Plot Analysis Summary
A family confronts inherited depression, concealed grief, broken trust, and the difficult process of coping with suicide.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
Tools From A Lost Father
A young man returns home after his father's death and inherits his tools. He transforms grief into a marionette-making hobby that becomes a business.
Key Events
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Return After Father Dies — A young man returns home and learns that his father has died from an apparent medical episode.
Location: Family home
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Inherited Tools — The young man inherits his father's tools after the death.
Location: Family home
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First Marionette Making — He begins using the inherited tools to make marionettes.
Location: Home workshop
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A Growing Craft Business — The hobby develops into a marionette-making business.
Location: Marionette workshop
A Family Built Around Craft
The craftsman raises a family while developing his work. His daughter receives devoted attention, including the gift of a live turkey after a disappointing raffle prize.
Key Events
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Family Life Begins — The craftsman raises a family while continuing to build his business.
Location: Family home
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Daughter Joins The Family — A daughter becomes part of the family and receives especially attentive care from her father.
Location: Family home
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The Frozen Turkey Disappointment — A turkey won through a grocery raffle is revealed to be frozen for dinner.
Location: Grocery store and family home
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A Live Turkey For Christmas — To make his daughter happy, the father buys a live turkey named Simone for Christmas.
Location: Family home
Trust Breaks In The Workshop
The grown daughter and the brother join the family business. The brother abuses the father's trust and eventually leaves, weakening the family's working structure.
Key Events
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Business Becomes Family Work — The grown daughter and the father's brother begin working in the marionette business.
Location: Marionette workshop
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Trust Within The Workshop — The family business depends on cooperation between the father, his daughter, and his brother.
Location: Marionette workshop
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Brother Abuses Trust — The brother abuses the father's trust during their work together.
Location: Marionette workshop
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Brother Leaves The Business — After damaging the relationship of trust, the brother leaves the business.
Location: Marionette workshop
The Buried Family Truth
The father discovers that his own father died by suicide and that the truth was concealed. The revelation connects his depression to a painful family legacy.
Key Events
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Hidden Death Revealed — The father learns that his own father actually died by suicide in 1978.
Location: Family home
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A Concealed Family Truth — The suicide had been concealed from him, changing his understanding of his father's death.
Location: Family home
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Inherited Depression — The story establishes that the father's depression mirrors the condition associated with his own father.
Location: Family home
Forest, Letter, And Survival
The father retreats into the forest and leaves a suicide letter. The daughter is shocked, then gradually begins to cope with the loss and its consequences.
Key Events
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Withdrawal Into The Forest — The father retreats into the forest as his depression deepens.
Location: Forest
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Suicide Letter Left Behind — A suicide letter is left behind after the father's retreat.
Location: Family home
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Daughter Faces The Shock — The daughter is shocked by her father's decision and the letter he leaves behind.
Location: Family home
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Family Confronts Absence — The family must confront the father's absence and the painful truth surrounding it.
Location: Family home
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Grief And Memory — Memories of family life and the father's craft become part of the grieving process.
Location: Family home
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Gradual Coping — The daughter gradually begins to cope with the loss and its emotional consequences.
Location: Family home
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A Difficult Family Legacy — The family's craft, memories, and inherited depression remain connected in the final emotional aftermath.
Location: Family home
1978. In a small village in Bas-St-Laurent, Guy’s tragic death is a shock for the Leblanc family. For many years, the real cause of his death is kept hidden from some members of the family, including his son David. The latter in turn starts his own family with his wife Marie. He lovingly raises his children Laurence and Frédéric, but deep within him harbours a persistent melancholy.
