There is a fairly widespread notion that Gangrel are solitary creatures, more at home in a forest than in a Parisian drawing room. Fierce predators, little inclined to polite society and generally better at baring their fangs than navigating the subtleties of diplomacy.
Rose Moreau does not quite fit that description.
She likes gardens, books, opera and Chopin's Nocturnes. She has a pronounced taste for history, an almost insatiable curiosity and a tendency to ask questions her interlocutors do not always want to answer.
She practises medicine, knows surgery and, despite her condition, still devotes part of her nights to relieving human suffering.
But Rose is also Gangrel. She knows violence, fear and the need to survive. She has killed before and could do so again to defend those she loves.
This contradiction seems to weigh on her more than she cares to admit.
For there is one thing Rose stubbornly refuses: to accept that being a vampire gives her the right to decide the fate of others.
I wanted to understand how such a conviction could survive in a city like Paris.
So I invited Rose to answer a few questions.
She agreed.
Not without a certain wariness.
“I am not withdrawn. I simply choose whom I talk to.”
Babyface Good evening, Rose. May I call you Rose?
Rose Rose Moreau. Last I heard, that is still my name.
Babyface Last you heard?
Rose It was my mortal name. But in the world we live in, who knows what is still true.
Babyface A rather mysterious opening. Are you planning to make this difficult for me?
Rose I promise nothing.
Babyface Very well. Three words to describe yourself?
Rose Doctor. A devotee of biophilia. Cautious.
Babyface Biophilia?
Rose A love of living things, of nature, of what surrounds us. I think it is important to preserve that connection with the natural world.
Babyface That seems rather fitting for a Gangrel.
Rose We do not all spend our existence running through the woods growling at passers-by, you know.
Babyface I am terribly disappointed. And what quality do you most appreciate in others?
Rose Humanism. Whether human or vampiric.
Babyface Vampiric humanism? You must admit the expression can sound contradictory.
Rose Why? We were human. We know suffering, fear and loss. Our condition should not force us to forget all that.
Babyface Yet you are sometimes described as withdrawn.
Rose That is precisely the problem. People confuse not opening up immediately with an inability to maintain social relationships. I am not socially inept. I simply choose whom I trust.
Babyface Belonging to a clan long kept at a distance from the Camarilla probably does not help.
Rose No. Nor do certain rumours.
Babyface Rumours?
Rose Let us say some people are very fond of talking.
Babyface You realise you have just said that to a former streamer?
Rose Exactly. You should understand the difference between talking and saying any old nonsense.
I concede the point. Rose clearly has no intention of making this interview easy, but she has no shortage of wit.
“I simply wish I could rest.”
Babyface Let us return to your mortal life. What is your fondest memory of it?
Rose A performance of Louise, by Gustave Charpentier. I managed to attend with several women friends. It was wonderful.
Babyface An opera lover! You are rising in my estimation.
Rose I am delighted to learn there was still room for improvement.
Babyface And if you could relive a single day from that time?
Rose An excursion into the forest with friends. We walked for hours. Everyone complained, some had aching feet, but the scenery was well worth those minor inconveniences.
Babyface You seem to remember the walk more than your companions' complaints.
Rose The complaints were part of the charm.
Babyface And what do you miss most about your human life?
Rose Rest.
Babyface Rest?
Rose Yes. That feeling of tiredness that fades when you stop, sleep and let your body recover. Knowing that resting is all you need to regain your strength.
Babyface That is a rather unusual answer.
Rose We vampires can heal terrible injuries, but that does not mean we recover the sensations we had when we were alive.
Babyface So you miss being able to sleep simply because you are tired.
Rose Exactly.
Babyface It is funny. Some people dream of no longer needing sleep. You have gained that ability and regret that you can no longer rest as you used to.
Rose Usually it is only when you lose something that you discover its importance.
Babyface If you could see someone from your past again, whom would you choose?
Rose Philippe Durant. A doctor who helped me a great deal at a time when it was not easy for a woman to find her place in certain medical professions. His support enabled me to become a nurse.
Babyface So you owe part of your vocation to him.
Rose Yes. He believed in me.
Babyface And if you could speak to the young woman you were before your Embrace?
Rose I would tell her to enjoy her life more. Not to let the good moments slip away. That period was not always pleasant for me.
Babyface You would give her no warning?
