Chapter 11 Summary

The narrator doesn't have to worry about breaking his contract with Hotel X because it is six weeks before the Auberge de Jehan Cottard shows any signs of opening. In the meantime, he is working 14-hour days at Hotel X.

The narrator describes his routine as a plongeur. During rush times, such as breakfast, the kitchen workers rush madly from one task to another, never really catching up until the rush is over. At two o'clock in the afternoon, they have a break. They go out to a bistro and get some fresh, above-ground air, returning to the hotel by a quarter to five and work until nine. This is their schedule six days a week. Some days the narrator feels so tired he doesn't think he can possibly work, but after an hour in the underground kitchen he feels perfectly well.

Chapter 11 Analysis