father, a version who knew where the valves were.” 

When looking through Michel’s phone, Paul has seen a video which completely alters the way he sees his son. Just like Michel believing that his father might know anything about bike values or tire repair, Paul is having to reconsider the version of his son that he believes in. The content of the video alters his perception of his son and changes everything about the family dynamic, turning his previous conception of Michel entirely on its head and changing their lives forever. 

“When Babette is around, I always do my best to make myself bigger, taller than I really am.” 

In the presence of his sister-in-law, Paul finds himself feeling somewhat inadequate. In the above quote, he quite explicitly states that he feels that he does not measure up to the towering figures cut by Serge and Babette. Paul’s feeling of inadequacy in his brother’s presence is palpable and this extends—in a physical sense—to Serge’s wife.