Summary

What kind of habits does one develop when confronted with extreme situations on a daily basis ? In a geriatric department, the management of this borderline state becomes the structuring element of everyday life. The staff focuse on technical gestures to keep bodies at bay. Nurses use a specialized vocabulary, which serves less to express a feeling than to domesticate the violence of it, reducing the disorder of emotions to a reduced number of formulas. Patients use devious means to assert their independence. A woman fiercely refuses to take a shower. This is an ultimate form of resistance, to feel that she still has decision-making power over her body. Raymond withdraws to an inner world. He creates stories about the objects he sees in his room, confusing past and present, dreams and reality.