Rose If I wanted to make a joke, I'd tell her to steer clear of the splinter that left me with a scar.
Babyface A scar?
Rose Another story.
Babyface I am beginning to understand why you mentioned caution.
“I thought I had been given a second chance.”
Babyface Do you remember your first thought after your Embrace?
Rose Relief.
Babyface Really?
Rose Yes. I was still alive. Well, so to speak. I had just escaped death and could go on existing.
Babyface So you welcomed your new condition as an opportunity?
Rose At first, yes. Then I understood that nothing would ever be the same.
Babyface What do you appreciate most about your vampiric condition?
Rose Our ability to heal. Being able to survive injuries that would kill a human is extraordinary. I have seen enough people suffer or die from their injuries to appreciate what that means.
Babyface That is the doctor speaking.
Rose Probably.
Babyface And what do you hate most?
Rose Hunger.
Babyface Yet we all know it.
Rose Precisely. That constant sensation, that reminder that something within us demands Blood. Part of our existence is governed entirely by that need. I find it profoundly hateful.
Babyface Yet you refuse to feed on humans.
Rose Yes.
Babyface Even if your survival depended on it?
Rose Even then.
Babyface You would prefer Final Death?
Rose I would rather be impaled or end up in the sun than have to take an innocent person's life to feed myself.
Babyface You know it is possible to drink Blood without necessarily killing your victim.
Rose I know. But I do not want my survival to depend on that risk, on the possibility of losing control and killing someone.
Babyface You are afraid of the Beast.
Rose Of course. I know what it can do when you surrender control to it.
Babyface Do you remember your first hunt?
Rose Unfortunately, yes.
She pauses before continuing.
Rose My sire suggested I drink the Blood of a German scout. My Beast clearly found that very interesting, but I could not do it. A complete block. I ended up vomiting the Blood.
Babyface And your sire?
Rose He found another solution. A poor goat on a neighbouring farm.
Babyface Do you still remember the man?
Rose Yes. His face. It still haunts me.
Babyface So you have never really accepted seeing humans as mere prey.
Rose No. And I hope I never reach that point.
I could remind her that some vampires begin with the same convictions and eventually abandon them. But I think she already knows.
“I hate losing my composure.”
Babyface You said earlier that you were cautious. Yet you admit that you sometimes struggle to keep your composure.
Rose It is one of the faults I find hardest to forgive myself for.
Babyface Why?
Rose Because I work in medicine. When a life depends on you, you have to keep a cool head. You have no right to give in to panic or anger.
Babyface And outside your work?
Rose It is just as important. An error of judgement can have terrible consequences, especially in our world.
Babyface You seem to set yourself rather high standards.
Rose I know what we are capable of. I would rather avoid discovering it again in unfortunate circumstances.
Babyface You have already had to use violence to defend your life or someone else's.
Rose Yes.
Babyface And do you feel remorse?
Rose I cannot pretend it does not affect me. I have taken lives. I knew why I was doing it, but that does not make it pleasant.
Babyface Yet you have said you are willing to die to save others.
Rose When you can prevent someone from dying, I think you should at least try.
Babyface Even if that person poses a danger?
Rose That is where things become complicated.
“I saved a man whom perhaps I should have let die.”
Babyface You told me a story about that.
Rose Yes. A story that probably would not please everyone.
Babyface I am listening.
Rose I found a man in an alley. He was losing a great deal of Blood. I stabilised him and called the emergency services.
Babyface Nothing very surprising for a healthcare worker.
Rose No. Except that after helping him, I realised he was probably connected to the Inquisition. An affiliate, or perhaps a hunter.
Babyface You saved a man who might hunt the Kindred?
Rose Yes.
Babyface You understand that some members of the Camarilla might consider that treason.
Rose Of course. But what should I have done? Let him bleed out because he might belong to the other side?
Babyface You could have protected yourself.
Rose I cannot start sorting the wounded according to their identity, their convictions or what they might do in the future. Otherwise I would have to refuse to treat a considerable number of people.
Babyface Including some of your companions?
Rose Probably.
Babyface Would you do it again?
Rose If I found an injured person in a similar situation, yes. That does not mean I am going to become the Inquisition's personal nurse.
Babyface Did you not consider that he might come back to kill you?
Rose Yes. He may even be one of my worst enemies today, without my knowing it.
