Coco, a Kept Woman Summary and Analysis

Chanel's mother died in 1895 when Gabrielle was only twelve years old. A week after her death, her father left, and the fate of Gabrielle and Julia would be life in the region's largest orphanage. At eighteen, Chanel had to decide whether to go to the streets or to enter the novitiate at her orphanage, since those were the only options for girls at her age. She chose the novitiate, although she had little interest in religious life, and she was to conduct her life there in marked contrast to the girls who were there with the means to pay. She was there for two years with not a word from her father.

After those two years, however, Chanel was placed by the canonesses in a hosiery shop that was the height of elegance. During her...