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1-Page Summary of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Overall Summary
In December of 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed and unable to speak. After he awoke from his coma in January of 1996, he was able to communicate only by blinking his left eyelid—the part of the body over which he had any control. He spent the summer composing a memoir with the help of an interpreter and speech therapist at Berck-sur-Mer hospital in France. The memoir includes memories from before the stroke as well as deepest fantasies about returning to normal life.
As Bauby spends the summer of 1996 writing his memoir, he reflects on his “locked-in syndrome” which leaves him feeling like he is encased in a heavy diving bell. He also describes what it’s like to be stuck in the hospital with limited mobility and time for visitors. He writes about some of the other patients who are there longer than him because they have worse problems than being paralyzed. He also mentions how much he misses having visits from his former partner Sylvie and their children Céleste and Théophile, whom he worries might be scared that their father is now disabled. He thinks about sending out an email newsletter to all of Elle magazine’s employees so that they can read about what happened to him, but then realizes that this would only fuel rumors on the streets of Paris if people found out that one of their editors had become a “vegetable.” In between these thoughts, Bauby gets through sponge baths and tube feedings by imagining luxurious soaks in his tub at home in Paris as well as delicious meals from when he was younger. Because Bauby can’t move or speak normally anymore due to being paralyzed after suffering a stroke while working on this book, he imagines himself doing different things such as directing movies at Cinecittá studios in Rome or being part of Empress Eugenie’s royal coterie during Napoleon III’s reign over France; enduring physical therapy sessions where therapists stretch muscles around his mouth; enduring speech therapy where therapists help him practice speaking again; coping with terrible nightmares where everyone around him has disappeared except for strangers who don’t recognize or acknowledge him; recalling funny anecdotes from when he worked at Elle magazine such as running into someone wearing similar clothes (but not realizing until later); dreaming up ideas for plays based on experiences since becoming paralyzed; daydreaming about traveling to exotic locations with friends who still work at Elle magazine including going scuba diving off Fiji islands among others places even though those trips will never happen again because all those people no longer work together anymore anyway ; thinking back fondly upon memories involving old co-workers before getting sick
The story is told in short chapters that reflect the quick, fleeting thoughts of Bauby. It’s a way for him to escape his situation and express himself. He explains how he feels trapped inside the diving bell, but he still searches for something that will allow him to be free from it.
Prologue
As the light of dawn began to appear, Bauby looked around his room and noticed a few things: pictures of loved ones, posters, and toys. He felt like he was trapped under an enormous diving bell that kept him from moving.
On December 8, 1997, Bauby suffered a stroke. The stroke affected his brain stem and left him paralyzed. He is now trapped in his own body but has full consciousness of the world around him. To communicate with the outside world he must blink his left eye to answer yes or no questions because that’s the only part of his body he can move.
