The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Bauby reveals much of his character through his careful, precise, and lush prose. Throughout the book, he reveals himself to be a highly sensitive, intelligent man with a vibrant and nuanced emotional and intellectual life. His recurring penchant for self-deprecation, even in the midst of a catastrophic illness, demonstrates a good sense of humor. His tendency to launch into flights of fancy without any qualifiers is a product of his mischievous, imaginative spirit. He repeatedly asserts compassionate understanding for all of those around him, even the hospital staff that do not treat his body with the most care—thus displaying a generosity of spirit and a humane empathy.

Of equal weight in Bauby’s character is the depth of love and grief that he can feel. In fact, it is in the moments that he is expressing the deepest love that his sense of bereavement becomes must acute—signaling that while he is clearly capable of the most transcendent of human emotions, he is also no stranger to the depths of despair and darkness. It is true, however, that his sense of wonder, imagination, and magic ultimately take up more narrative space than his forays into darkness—suggesting that, ultimately, Bauby’s character is most strongly dominated by his sense of hope and his thirst for the good and beautiful in life. He is part realist and part jokester, but he is most consummately a dreamer and a lover.