Francoise

I'm going to be writing this as I read, so bear with me.

First thing I notice that caught my eye is that Francoise was raised by her Grandparents, while her parents and her siblings lived nearby. It's definitely different than our society today and one would even say weird. Who knows, maybe that was normal back then. I wonder how that affected Francoise psychology, you know? How different she would have turned out if she was actually raised by her parents and actually lived with her siblings, because living with her grandparents meant that she probably had characteristics matching those of an only child more than that of having siblings.
I mean, my grandparents helped raised me because they ended up living with my parents after we were born, so I guess it's a little like that except for the fact my parents were still my primary caretakers and I lived with them and my sister and brother.

Although Francoise's father was an enlightened thinker, he had peasants, that he actually treated well, but still believed in the differences and ownership between the two. Which, for that time, was actually good. We can't expect people to automatically give up society's way of thinking. It's how they grew up, theo only thing they knew at the time.

Oh, the woes of being a female in those times. Only two options for life: live a virgin life, or getting married, have kids, and be sexually active while taking care of the household or whatever responsibilities came with marriage. I mean, those choices are still okay, but it isn't okay if when they  are the only two options. And Francoise chose the virgin life. and would have rather lived a more simple life than the extravagant life she was born into.