Story of Women

Marie begins performing illegal abortions out of economic necessity. After helping a neighbor who became pregnant while her husband was away, Marie discovers she has a skill for it and starts charging women for the service. With her husband Paul unable to find work and their finances precarious, the money from abortions becomes their primary source of income.

After one abortion ends in the woman's death and her husband commits suicide, Marie simply shrugs off the tragedy. This reaction demonstrates how far she has drifted from conventional morality, her desensitization reflects the moral compromise she has made to survive. The harsh wartime environment and her growing cynicism have numbed her to human tragedy.

Marie starts the daytime affair primarily out of boredom and a desire for excitement. Her life has become consumed by the grim business of performing abortions, and her marriage to Paul is emotionally dead. The collaborator represents an escape from her monotonous existence, though the affair also intertwines with her professional ambitions.

Marie offers the maid a raise to sleep with Paul as a manipulative scheme to control her husband or improve her own position within the household. The arrangement reveals the extent of Marie's moral decay, she treats sex as a transactional tool rather than an intimate act. Paul strongly resists this coercion.

Paul denounces Marie to the police after discovering her asleep with her collaborator. While he had tolerated her business and the arranged prostitution, discovering her open infidelity triggers his betrayal. His denunciation is also motivated by the legal risk she poses to the family, her activities under the Vichy regime constitute a capital crime.

The Vichy regime enacts a law criminalizing abortion as treasonable, aiming to enforce morality and combat population decline. Marie's illegal abortion business makes her a target under this new law. After being denounced, she is arrested, condemned to death, and executed by guillotine, the brutal punishment reflecting the regime's harsh enforcement of wartime morality.

A fortune teller tells Marie that nothing but good things await her, a prediction that proves bitterly ironic given her eventual execution. The prediction seems to suggest a future 'orbiting around many women,' possibly hinting at her role performing abortions for numerous women, though this ambiguous prophecy ultimately underscores the tragic disconnect between hope and outcome.

After Paul's return from the German POW camp, the marriage fractures due to multiple factors: Paul is wounded and unable to find work, making him feel inadequate. Marie has grown emotionally distant and contemptuous, resisting his sexual advances. Their relationship becomes increasingly transactional, held together only by financial necessity rather than affection.

A music teacher tells Marie she possesses a remarkable singing voice, fueling her dormant ambition to become a famous singer. This represents Marie's sole remaining aspiration toward genuine self-fulfillment and escape from her grim reality. The dream of stardom contrasts sharply with the moral compromises she makes in her daily life.

Marie expands her illegal abortion operation significantly, she begins by helping a neighbor, then starts charging fees. As demand grows, she transforms her home into a workspace, allowing prostitutes to use the bedrooms during the day. She eventually hires a maid to help manage the workload, turning their apartment into a busy underground clinic amid wartime chaos.

Marie pushes to move to a larger flat primarily to accommodate her expanding illegal abortion business. The bigger space allows her to conduct her operations more freely and bring in prostitutes as boarders. This move signals her transition from desperate mother to pragmatic criminal entrepreneur, prioritizing her business needs over financial prudence.

Marie allows prostitutes to use their bedrooms during the day to make ends meet. This arrangement provides income while her abortion business grows. The decision further blurs the lines between her legitimate household and her illicit operations, turning her home into a morally compromised workspace.