Diary of a Chambermaid

Celestine, a stylish young chambermaid from Paris, arrives at a provincial estate in late 1920s France and is hired to work for the elderly Monsieur Rabour. She joins a small household with a cook, a timid maid named Marianne, and Joseph the groom. Rabour insists on calling her Marie, a nickname he has used for all his previous maids, and he watches as she reads to him and moves about in certain shoes, touching her leg as she reads.

Rabour behaves with a possessive, protective air toward Celestine, defending her from his daughter when a lamp is broken and admiring the way she wears her shoes. He touches her leg while she reads to him and keeps guiding the household to his favor. This early dynamic foreshadows the coercive power structure in the house.

One day, Rabour is found dead in his bed, clutching the pair of boots Celestine had last worn for him. The staff is shaken, and the quiet of the house gives way to speculation and unease. Celestine is left to reckon with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.

Shortly after Rabour's death, Joseph encounters Claire, a prepubescent girl who frequents the estate's kitchens and woods. In the woods near the estate, he rapes and kills her, and the crime goes undiscovered at first.

Six days later, Claire's body is found, and the estate buzzes with fear and rumors of a killer in their midst. Celestine, who had planned to return to Paris after quitting her job, begins to suspect Joseph and resolves to stay, gather evidence, and implicate him.

Joseph notices Celestine searching through his room and confronts her. Despite their long-standing antagonism, he declares his love for her, complicating the dynamic between them. The moment deepens the tension as a possible motive and alliance form between them.

To tempt Joseph, Celestine waits for him in his bed, but he resists, saying they should wait for a proper marriage and a future together. He reveals plans to marry her and open a cafe in Cherbourg, hinting that political turmoil might benefit their future. The exchange blends desire with strategic risk.

Joseph and Celestine announce their engagement, and he seems resolved to marry her. She swears on a crucifix that she will marry him so he will sleep with her, and she urges him to admit he killed Claire, but he refuses and tells her to be quiet.

Celestine removes the metal toe plate from one of Joseph's shoes, a crucial detail that links him to Claire's murder. Two police officers arrive and arrest the couple, seizing the evidence at the scene and signaling the collapse of their plans.

As he is led away, Joseph tells Celestine that he was not wearing those shoes the day Claire was killed, complicating the case against him. Believing she has avenged Claire, Celestine decides to pivot her loyalties toward Mauger, the neighbor who has shown interest in her.

Mauger, the older neighbor, waits on Celestine and even alters his will to leave her everything. She treats his proposal coolly, remaining unsettled by the recent violence and the shifting loyalties around her. The dynamics of power in the village continue to shift.

In Cherbourg, Joseph cheers on a parade of nationalistic men as they march past his café, which his younger wife has helped populate with soldiers. The scene situates him within a rising political mood and contrasts his earlier violence with public spectacle. It marks a stark turn toward power, loyalty, and the costs of ambition.