Paul

Grew Up… in America, a place now haunted by his bad memories. He’ll never return to his home country, so long as he has any say in the matter.

Living… in a rat-trap of a Parisian hotel, populated by drunkards and whores. In fact, it’s the very same hotel that Paul’s late wife used to own. “It’s kind of a dump,” he admits, “but not completely a flop house.”

Visiting… an empty apartment every afternoon, for the purpose of having sex with a mysterious young woman whose name he refuses to know. The flat in the 11^th Arrondissement has become the center of Paul’s life ever since his wife died by committing suicide. Perhaps this is his curious way of mourning her.

Relationship Status… widowed, but involved in a passionate (if violent) sexual affair with a young Parisian woman. Paul prefers sexual domination rather than tender lovemaking.

Challenge… coming to terms with his wife’s suicide. Paul’s ambivalent relationship with his late wife is the main source of his torture. Aside from being an isolated ex-pat, he spends every day asking the horrible question: why did she do it? Why did she take her own life? And while he may view his current affair as a diversion to take his mind off his dead wife, its wild intensity could spiral out of control.

Personality… gentle in love, but brutal in sex. Behind his gruff and masculine exterior is a sensitive and vulnerable husband in mourning, trying to figure out the mysteries of love and death. “I might be able to comprehend the universe,” he tells his wife’s corpse at her wake, “but I’ll never discover the truth about you.”