Babyface And that changes nothing about your decision?
Rose I do not claim it was risk-free. I am simply saying I could not watch him die without intervening.
Babyface Yet you have admitted that you once watched a man die.
Her expression changes slightly.
Rose Yes.
Babyface During the war?
Rose A man I considered a monster. On that occasion, I abandoned what my oath should have required of me. I let him die slowly.
Babyface You thought he deserved it?
Rose At the time, probably. But his death triggered a vendetta against a village.
Babyface And you think you could have prevented it.
Rose Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had acted differently.
Babyface You cannot know.
Rose No. But that does not stop you asking yourself the question.
There is something in her voice I have not heard until now.
Rose is no stranger to violence. She does not pretend never to have crossed her own boundaries. She simply knows that a decision can seem right when you make it and become unbearable when you discover its consequences.
Babyface So you saved an enemy and let a man you considered monstrous die.
Rose Yes.
Babyface Do you not find that contradictory?
Rose Of course I do. That is also why I try not to forget what I am supposed to defend.
“Parc Monceau is my little corner of paradise.”
Babyface Let us talk about something a little less painful. Your favourite place in Paris?
Rose Parc Monceau!
Babyface You did not even hesitate.
Rose I love that place. The atmosphere, the vegetation, the park's history. You are in the middle of Paris, yet you feel as though you are somewhere else.
Babyface Are you interested in its architecture too?
Rose Of course. The rotunda, especially. And the landscaping associated with the duc de Chartres. The park has a fascinating history.
Babyface And the flowers?
Rose Obviously! I particularly like roses and everything connected with the history of the park's planting and floral collections.
Babyface Your name suits you very well.
Rose I suppose so.
Babyface A scent that reminds you of your childhood?
Rose Lavender.
Babyface Your Proustian madeleine?
Rose Exactly. The family home, childhood memories, the life before. I love receiving lavender. It is a gift that generally works very well with me.
Babyface I shall make a note.
Rose I should point out that I am not accustomed to receiving flowers from unknown Kindred.
Babyface That is probably information best not spread too widely. You might receive bouquets accompanied by requests for favours.
Rose That is why I mentioned caution.
Babyface Your favourite music?
Rose Chopin's Nocturnes. Especially the second of opus 9.
Babyface A delicate choice. And what work of art represents you best?
Rose A painting of me.
Babyface A portrait?
Rose Yes. But I do not know who painted it.
Babyface What do you mean?
Rose I discovered it at home one evening. It depicts me during a walk I had taken in Fontainebleau.
Babyface Had you commissioned it?
Rose No. And despite my enquiries, I have not found the artist.
Babyface You mean someone depicted you in a place you had visited, then left the work at your home without explanation?
Rose That is exactly it.
Babyface That is rather worrying.
Rose I mostly find it strange. But I like the painting.
Babyface What exactly do you like about it?
Rose It represents the part of me that deeply loves nature while remaining attached to the city. It is quite accurate, in the end.
Babyface Even though you do not know who observed you?
Rose Yes. Though I would still like to find out.
I make a mental note never to accept an anonymous portrait left at my home without taking precautions. But Rose clearly possesses a curiosity stronger than her wariness, at least where art is concerned.
“A perfect night? I would go back to the hospital.”
Babyface Imagine an entire night without obligations, danger or anyone to answer to. What would you do?
Rose I think I would go to the hospital.
Babyface Are you joking?
Rose No. I love my work. If I could spend a night bringing patients a little comfort, I would gladly do it.
Babyface You are immortal, you could enjoy Paris without any constraints, and you would choose to work?
Rose Work is not necessarily a constraint when you love what you do.
Babyface And afterwards?
Rose A walk, probably. Then perhaps I would go and bother a few Tremere with my questions.
Babyface The poor things.
Rose I am curious. It is not a crime.
Babyface Among some Tremere, it could almost be considered an attempted intrusion.
Rose They will survive.
Babyface You are surprisingly optimistic.
Rose I prefer to be.
“My companions are a wonderful bunch of lunatics.”
Babyface Let us talk about your coterie. What do you admire most in your companions?
Rose Their ability to carry on despite everything Paris puts us through.
Babyface You feel Paris treats you badly?
Rose Let us say we have had a few complicated nights.
Babyface That is quite an elegant way to sum up your journey.
