The Happy Time1952

Jacques Bonnard:
I think you and I should have a little talk. Sit down, Bibi. Well, there is no need to ask you why you did what you did. The reason is obvious: you did it because... why did you do it?

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
I had a desire to know what would happen... if I kissed Mignonette the way Valentino did.

Jacques Bonnard:
You were curious.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
Oui, curious.

Jacques Bonnard:
Nothing more.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
There is something more, but I don't know what it is.

Jacques Bonnard:
Ah. Well. It is this 'something more' of which we shall speak. Now you see, Bibi, this... desire you have, it's a natural one, and since it is natural, it cannot be bad. It becomes bad only when the reason is bad. That is why so many people are mixed up

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
I, too, am mixed up.

Jacques Bonnard:
Well, of course! So am I. Well, let's try to unmix ourselves, shall we? Now, Bibi, we speak now of love. And where there is love, there is also desire; they go together. Love must have the desire; I don't believe there can be love without it. But, it is possible to have the desire without love, and this is where the world falls apart. For instance, you don't understand why the principal of your school beat you.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
No, papa.

Jacques Bonnard:
Well, it is because he has been brought up to believe that the desire is wrong. And since he himself has the desire, he's even more mixed up than we are! He has been brought up in a world where the desire has been used so badly-so badly, believe me-that it itself is thought to be bad; and this is wrong. This is wrong, Bibi. And you know the reason for this condition? It is because so many people are without love.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
Many people?

Jacques Bonnard:
Many.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
Uncle Louis?

Jacques Bonnard:
You love your Uncle Louis, don't you?

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
I love him strongly.

Jacques Bonnard:
That's good. He has a great need of love. And without love, one is defeated.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
But this love is different. The love I have for Uncle Louis is different from the love I have for you; this also is different from the way I love maman. And then... Mignonette.

Jacques Bonnard:
Eh, oui, Bibi. And this love we speak of now, when it is real, when it is true, it is the greatest love of all. I know; we have it here, in this house, Maman and I; it is the best, it is the most natural. In this way, the world comes down to a house, and a room, and a bed, and if there are two people in love there, then that is the whole world. Of course, you won't know this for many years. You know it is possible never to know it? I hope you will. If you are as lucky as I am, you will.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
I will look for someone like Maman!

Jacques Bonnard:
Oh, no! No, no, no, no! On the contrary: the secret is not to imitate. Look for your heart's need, and then she will come. Well, I've talked enough, and still you don't know what I wish to say.

Robert 'Bibi' Bonnard:
I think I do.

Jacques Bonnard:
Well, perhaps, when we speak of this again, I will find better words.