In this chapter, we learn that the protagonist is a young man who has been orphaned. He has come to live with his family in a small seaside town in the south of France. He is very fond of his family, especially his mother, who is the only person in the whole town who is not a member of the aristocracy. The protagonist's mother, however, is not as fond of the protagonist as she is of her own son. She is very protective of her son and does not want him to grow up to be anything other than a normal young man. In fact, she does not allow him to have any contact with the outside world, even though he is her son. He tells his mother that he wants to marry her, but his mother refuses to marry him because she is afraid that he will not be able to provide for his family. She tells him that she will not marry him if he does not take care of his mother's possessions. She also tells him not to tell anyone that he is engaged in a sexual relationship with another woman. She says that he should not tell anyone about his engagement to another woman until he has been married for a long period of time. She asks him to tell her that he