French Exit

Frances’s lighter appears in the opening paragraphs of the novel; it is symbolic of her power, and what she sees as her power’s source: her money, social class, and beauty. The lighter is gold, giving it clear financial value, but beyond that, Frances “liked this lighter best due to its satisfying weight, and the distinguished click! it made at the moment of ignition” (3). Its obvious value, sophistication, and beauty echo Frances herself.

Fire, more broadly is a founding element for Frances. Her father smelled of smoke, and the same smell on Franklin attracted her to him. As a child, Frances purposefully burned her room to attract her mother’s attention. This establishes fire as Frances’s way to assert, or reassert, her power, and the lighter becomes the portable, pocket-sized tool for this. She wields her lighter in the same way that she wields her money, class, and beauty. Just after she uses it with a hostess whose party she is leaving, she uses it again with a police officer: “She held up the lighter and lit it: click! The flame, stubby and blue-bottomed, was positioned between them, as though defining a border” (7). Frances uses the lighter to express emotion while separating herself from the other person.