Rose What I appreciate most is that we have not given up. We have been through a great deal, but we try to stick together.
Babyface So you have developed a certain attachment to them.
Rose Of course.
Babyface What do you expect of a true friend?
Rose To be there when you need them. To set you straight when you make a mistake. And above all, to make you laugh.
Babyface You are not afraid of being contradicted?
Rose On the contrary. A friend who never tells you when you are heading straight for disaster is doing you no service.
Babyface And if your existence depended entirely on one member of your coterie?
Rose Do you really want me to choose?
Babyface That is the point of the question.
Rose I dislike establishing a hierarchy among my companions. I think we would all try to save one another.
Babyface But if you had to choose just one?
Rose Raphaël, probably.
Babyface Why him?
Rose I trust him. Though I am certain it would end up costing me something.
Babyface Your life?
Rose Worse. He would probably force me to rethink my wardrobe.
I laugh openly.
Babyface So you are more afraid of Raphaël's fashion advice than of certain enemies of the Camarilla?
Rose I did not say that. But you have to admit the man can be particularly persistent.
Babyface I shall ask him what he thinks of your outfit.
Rose You would not dare.
Babyface You still know me rather poorly.
“I still believe in love.”
Babyface Do you still believe in love?
Rose Yes.
Babyface Even when you have eternity in which to disappoint one another?
Rose I think it can last. But both people have to find a balance. It is not easy, of course.
Babyface You seem to be talking about a very concrete relationship rather than a romantic ideal.
Rose Love does not spare you the need to make an effort. Even among mortals, a relationship does not run itself. So imagine after several decades or centuries.
Babyface What sacrifice would you be willing to make for someone you love?
Rose Final Death.
Babyface You would answer that without hesitation?
Rose Yes. Though I hope I never have to put it to the test.
Babyface You, a Gangrel with such a developed survival instinct...
Rose It is rather ironic, is it not?
Babyface And your greatest happiness?
Rose Someone dear to me.
Babyface Someone I know?
Rose Perhaps.
Babyface Will you give me their name?
Rose No.
Babyface Not even a clue?
Rose I have already said enough. I prefer to keep that to myself.
Babyface You know I am perfectly capable of insisting.
Rose And I'm perfectly capable of not answering.
I smile. No point pursuing it.
There is a reserve in Rose that is not merely wariness. Some things seem to matter enough that she refuses to expose them to other people's gaze. In our society, where feelings are readily turned into leverage, I can hardly blame her.
“Power should serve to protect.”
Babyface What does power mean to you?
Rose A responsibility.
Babyface Not a freedom?
Rose Power should above all serve to protect our society, to ensure that we can continue to exist.
Babyface So you consider yourself someone responsible for the Kindred's survival?
Rose To some extent, yes. We are part of a community. We cannot all behave as though our decisions concern only ourselves.
Babyface Yet the Camarilla rests largely on power relations.
Rose That is precisely what bothers me. The selfishness of some Kindred has become so great that it sometimes prevents us from uniting, even when our common survival is threatened.
Babyface Do you think genuine solidarity among vampires would be possible?
Rose Above all, I think it would be necessary.
Babyface What is your greatest ambition?
Rose To be able to cure any ill.
Babyface Really any ill?
Rose Yes. If I could find a way to cure stupidity, that would already be considerable progress.
Babyface You might run out of time.
Rose Fortunately, I have some ahead of me.
Babyface And in a hundred years?
Rose I would like to have gone on saving lives. And for all of us still to be here, so to speak.
Babyface You have no dreams of conquest, a throne or territory?
Rose Not particularly. I would rather we concentrated more on our collective survival.
Babyface And would you prefer to be loved, respected or feared?
Rose Respected. You cannot be loved by everyone. As for fear, I leave that to others.
Babyface Yet you could inspire fear if you wished.
Rose No doubt. But I do not see why that should be a goal.
“I did not choose only to save lives.”
Babyface You told me your greatest ambition was to heal. That you were willing to risk your destruction to save someone. And that you refused to feed on humans.
Rose Yes.
Babyface Do you consider yourself a good person?
Rose I am not sure I have the right to claim that.
Babyface Why?
Rose Because I have killed. Even when it was to defend myself or protect others. And because I know some of my decisions have had terrible consequences.
Babyface Do you feel a form of guilt?
