54 pages • 1 hour read
Ruth ReichlThe Paris Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Food and Restaurants
Just as the culinary arts are central to French culture, food and restaurants play a central role in The Paris Novel. Much of the story takes place in various iconic restaurants, bistros, and cafes in Paris, and Reichl indulges in sensory descriptions of the food, painting Stella’s culinary experiences in vivid detail. These descriptions serve several purposes within the novel. They challenge Stella’s traumatic associations with food, allowing her to connect to the joyful precision and artistry of French cuisine—an important element both in Stella’s character development and in depicting the cultural setting of Paris. Food also represents an awakening of Stella’s previously untapped potential, as she discovers a talent for appreciating food and identifying flavors. Reichl’s vivid descriptions capture the intensity of Stella’s various meals throughout Paris, creating a stark contrast between her former life consisting of plain, scheduled meals and her new, spontaneous, multi-sensory experiences, where she allows herself to fully indulge in the pleasures of quality food. Food is the primary way in which Stella opens herself up to new experiences and allows more pleasure and novelty into her life, becoming a vehicle for her character growth. Just as reuniting with her father gives Stella a clearer sense of herself, her discovery of her passion for cooking and food catalyzes a journey of Self-Discovery Through Food and Art.
In The Paris Novel, Stella and Jules’s friendship develops over meals and wine, and Stella connects with others—including Lucie, the Tumbleweeds, and finally her own father—through cooking. In France, as in many cultures, meals and food represent vital tools for connection and celebration, symbolizing the bonds of family and friendship—things that Stella comes to embrace during her time in Paris, culminating in her decision to open a restaurant with her father.
The Dior Dress
On her first day in Paris, Stella wanders into a dress shop, and the shopkeeper encourages her to try on a black vintage Dior dress. This moment, and the chain of chance encounters that it triggers, adds to the sense of enchantment that characterizes Reichl’s depiction of Paris. The shopkeeper alludes to Cinderella when outfitting Stella in the new dress and shoes, hinting at the transformation that Stella will make over the course of the story, from timid and unassuming to bold and self-assured. Her relationship to the dress mirrors her character growth throughout the novel: Trying on the dress for the first time allows Stella to briefly envision herself as someone else, but she quickly takes it off and leaves the shop, showing her resistance to adopting this new identity. Later, she wears the dress for a day, but when her fears are triggered, she returns it and tries to return to a more comfortable, scheduled life. Finally, at the end of the novel, the dress is presented to her with her name on the tag, symbolizing her full transition from her comfortable, safe life into a life of greater adventure and pleasure, allowing her to step into a more confident and authentic version of herself. Many stories use fashion to evoke a “Cinderella moment” to demonstrate or foreshadow a character’s internal transformation. In Reichl’s novel, the Dior dress symbolizes Stella embrace of her authentic self.
Reichl also makes the dress central to the novel’s inciting incident. Because it belonged to Jules’s beloved late wife, it catches his attention and prompts him to introduce himself and befriend Stella, catalyzing her journey to finding Victorine’s lost artwork, as well as a family, a community, and self-acceptance. Further, Jules’s gift of Séverine’s other clothes hints at parallels between her and Stella, highlighting the familial nature of their bond; Stella inherits Séverine’s clothes as a daughter would, becoming part of Jules’s family.
Edouard Manet’s Olympia
Stella’s introduction to Edouard Manet’s painting Olympia not only provides the engine that pushes the plot forward during her continued stay in Paris but also fuels her character growth. As Jules explains to Stella, the painting caused controversy upon its exhibition; the subject is a sex worker, one “with no shame, a prostitute who dares to think she is a woman of substance” (44). The image conveys confidence, brashness, and self-assuredness. Stella feels captivated not only by the painting but also by the story of the woman who modeled for it.
Seeking out Victorine gives Stella a concrete, physical goal as she uncovers the details of the painter’s life and work and serves as an emotional goal as well—as Stella uncovers Victorine’s life and her talents that went overshadowed, she finds her own inner confidence and is led through a series of chance encounters that help her embrace her personal identity.
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By Ruth Reichl
