What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story takes place at a college campus and its surrounding grounds. Key locations include secluded woods by the shore and a church connected to Solange's father. The setting blends academic life with hidden decadence, using dimly lit interiors and outdoor spaces to create an atmosphere of mystery and danger.

• college campus
• woods
• church
• setting
• location

Solange Beauregard is a mysterious new student who becomes involved with a victim circle connected to a secret club. After experiencing trauma from her first orgy and subsequent abortion, she slips into a muted, childlike state. Her connections to the secret club and her father, Professor Bascombe, tie her to the deadly web of events unfolding at the school.

• solange
• camille keaton
• character
• trauma
• victim

Professor Bascombe is Solange's father and a wealthy tenured professor at the college. He maintains tight control over the school's truth and the fates of victims. His grim secret life and manipulation of events underline the film's themes of power, hypocrisy, and familial ruin, culminating in a confession and suicide that expose the depths of institutional corruption.

• professor bascombe
• father
• professor
• hypocrisy
• power

Enrico Rosseni is an Italian college professor at the center of the investigation. His affair with student Elizabeth Seccles makes him a prime suspect in the murders. He cooperates with police and helps discover a hedonistic secret club among students, driving the investigation that eventually links the victims and exposes the hidden network of violence.

• enrico rosseni
• fabio testi
• professor
• investigation
• affair

The film explores three interconnected themes: Murder Secrets, where hidden relationships and secret clubs conceal violent acts and enable tragedy; Trauma, focusing on Solange's psychological damage from sexual abuse and abortion that persists across generations; and Hypocrisy, examining how authority figures manipulate appearances while engaging in secret decadence, exposing the gap between public morality and private excess.

• themes
• secrets
• trauma
• hypocrisy
• meaning

The film argues that secrecy enables violence and silence. Murders follow patterns tied to victims' social ties within the school's inner circle. The pursuit of truth meets resistance from those who protect reputations and avoid scandal. Characters who try to expose the truth face deadly consequences, illustrating how institutional secrecy protects perpetrators while victims remain vulnerable.

• secrecy
• silence
• violence
• scandal
• truth

The film critiques hypocrisy through authority figures like Professor Bascombe and wealthy members of the school community who manipulate appearances to maintain control. A culture of secret sex among students is quietly tolerated while public morality is proclaimed. The killer's confession and Bascombe's suicide reveal how masks and roles conceal darker truths, showing that those who preach virtue often embody the corruption they deny.

• hypocrisy
• authority
• double standards
• power
• corruption

Trauma is central to the film's emotional core. Solange's experience with her first sexual encounter and subsequent abortion leaves lasting psychological damage, causing her to withdraw into muteness and childlike behavior. The film suggests trauma can persist across generations, fueling desperate actions from both victims and those affected by their suffering, making psychological harm as significant as the physical violence.

• trauma
• psychological
• solange
• abuse
• mental health

The secret club is a hedonistic group of students who engage in sexual activities and are connected to the string of murders targeting their circle. This underground network operates within the college, concealed behind the institution's respectable exterior. The club's existence and the protected nature of its members create the web of relationships that links victims and eventually helps investigators uncover the truth behind the killings.

• secret club
• students
• hedonism
• underground
• network