The Event (2.3)
Annie Ernaux
Translated by xia23
At the beginning of October, for several times I made love to P., a student of political science, whom I had met in vacations and went to see again, in Bordeaux. I knew myself the risk in a period, according to Ogino [9] calendar of birth control, but I never believed “this could take” in the interior of my stomach. In love and pleasure, I did not feel an intrinsic body different from men’s.
All images of my stay in Bordeaux – the room on Pasteur Avenue with incessant noise from vehicles, the narrow bed, the Montaigne terrace, the theater where people had seen an epic, “Abduction of Sabines” [10] – only had the sole significance: I was here and I did not know that I was full of energy to become pregnant.
The nurse of Crous gave me an injection that evening, without comments and another one the following morning. It was the weekend of November 11. I returned to my parents’ house. In a moment I had a quick and brief flow of pinkish blood. I dumped my underwear and my stained pants on the pile of dirty linen, good on evidence. (Agenda: incoherent outpouring. Something to distract my mother). On my return to Rouen, I called my doctor N. who confirmed my state and announced he would give me a pregnancy certificate. I received it later. Child birth of: Ms. Annie Duchesne. Prediction: July 8, 1964. I saw the summer, I saw the sun. I tore the certificate.
I wrote to P., that I was pregnant and I did not want to keep it. We had parted the uncertainty about the rest of our relationship and I felt satisfaction from disrupting his carefreeness, even though I had no illusion over the profound relief which my decision of abortion caused him.
One week later, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. But that was not something I could be interested in.
[9]. Ogino method of birth control:
Calendar-based methods are various methods of estimating a woman's likelihood of fertility, based on a record of the length of previous menstrual cycles. Various methods are known as the Knaus–Ogino method and the rhythm method.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar-based_contraceptive_methods
[10]. Abduction of Sabine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abduction_of_a_Sabine_Woman
Ancient Rome vs. the Sabine people (document):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i44ASEfU5M8
