Why We Can’t—and Shouldn’t—Forget Françoise Sagan
Flavien Falantin uplifts the iconic French writer who inspired repressed women worldwide
The French writer Françoise Sagan lived a life of shocking intrigue. Gutsy and reckless, she fascinated readers with her flamboyant lifestyle and forthright novels. Now, 20 years after her death, scholars are revisiting the profound cultural and literary impact of her 1954 debut novel, Bonjour Tristesse, which took the world by storm.
Banned in several European countries and by the Vatican, the book was often read secretly. In South Africa, readers of Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness) faced imprisonment if caught with the book. French readers found it both scandalous and liberating. In America, it reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list a year after its publication. Hollywood turned it into a film in 1958.
Why all the fuss?
Bonjour Tristesse “heralded the arrival of female emancipation in France during the 1950s and the waning dominance of the patriarchal family structure,” said Flavien Falantin, assistant professor of French studies and one of four Sagan scholars worldwide.
Sagan’s pert, new voice erupted on the French literary scene when she was 18. Her slender, lyrical novel recounts a summer vacation 17-year-old Cécile took with her young, widowed father in an idyllic Mediterranean villa. Jealous of her father’s romantic adventures, she sets out to prevent him from remarrying while simultaneously plotting sexual adventures of her own.
Sagan writes with a nonchalance unheard of by a young woman at that time. Her rebelliousness, cynicism, and indifference to risky behavior thrilled young French and American readers while raising the ire of others.
Falantin’s recent book, Bonjour tristesse 1954-2024, examines the international reception, post-colonial dimensions, and psychoanalytic insights of Bonjour Tristesse as well as its influence on literature and adaptations in cinema and comics. The book, he said, seeks to “shed fresh light on Bonjour Tristesse as both a literary milestone and a cultural phenomenon … and to highlight Sagan’s significant contribution to modern literature.” In all, Sagan wrote 20 novels, eight plays, and numerous essays, scenarios, and cinema scripts.
Originally from Champagne, France, Falantin came to the United States as a 19-year-old law student to work at a summer immersive language program at Middlebury College, where he discovered a love of teaching that changed his life trajectory. He enrolled at the University of Wyoming, learned to speak English, and wrote his thesis on the complete works of Sagan. He earned his doctorate at Indiana University, Bloomington, and joined Colby’s faculty in 2020.
The following interview has been edited for clarity.
What is the cultural significance of Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse?
For the first time in literature, a young woman, a teenager, was writing about a romance with a boy she didn’t love. At the end of the novel, she is not pregnant or forced into marriage. For us nowadays, it’s normal. But it was a revolution in 1954 because the prevailing rule in literature was that young ladies were martyrs, and they were depicted through the male gaze. And for the first time in literature, after the Second World War, Françoise Sagan said, “But no, you can fall in love, and without consequences.”
Why was her voice important in 1954 France?
At this time, France was very conservative and religious, notably under Catholic influence. Her book was a revolution because, for the first time, a young woman questioned morality with a certain casualness. She was not explicit, and she was not a feminist theorist. She was not saying, “This is a shame! Women should be free.” No. Through her book, she simply set the example to follow, offering women an emancipation they had not yet achieved in society.
How was the book received in France?
In France, she was considered a genius by the younger generation. The book was scandalous, but it was a certain time period. Bonjour Tristesse arrived between the end of the Indochina War and the beginning of the Algerian War when France’s colonial empire was dislocating. It was the right moment to have this kind of freshness for women and women’s liberation.
Was the book translated?
It was translated into 23 languages. It was even translated into Latin and Urdu.
Really?
Yes! In the Soviet Union, kids were learning French in Sagan’s book.
How come?
She was used as a propaganda tool in the USSR to showcase the ideals of the West. By portraying an American way of life, she offered readers a glimpse of what freedom could look like—life as a free woman. She became a star in Algeria, Haiti, America, Japan, and also in the USSR.
Did she inspire other women, other writers?
Yes, writers of her generation were inspired by her. Notably, the French author Annie Ernaux, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature. American Pamela Moore wrote the scandalous Chocolates for Breakfast in 1956 and was considered the American Françoise Sagan. French academician Assia Djebar’s first novel was the equivalent of Bonjour Tristesse in an Algerian setting. You can find Lebanese Sagans. Sagans in Syria. She was a true inspiration for women who were not free. These women had no desire to emulate Sagan, but Bonjour Tristesse became a literary model for reaching young people and a broader audience. One could say that this novel became a manifesto of freedom that far surpassed its author.
Why haven’t scholars and others taken her seriously if she was so influential?
In French and Francophone literature, Sagan was never regarded as a serious novelist, likely because her private life often made the tabloids’ front pages. Nicknamed the “James Dean of literature,” she embodied an image far removed from the gravitas expected of writers at the time. She favored excess—speeding behind the wheel, gambling fortunes at casinos, and partying endlessly—over cultivating the reputation of a respected intellectual. In 1950s France, the ideal writer was seen as serious, solitary, and a workaholic. Moreover, selling large numbers of books was often viewed as pretentious. It was an American academic, Judith Grave Miller, who first recognized Sagan’s literary talent, at a time when it was largely underestimated.
How has your work altered that perception?
Things are changing and evolving in positive ways. My October 2024 appearance on the Radio France podcast Le Cours de l’histoire, coupled with other media coverage and a one-hour literary program on French national TV dedicated to Sagan—featuring my coauthor, Céline Hromadova—have boosted interest in the iconic author. Beyond the more intellectual media coverage, there is a growing interest from university publishers in Sagan’s work, which marks a shift from the past.
Her son, Denis Westhoff, has been instrumental in restoring the lost luster of his mother’s work. Notably, he created the Françoise Sagan Literary Prize in 2010, and I had the honor of serving on its jury in 2024.
Assistant Professor of French Studies Flavien Falantin, left, during his appearance on the Radio France podcast Le Cours de l’histoire with the show’s host Xavier Mauduit and his coauthor, Céline Hromadova. Falantin spent much of 2024 discussing Sagan, her legacy, and the continued relevance of her bestselling book Bonjour Tristesse to mark the 70th anniversary of the book’s publication. (Photo courtesy Flavien Falantin)
Do you teach Bonjour Tristesse to Colby students?
Only in my advanced composition and grammar class. I teach it because Sagan was 17 when she was writing it, close to my students’ age, and because the plot is still intriguing. The style is not intimidating, and the story is short. It’s good to show students that you can be famous at 17, and whether in French, another language, or English, never be afraid to write.
How do your students feel about the book?
I think they love it because it’s simple and because the subject is still relevant today. Women’s freedom, even in America, is not something we are certain of with new regulations and legislation. So, it’s important to show that freedom is important. This is the reason why reading Sagan remains relevant today.
In general, why is teaching literature and French studies valuable?
Students need a narrative, a fiction, a story. To escape, first; to understand, second; and to discover new horizons. Literature and culture are like parachutes. Without them, we crash.
