Marie

Susannah Flynn

Susannah plays Marie, the cook and housekeeper of the Comte's house.

The following is Marie's story, written by Susannah:

Marie’s family was a family of servants/cooks and it’s history went back very far. Marie’s parents, Percy and Annette, had four children, Catherine, Lucille, Marie and later, Henri. As a young girl, Marie would sit in the servants yard while her parents worked in the kitchen. Her older sisters would play with her, except when they were called away to do some task for their parents. When Marie was 13, she would do errands for her parents; gathering food here, watching her baby brother there. At 15 she became a servant in the house and often did kitchen work. Her father taught her all he knew about cooking foods and keeping kitchen. Marie’s mother would play around with her, but would call her fool child when she was upset with her. Catherine and Lucille were not very friendly to Marie, and when she tried to help with something one of them were doing, they would ridicule her for messing something up.

When Marie was 18 she was sent off to another household to be assistant cook. There she had to adjust to the different ways of the new kitchen. Because of being new, Marie’s fellow servants tried to show her her place, by telling her to stay out of the way and to do as she was told. Slowly, but surely, Marie got on the good side of the staff. She mostly stayed in the kitchen, but occasionally went elsewhere. When Marie was 26 years old she became ‘second in command’. Then, after twelve years of working at the house, Marie, being capable of running a kitchen herself, was sent off to another household (the Rousseaus), to be the cook.

In her new job Marie took the responsibility to make everything perfect. She took to calling the kitchen maid, Celise, fool child when she did/said something stupid or dumb. Marie tried to please her Comte and Comtesse even when she had to make something extra just to satisfy their spoiled daughter, Odette. She didn’t like distractions when she was in the middle of making something and wished that she could have a more responsible helper than Celise, who had an ‘obsession’ of ghosts. But even with her ‘obsession’, Celise was helpful.

Although she led a hard life, Marie still cherished what she had with Celise and Sophie (the housemaid), which were family to her. They cared for one another even though they had rough relationships.