Henri’s Mother Character Analysis in The Passion

Henri’s passionately religious mother resolves to become a nun at age 12, but her proper, conventional family wants her to pursue a more traditional path and get married. After her family points out the man they want her to marry when she is 16, she runs away from home hoping to join a convent. As her father goes around visiting (and bribing) nearby convents in search of her, she ends up hiding out on the farm of Henri’s father Claude for months. Eventually, Claude proposes to her. Though initially she says no, she eventually says yes, and the couple has Henri. Henri’s mother wants Henri to become a priest, but though Henri too has a passionate desire for a meaningful life, as a teenager he ends up directing his passion at Napoleon Bonaparte rather than God. When Henri visits his family on leave in 1804, he discovers that his mother is hoping to reconcile with her parents after decades of estrangement.

Henri’s Mother Character Timeline in The Passion

The timeline below shows where the character Henri’s Mother appears in The Passion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...to a brothel. Henri wants to remain in camp with his Bible. His passionately religious mother wanted him to become a priest, and though he can’t commit to that because he... (full context)

Henri’s mother came from a “respectable” family. When, at age 12, she informed them she wanted to... (full context)

...Henri is worried home will have changed. As he approaches the farm, he sees his mother and father in the fields and is struck by his love of them. During his... (full context)

...and walks about in the “early dark,” so unlike the true “Dark” that drowns and smothers. On his last night home, he stays up late holding hands with his mother until... (full context)

...that the “warmth and nearness” of the worshippers makes him see God. Thinking of his mother, he goes to take communion, but when he ingests the bread and wine, it tastes... (full context)

Later, at dinner, Villanelle, her mother, and her stepfather ask Henri about his family. He explains that he comes from a... (full context)

...sees the lagoon—and, occasionally, Villanelle waving from a boat. Sometimes, he smells porridge, and his mother visits him. Henri no longer remembers how many years he has been living in this... (full context)

...Villanelle clasps Henri to her heart, which he hears beating. It reminds him of his mother, who used to pull him to her chest and quietly recite scripture. He tells Villanelle... (full context)

...with her, but he tells her the asylum is his home and asks what his mother would think. The next time Villanelle visits San Servelo, the warden informs Villanelle that Henri... (full context)

...Moscow, he thought he would find a better life. But if it weren’t for his mother and friends, his current life would be terrible. When he joined the army, he thought... (full context)

...Villanelle for some seeds—and to Joséphine, a noted botanist, who brought geraniums to France. Henri’s mother likes poppies, and he’ll plant grass for Patrick and a cypress for himself that will... (full context)