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'courtly love'
'i knelt like a knight at her feet, her sword having touched my shoulder. i silently pledged her my love and loyalty for ever.'

This shows Francis' naive view of love and could suggest that it is unrequited as she doesn't show any affection back.

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she is presented as innocent and pure from francis's view point 'the pale purity of her face' he also compares her to a statue of a saint showing how pure he sees her as.

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"the pale purity of her face reminded me of the st therese..." he places her so high above him that she is saint like and a saviour to him

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he refers to her as the as the most beautiful girl in the world the first time he sees her- 'followed by the most beautiful girl i had ever seen'

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Nicole is presented as a young innocent girl who has got the attention of a young boy who falls inlove with her easily 'i silently pledged her my love and loyalty for ever' this telling how she may be an intriguing character in the way she instantly catches the attention of someone.

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she intimidates Francis which is shown with his shy behaviour

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seen as an angelic creature by both francis and larry

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seen as an angelic creature by both francis and larry

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the whole chapter, she is described as "a rare specimin" and "bird-like, and graceful"
"she had taken lessons in albany and instantly caught the attention of Larry Lasalle"

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In the last reunion with Francis, Nicole is presented a mature and is ready to advance with her life. The quote, 'Have a good life, Francis' shows how she not only wants Francis to move on with his life, but it reflects on how she does not wish to see Francis again, suggesting the act of moving on. At the end of the chapter the quote, 'until there's only silence left' is used. This symbolises how Nicole and Francis have had their time together, but it is now time for them to let it go. This can also reflect Nicole finally feeling free from her past.

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Nicole is seen as important in Francis' eyes

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Nicole is seen as important in Francis' eyes

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'I couldn't afford to let her go' 'it destroyed her name as i spoke it.'

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Cormier uses religious imagery to enforce how the character of nicole is perceived. He presents her as being a young, pure girl and compares her to "saint therese"

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Cormier uses religious imagery to enforce how the character of nicole is perceived. He presents her as being a young, pure girl and compares her to "saint therese"

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Nicole in presented as a kind and selfless character after Nicole reveals she would like to be a nurse in the quote "Maybe become a nurse", and we know from Francis' point of view that she was knitting scarves and socks with the nuns for the armed forces and then goes on to volunteer for the monument red cross and her good nature is shown through her actions and her work.

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Nicole is viewed as less naive and is finally standing up for herself in some way which enforces the idea of Francis' youthful take on things.

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Nicole is viewed as less naive and is finally standing up for herself in some way which enforces the idea of Francis' youthful take on things.

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'I'm sorry'... Knowing how pitiful those words must sound to her' This shows Francis is unaware how to deal with the situation he's placed himself into while Nicole does even though she didn't expect this interaction. She is led by her emotions and is one of the only people to not treat Francis as a hero showing the individuality in her character, she says the line 'Poor Francis' which reflects what others say to Francis in the future although this line is said with 'contempt' rather than 'pity'

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Nicole's character can also symbolise change in this chapter as she says, 'Now I'm starting to find out what I am, who I really am'. This could show that Nicole has been forced to change because of her past trauma with Larry which enforces the audience to stop and question her past events and actually realise how young she was when she was assulted and how that has affected her whole life. The fact that Nicole is able to change and move on portrays her strength.

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Like Larry, Nicole is only seen from Francis' perspective which suggests why during their younger days at the rec centre he only describes her as his loving image. Francis comes to her attention when she sees him playing table tennis. She compares table tennis with dancing, admiring his movements. When he wins the tournament Nicole says "my champion" which shows again that Francis' description of the moment was as passionate as the other moments with her.

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Francis goes to speak to Nicole because of the amount of guilt he feels. He blames himself for not doing anything. Nicole acts harshly towards him, this may be the reason why Francis is so self sabotaging in the present. He feels as though he dosen't deserve to move on.
the qoute 'anything' shows how desperate Nicole was. all she wanted to happen was for someone to help her and not leave her alone.

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Nicole is presented as very vulnerable yet intuitive as well as following an underlying patriarchal society 

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Nicole is presented as very vulnerable yet intuitive as well as following an underlying patriarchal society 

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This is shown by the quote 'stay close to me' showing her vulnerability and fear of an underlying danger. This is also shown when she doesn't want to be left alone with Larry. This could present her as very intuitive knowing what is going to happen as well as very mature for her age. She is the only one to see through Larry's act perhaps showing her social and worldly intelligence. She is presented to be following a patriarchal society as she has no voice in the situation and doesn't have a mans power to hold off Larry this could suggest her oppression as a woman and is highly vulnerable as she cannot prevent her fate.

