My Mother’s Castle by Marcel Pagnol (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of My Mother’s Castle by Marcel Pagnol. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including friendship, time and memory. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 50-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Marcel Pagnol
• Presentation of My Mother’s Castle
• Summary of My Mother’s Castle
• Character study
  • Marcel
  • Lili
  • Augustine
  • Paul
  • Bouzigue
  • The secondary characters
• Analysis of My Mother’s Castle
  •  A story about friendship
  • Going against one’s principles
  • The depiction of time
  • An oral writing style

About My Mother’s Castle

My Mother’s Castle is the second instalment in Marcel Pagnol’s Souvenirs d’enfance (“Childhood Memories”), a series of autobiographical novels which paint a nostalgic picture of the author’s childhood in the French countryside. My Mother’s Castle begins directly after the events of the first novel, and follows the young Marcel as he forges a close friendship with Lili, a country boy who teaches him new hunting techniques and paths through the hills. This nostalgic tale is also a loving tribute to the author’s late mother, who plays a central role in the plot. My Mother’s Castle was originally published in French in 1957, and a film adaptation was released in 1990.

About Marcel Pagnol

Marcel Pagnol was born in Provence in 1895. After initially following in his father’s footsteps to embark on a career as a teacher, he turned his hand to writing, and enjoyed great success as a playwright and later as a film director, becoming the first film director to be elected to the Académie française in 1938. He made his literary debut in 1957 with the joint publication of My Father’s Glory and My Mother’s Castle, the first two volumes in his acclaimed autobiographical Souvenirs d’enfance (“Childhood Memories”) series. He died in Paris in 1974.