From the book
The Gods Are Athirst
Anatole France · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Lemma.
Greluchon is a disparaging term for a woman’s favoured lover, historically distinguished from her paying protectors. The narrator’s account of Élodie’s former lover replaces Gamelin’s imagined aristocratic seducer with a clerk turned sans-culotte dragoon who sought older wealthy women. Henry’s later designation as Rochemaure’s greluchon, and his anxiety at losing her favour, place intimacy beside financial dependence. “Favoured lover” is more exact than friend, admirer or husband; the term’s historical nuance does not establish the economics of every relationship or dissolve the characters’ connections across class categories.
Places to read
- Chapter V, paragraph 30Frenchle greluchon d’une ci-devant: a favoured lover of a formerly noble woman. The narrator’s actual account replaces Gamelin’s invented aristocratic seducer.
- Chapter XI, paragraph 7Frenchson greluchon: her favoured lover. The phrase identifies Henry while reporting concern about his excessive political performance.
- Chapter XI, paragraph 19FrenchIl comptait sur elle pour satisfaire à certaines dépenses: he relied on her to meet certain expenses. Henry’s dependence accompanies his displeasure at losing Rochemaure’s favour and his suspicion that she might have him imprisoned; the suspicion is not an accomplished act.