French Exit

French Exit is Patrick deWitt’s fourth novel, published in 2018 by House of Anansi Press. DeWitt’s second novel, The Sisters Brothers, published in 2011, brought him widespread acclaim after winning several awards and was adapted into a film in 2018. French Exit, too, was adapted into a film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges by Sony Pictures Classic in 2020. The novel was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize and was critically acclaimed for its sly humor and clever storytelling. The title is a reference to the term “French exit,” sometimes “French leave” or “Irish goodbye,” which refers to a sudden departure, often from a party or gathering, without notice.

This study guide uses the e-book edition of the novel published in 2018 by Ecco Press.

Content Warning: This guide describes and analyzes the source text’s treatment of death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Frances Price and her son, Malcolm Price, members of Manhattan’s wealthy elite, leave a dinner party early, despite the hostess’s best efforts, and look over a picture frame that Malcolm stole from the hostess’s house. They are accustomed to this type of elite social gathering and find themselves bored by this latest in a string of dull parties.

Frances is due to meet their financial advisor, Mr. Baker, the next day to discuss their precarious financial situation, of which Malcolm doesn’t know the full extent. While she is on the phone that night with her best friend, Joan, a lizard darts out into her bedroom. Frances and Malcolm pack bags and leave in the middle of the night to avoid the lizard, taking suites at the Four Seasons. Frances is given an excuse to delay her meeting with Mr. Baker, and they return to the apartment in the morning, after the doorman has dealt with the lizard.

Frances meets with Mr. Baker, who informs her that she is out of money and that her property and possessions are due to be repossessed by the bank. He advises her to sell what possessions she can before they are taken, reflecting that he doesn’t understand why, despite his many warnings, she has let her wealth completely drain away.

That night, Frances tells Malcolm the news, and they arrange to sell their possessions. When they are deciding where to go, Joan suggests they move into her Paris apartment. Frances finds this idea attractive for a few reasons—she will escape the New York gossip about her latest scandal, and Paris has always held special meaning for her.

There is no question that Malcolm will go with her; since his father died and Frances took him out of boarding school, they have been inseparable. His fiancée, Susan, has already had difficulty building a serious relationship with him because of this, and when she finds out that he is moving to Paris with Frances rather than staying with her, she breaks up with him, despite still being in love.

Frances and Malcolm travel by ship to France, taking their cat, Small Frank, along with them. On board, Malcolm meets a medium, Madeleine, who can see a green aura around people who are about to die. Madeleine upsets a woman by telling her she is about to die. Madeleine is fired, but the woman dies that night. Madeleine understands, as Frances and Malcolm do, that Small Frank is possessed by Franklin, Frances’s husband and Malcolm’s father.

Frances and Malcolm’s arrival in Paris is uneventful until they receive a dinner invitation from Madame (Mme) Reynard. Although she is an American, they don’t know her and are dismayed when they arrive to find that they are the only guests. Mme Reynard, however, becomes a part of their lives in Paris.

Malcolm becomes worried about Frances, who is not acting like her usual self. Frances tells Small Frank a secret (that she’s planning to kill him), and the cat, who is still possessed by Franklin, runs away. Frances and Malcolm turn to Mme Reynard for advice, though neither Malcolm nor Mme knows the reason Small Frank ran away in the first place. They hire an investigator, who tracks down Madeleine, the medium, and she is able to contact Franklin, even though the cat is still missing. When Franklin and Malcolm speak to each other, Malcolm loses his temper, unleashing all the bitterness and anger he has felt toward his father since he was a child.

Frances, meanwhile, has been pursuing the first part of her “two-part plan,” which is to spend the rest of her money. She decides to have an extravagant party with her last few thousand euros. Joan arrives from New York, worried about her friend, and Susan and her new fiancé, Tom, also arrive unexpectedly. Everyone who Frances has come in contact with, from Madeleine to Mme Reynard, and Joan, Susan, and Tom, all attend the party. Susan’s fiancé, Tom, leaves when he realizes that Susan still loves Malcolm.

That night, Malcolm walks Frances to her bedroom, and she advises him to let go of his anger toward Franklin and stop giving his father so much of his energy. Malcolm and Susan go to his bedroom, but Susan can’t sleep. She goes into the kitchen to make a cup of tea and finds Frances there, smoking a cigarette in the dark. For the first time, Frances softens toward her, admitting that she knows she acts terribly around Susan. She makes a cup of tea for Susan and sends her back to bed.

Later, after everyone is asleep, Frances runs a bath and cuts her arms, dying by suicide, the second part of her plan. Mme Reynard finds her in the morning and calls the police. She begs Malcolm not to look, but he does, facing the fact of his mother’s death. He admits to the police that he isn’t entirely surprised by Frances’s actions. After he leaves the police station, he sits on a bench and thinks about Frances. When he catches the scent of flowers that remind him of her perfume, he goes into a nearby florist and buys an armful of pink flowers. Leaving the florist, he enters the crowds of Paris, feeling a part of the bustling city, with the idea of giving the flowers to Susan.