Geneviève’s Funeral Symbol Analysis

Taking place near the end of The Ladies’ Paradise, Geneviève’s funeral symbolizes the final end of traditional business methods. Geneviève’s death is essentially caused by the Ladies’ Paradise—the big department store that is competing with the small local businesses and driving away their customers. Geneviève’s engagement to Colomban—Baudu’s shop assistant—was a traditional feature of the small business: the businessowner trains the assistant in the ways of his business, and then marries the assistant to his daughter in order to officially pass the business on. However, Colomban runs off with a salesgirl from the Ladies’ Paradise, betraying both Geneviève and Baudu’s drapery shop. Geneviève soon dies of a broken heart, an event which symbolizes the tragic consequences the Ladies’ Paradise inflicts on the world of small business.

Up until Geneviève’s funeral, the Ladies’ Paradise has been causing the slow death of small local businesses. As a massive shopping experience in which customers can find everything they need and want at a cheap price, the Ladies’ Paradise drives the public away from small shops. As well as ruining the small businesses financially, the Ladies’ Paradise has been offending their values and traditions. Therefore, when all the small tradespeople gather for Geneviève’s funeral—whose death was caused by the betrayal of a tradition—they seem to be acknowledging the death of the tradition of small business altogether. What is more, the funeral is extremely sordid. The local businessowners tromp through the mud to the grave, where one attendee suggests that they might as well all jump in the grave with the casket. This suggests that the solidarity of the small businesses has only led to their unified death.