They are called swallows (in Basque “enorak” or “ainerak”) because they arrive in the fall and leave in the spring with, if possible, the modest gain from their painful labor to constitute the famous trousseau for a marriage with a young man who remained in the country. How can we not say it, they are exploited or even overexploited by unscrupulous bosses
. Félicia, a beautiful and intelligent young girl, is the central character of Jean Vignau's novel. Anthropological and social determinism would force him to follow his fellow workers when they left in the spring, but things would be different after his return to Soule in the fall of 1914. This is the originality of this narrative. It is part of the fierce desire of a foreign teenager to face a hostile, cynical world. Félicia therefore does not return to Burgui, a village in the Roncal valley, the southern counterpart of our Barétous valley (Tons of goods) in Béarn.
A strange destiny
A small voice, her lonely and damaged soul, orders her to stay in Mauléon where a strange destiny opens up to her. She is going through this beginning of the twentieth century, against all odds. And God knows if events, the first world conflict among others, destabilize her, sometimes despair. Fortunately, chance or Providence — who knows? — makes him meet in the Haute Ville, Melle Enara Etchemendy, retired teacher, who will slowly but surely become his mentor and a surrogate grandmother.
She teaches him the French language, the “manners of the country”, “the habitus”, the universe in its fullness and complexity. “ […] Melle Etchemendy had kept a map pinned to a wall that represented the entire world, she (Félicia) had never seen that, a map of the planet. » Learning nourishes his desire to blend into the landscape. Not only does she succeed but she benefits from the selfless affection of this old lady.
The espadrille and the crisis of 1929
The years pass, history unfolds its tale. The espadrille industry was impacted by the crisis of 1929: our heroine experienced the economic and social consequences. Soon, a miracle occurs, she is made heiress of Enara. Luck smiles on her again when she is hired as governess for the two children of a bourgeois family which allows her to escape economic precariousness. Then comes the time for love with the unexpected meeting of Fernand. However, everything is not going as she would like. Certainly, love inhabits him, happiness sets in, but his soul remains soiled. I won't say more, of course.
So, sometimes the swallow can make spring… The success of Jean Vignau's novel is twofold. The narration is handled delicately. Félicia, the archetype of feminine resilience, carries it to the end. We never let go of the work. It can be read almost in one go. In addition, the author discovers this forgotten part of the industrial history of Xiberoa (Soule). A feminist novel written by a man, worth reading and recommending.
Jean Vignau, The silence of the swallow, Gypaète editions, 171 p., €16.90
Related News :