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Nicole is presented as elegant and beautiful

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Nicole is presented as elegant and beautiful

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Francis once again conveys his affection for Nicole, presenting her as elegant and pure by using a simile to compare her to a ''ballet dancer''. Francis also states that ''her crimson cheeks ... only added to her beauty''. The colour crimson symbolises passion and love which could translate to how Francis feels about Nicole, which also implies her beauty.

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"she didn't remind me of st. Therese anymore but of the girls in certain magazines at Lauriers drugstore that set my heart racing and made my knees liquid"
"Nicole Renard's visits the the wreck centre made my life complete"
it's a bit male-gazey, innit?

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In addition, Nicole's character represents bittersweetness in the reunion, which is evident in the quote, 'My silver star hero'. The fact that Nicole describes Francis with the noun 'My' contradicts against that fact that she leaves. It is bittersweet as the chapter highlights how much Nicole still cares and hold love for Francis but also has to let him go.

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Nicole also symbolises forgiveness in this chapter as she forgives Francis for witnessing her assult and not acting on it. She says, 'You weren't to blame for what happened' therefore removing the blame off of Francis and ultimately letting him go and be free, like he does to her.

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We only see Nicole from the perspective of Francis.

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We only see Nicole from the perspective of Francis.

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In the novel, we mostly see Nicole through the eyes of Francis as he looks at her from a distance and fantasises about her. "bird-like, and graceful" Because of this, Nicole is presented as perfect and beautiful in every way because this is how Francis sees her

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nicole gives up her time to knit socks for soldiers and veterans showing her selfless personality, which francis adores about her

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This chapter was after Larry raped her. she was most likely in a deep depressed state because not only did she get raped she had no one to talk to, she was left alone with that burden eating her alive. Her innocence had been stripped from her and she is alone. She never got the chance to tell Francis its not he fault.

at this point this is when she decided to leave French town forever.

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Nicole is seen as this bird-like, angelic person as seen from Francis' and Larry's perspective. This is seen in the quote, from Francis," Her slender body dipping and turning without effort, as if her bones were elastic." And the quote from Larry," ...But you and Nicole are special to me." Another interesting point is the fact that when Francis is describing the way Nicole looks and acts, he very commonly uses similies, such as bird-like and compares her to st Theresa. This indicates that Francis views Nicole as someone not on the same level as him and so high up that she's not human.

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When Nicole sees Larry for the first time during his homecoming, Francis states that ''Nicole bowed''. This advocates Nicole's understanding of Larry's superiority over her as the act of bowing is used as a sign of respect from students to their masters.

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Nicole is presented as someone who Francis sees to be above him, as seen in the quote "I gulped, coughed, managed to utter 'Hello' but was unable to bring her name to my lips."

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In this chapter Nicole symbolises the idea of trauma, this further pushes the idea of appearance vs reality. She has the appearance of a young damsel in distress and her life seemingly revolves around Larry and Francis this is because our protagonist is Francis and he seemingly has an obsession with Nicole and has a specific image of her in his mind but clearly that isn't accurate. She confronts Francis in quotes like 'You didn't do anything.' and 'You were there the whole time'. In this moment Nicole is facing the fact she is feeling betrayed by two trusted men in her life, this feeling of guilt and betrayal follows Francis throughout the novel

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within their first meeting, francis believes he sees a mischevious look in Nicoles eyes, however this doesnt match with the character we see in the rest of the book, this tells us that francis doesnt know anything about Nicole, and is purely physically and aesthetically attracted to her

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Nicole is presented as a hero, not only of Francis but herself too

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Nicole is presented as a hero, not only of Francis but herself too

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She gives up her love for her life. She wants to move on and forget Francis and Frenchtown. This was a difficult decision that must have taken a lot of courage to put her life before her love. This is why she is suggested to be heroic, letting go for the better.

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To the public soldiers are seen as heroes bravely defending their country. However the soldiers view is very different. Francis feels such strong guilt that he sees war as an escape and a way to die without going against his religion, and bringing shame to his family. He doesn't see himself as a hero because he didn't throw himself on a grenade to protect others or his country.

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Nicole's feelings for Francis has shifted since the incident

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Nicole's feelings for Francis has shifted since the incident

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this can be seen in the quote 'she looks at me with affection but not love'
Even though Nicole has forgiven Francis she does not wish to proceed with their lost relationship as she still hasn't overcome what happened many years ago

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Francis still sees Nicole as otherworldly or saintly, saying that he watched "her glide across the floor" and that "she seemed to exist out of this world" later on this view changes slightly and shes not "St Therese but" instead "the girls in certain magazines in Laurier's drugstore" suggesting he sees her as a more sexual being as he grows up and matures.