The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Bauby opens this vignette by stating that his friends have jokingly asked him whether he has considered a pilgrimage to the catholic holy site at Lourdes, in order to ask for a miracle from the famous Madonna that is housed there. This chapter tells the story of the time that he went to see the Madonna, during a traveling vacation that he once took with a former lover named Joséphine.

It was a tense and quarrelsome journey, as he and Joséphine had many contentions between them, both possessed stubborn attitudes, and were also improvising the entire trip—without any solid plans for accommodations or destinations. Another sore spot in the relationship was Bauby’s absorption in a six or seven-hundred-page book called Trail of the Snake. According to Bauby, the book “told the tale of Charles Sobraj, a kind of wayfaring guru who charmed and robbed Western travelers between Bombay and Kathmandu”—although he confesses that he cannot remember the slightest detail of the book, and even that summary may be inaccurate (60). What he does remember is that he became so enraptured in the book that it took his attention away from his vacation, and that Joséphine claimed that his absorption in it signaled his disinterest in her. He wonders whether Joséphine directed their path to Lourdes in order to break the hold that the book had over Bauby. 

When they arrived in Lourdes at the height of pilgrimage season, the heat was suffocating and the city was packed. They consequently had trouble finding a hotel room. When they did, Bauby observed that the bathroom was designed to accommodate a wheelchair—because the city was accustomed to housing the many ill and crippled who come to the Madonna asking for miracles. In vivid detail laced with irony, Bauby recounts the day that he and Joséphine journeyed to see the Madonna. They, young and able-bodied, found themselves among a procession of paraplegics. Bauby recalls that he ventured a smile at one wheelchair-bound person, who stuck his tongue out at him in reply. He even mused aloud that it could be dangerous for him if the Madonna did choose to make an appearance, as her power might paralyze someone in perfect health like him. He recalls that this disrespectful remark turned a dozen heads and caused Joséphine to call him an idiot. They were then herded into the underground basilica of St. Pius X, in which Mass is celebrated from 6:00 AM to midnight. Afterwards, they went shopping and Joséphine, an avid collector, found a bust of Madonna haloed with winking lightbulbs that seemed like it was destined for her. Bauby paid an extravagant amount for it, in order to claim it as his present to her.

Later, back in their hotel room, and under the flickering light of the bust, Bauby told Joséphine they would have to break up upon their return to Paris. Joséphine responded knowingly before slipping into sleep—indulging her talent for being able to slip into sleep and away from conflict. Bauby then decided to indulge one of his favorite pastimes—a night walk. When he returned the room and dove back into his book, he discovered that Joséphine had scrawled a message in his book by writing huge single letters on its pages, rendering the pages totally unreadable. Luckily, it was in a portion that Bauby had already read. Nonetheless, the message read: “I love you, you idiot. Be kind to your poor Joséphine” (68).