This extract is taken from Henri-Pierre Roché’s novel Jules et Jim. This book was made famous when it was adapted for the film by François Truffaut in 1961. This passage is a telling scene where the main female character, Kathe, suddenly decides to draw attention to herself by jumping in the river Seine.
At the end of this long meal, Kathe suggested going for a walk by the Seine. The three of them went past a former sluice-gate, the Ecluse de la Monnaie, and then they returned along the quay to the Square du Vert-Galant. Jules talked all the way. Suddenly Kathe dropped her bag and gloves, gently pushed Jules and Jim aside, and jumped into the Seine.
“Oh, my prophetic soul!”[1] cried a voice in Jim, and at the same time he sent an invisible kiss to Kathe. Her leap so engraved itself on his imagination that he did a drawing of it next day, although he normally never drew at all.. He felt a sudden burst of admiration for her, like a lightning flash. She, at any rate, was not scared of being different!
Jules was gasping and shivering, as if he was under a shower; he was terrified that Kathe might drown. Jim was calm; he had seen the style of her fall, standing upright, and he had heard tell of her exploits before. In his mind, he was swimming under water with her and holding his breath with her...
Note
1 This is left in English in the original text
I have left the text in the “passé simple” in this case.
A la fin de ce long repas, Kathe proposa d’aller se promener tout au bord de la Seine. Ils longèrent tous les trois l’ancienne écluse de la Monnaie, remontèrent le quai en face du Square du Vert-Galant. Jules paralait toujours. Soudain Kathe lâcha son sac à main et ses gants, écarta doucement Jules et Jim, et sauta toute droite dans la Seine.
“Oh my prophetic soul!” cria en Jim une voix, tandis qu’elle envoyait en pensée un baiser invisible à Kathe. Ce saut se grava dans ses yeux au point qu’il en fit le lendemain un dessin, lui qui ne dessinait pas. Un éclair d’admiration jaillit en lui. Celle-là, au moins, ne craignait pas faire autre!
Jules était comme sous un jet de douche et il tremblait pour la vie de Kathe. Jim était tranquille, il avait vu le style de son plongeon debout et il avait entendu parler de ses exploits. Il nagea mentalement avec elle sous l’eau et il gardait le souffle avec elle...