The Married Couple of the Year Two (1971) Plot Summary Explained

Nicolas needs a divorce to marry a wealthy plantation owner's daughter in South Carolina. He fled France after killing a nobleman who was too friendly with Charlotte, but his successful life in America requires him to be legally single. The newly established French Republic has legalized divorce, so he returns to France specifically to obtain this legal separation.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Nicolas killed a nobleman over Charlotte's honor, showing his intense feelings for her despite his willingness to move on.

• divorce
• Charlotte
• Nicolas
• marriage
• South Carolina

When Nicolas discovers Charlotte at the isolated castle, she presents herself as a widow. This deception appears to be a survival strategy during the chaotic Reign of Terror. As a widow, she might have had more freedom and protection in a world where a married woman alone would raise suspicions, especially amid the political turmoil.

• Charlotte
• widow
• castle
• deception
• survival

The Prince from London arrives to organize royalist resistance in the Vendée and becomes romantically interested in Charlotte. When Charlotte admits she is married to Nicolas, the Prince sees an opportunity, he arranges for Nicolas to be drugged and taken to the Hôtel de Ville in Nantes to obtain a divorce, hoping to clear the way for his own courtship.

Foreshadowing: The gypsy prophesied Charlotte would become a princess, giving her hope that attracts the Prince.

• Prince
• Charlotte
• divorce
• royal
• London

A gypsy tells Charlotte she will become a princess, which excites her and attracts the London Prince's attention. Fifteen years later, in approximately 1808, Napoleon elevates Nicolas to the rank of prince. This makes Charlotte a princess by marriage, fulfilling the gypsy's prediction despite the winding road the couple takes to get there.

Foreshadowing: The gypsy prophecy is introduced early, setting up the ending before the chase even begins.

• gypsy
• prophecy
• princess
• Napoleon
• prince

After being drugged and taken to Nantes for a forced divorce, Nicolas sees the divorce certificate blow overboard into the Loire River. Rather than letting the document disappear and remaining trapped in the legal scheme, he jumps into the river to escape. He swims ashore, hoping to find Charlotte, but discovers she has already left with the Prince for neutral Germany.

Foreshadowing: The drugging and forced divorce attempt directly trigger this desperate escape.

• Loire
• escape
• divorce certificate
• Nicolas
• river

After the divorce scheme fails, Charlotte departs with the London Prince for neutral Germany. The Prince has been charmed by her and interested in pursuing her romantically. Charlotte, having been told she would become a princess, sees potential status and security with the Prince, especially given the chaos of revolutionary France.

Foreshadowing: The Prince's attraction to Charlotte was evident from the moment he arrived and was struck by her.

• Charlotte
• Prince
• Germany
• leave
• pursuit

The Prince has Nicolas drugged to render him unconscious, then has him carried to the Hôtel de Ville in Nantes to obtain a divorce through legal manipulation. Nicolas survives the drugging because it appears to be a sedative rather than a lethal poison. The drugging is meant to render him compliant, not to kill him, as the Prince needs him alive to sign divorce papers.

• Nicolas
• drug
• Prince
• Nantes
• Hôtel de Ville

The divorce certificate blows overboard from the boat carrying Nicolas before it can be finalized. This accident derails the Prince's plan to force a quick divorce and gives Nicolas an opportunity to escape. The certificate landing in the Loire River symbolizes the failure of the artificial separation scheme and allows the story to continue its pursuit narrative.

Foreshadowing: The certificate's loss is a pivotal accident that changes the entire direction of the plot.

• divorce certificate
• Loire
• accident
• escape
• blow

Nicolas returns to revolutionary France in 1793 specifically to obtain a divorce. The stakes are high because his future in South Carolina, specifically his potential marriage to a wealthy plantation owner's daughter, depends on being legally single. The risk of returning during the Reign of Terror is worth the reward of securing his American dreams.

Foreshadowing: His success in South Carolina and the prospect of wealth drive him to take this dangerous journey.

• Nicolas
• return
• France
• danger
• divorce

Fifteen years after the chaotic events of 1793, Napoleon elevates Nicolas to the rank of prince. This dramatic reversal of fortune transforms him from a fugitive fleeing murder charges to a noble of the Empire. The promotion fulfills the gypsy's prophecy that Charlotte would become a princess, and marks the culmination of Nicolas's long journey from convict to aristocrat.

Foreshadowing: The gypsy prophecy explicitly predicts Charlotte's future as a princess, setting up this ending.

• Napoleon
• prince
• Empire
• elevation
• title