Rose Yes. A contradiction, above all. I want to preserve lives, but I have taken them.
Babyface Is that what makes you most ashamed?
Rose My hypocrisy, perhaps. I already had that contradiction when I was alive.
Babyface Do you not think you can defend life while sometimes being forced to use violence?
Rose I think you can. But that does not make the consequences easy to accept.
Babyface And what lie do you most often tell yourself?
She thinks for a moment.
Rose That I accepted unlife solely to go on saving lives.
Babyface Was that not the case?
Rose In part, certainly. But I think part of me knew above all that I was afraid of dying.
Babyface You accepted the Embrace because you wanted to live.
Rose Yes.
Babyface Does that seem shameful to you?
Rose It is not exactly shame. But I like to think my decisions are guided by my principles. Admitting that I may have acted out of fear is less comfortable.
Babyface You know, Rose, wanting to go on living is not necessarily a fault.
Rose No. But it is easier to present yourself as someone who chose her condition for others than as someone who was simply afraid of dying.
Babyface Perhaps both reasons can exist together.
Rose Probably.
I think that is one of the most sincere answers she has given me since our conversation began.
“Become human again? I do not know.”
Babyface If I offered you the chance to become human again, mortal and vulnerable, would you accept?
Rose I do not know.
Babyface You hesitate?
Rose A great deal. Part of me would like to recover a simple life. The warmth of the sun, human sensations, an existence not constantly dominated by Hunger and the Kindred's intrigues.
Babyface But?
Rose But I am also attached to what I have become. To my work, to what I can accomplish, to the people who matter to me.
Babyface So you do not entirely regret your Embrace.
Rose No. It gave me possibilities I would never have imagined. But it also took away things I cared about.
Babyface So you might choose to remain a vampire.
Rose Perhaps.
Babyface Despite Hunger?
Rose Despite Hunger.
Babyface Despite the Beast?
Rose Despite the Beast.
Babyface And despite Parisian politics?
Rose Do not exaggerate. There are still limits to what one can bear.
“I would like to be remembered with a smile.”
Babyface A few final questions. Your hero?
Rose Arsène Lupin.
Babyface Arsène Lupin?
Rose I really like his gentlemanly side, his intelligence, the way he solves problems. And that mixture of mischief and elegance.
Babyface A gentleman thief as a role model for a Gangrel surgeon. I would not have guessed.
Rose Why not?
Babyface It is a choice that resembles you more than you imagine.
Rose Are you going to explain why?
Babyface Not for free.
Rose I was right to be wary of you.
Babyface Your greatest regret?
Rose Not having known my sire well enough.
Babyface Yet he was with you after your Embrace.
Rose Yes. He gave me this new existence, educated me, taught me what I needed to know to survive. But I did not have the opportunity to know him as deeply as I would have wished.
Babyface You would have liked to understand who he was beyond his role as sire.
Rose Exactly.
Babyface Your idea of the ideal death?
Rose To die in the flames of glory for the Prince!
She bursts out laughing.
Babyface I am sure François Villon would be delighted to hear you.
Rose I am joking! More seriously, if I were to disappear, I would like it to be while facing an enemy and allowing my people to prevail.
Babyface A useful death, then.
Rose Yes. If I have to die, it might as well serve some purpose.
Babyface And if tomorrow were your last night, what sentence would you like to leave behind?
Rose I have an excellent one.
Babyface I am listening.
Rose “Bogdan is going to get you sent to the Inquisition! Signed, Rose the Siamese who tells you to fuck off.”
I remain silent for a second before bursting into laughter.
Babyface I think I shall have to preserve that sentence exactly as it is.
Rose You may.
Babyface And do you not have one a little more solemn?
Rose Yes. “Thank you, Paris, for sheltering me, cherishing me, bothering me. Now, see you in another life... or not!”
Babyface That is quite a lovely way to take your leave.
Rose I prefer to leave a smile behind.
The final question
I look at Rose, seated opposite me.
She has just told me about her childhood, her love of nature, her medical vocation and her refusal to sacrifice innocent lives for her own survival. She has spoken of her sire, her friends, her regrets and even that mysterious canvas whose artist she does not know.
She has also mentioned events that could get her into serious trouble if certain ears were to hear them.
I understand better why she began this interview with such caution.
Babyface One last question, Rose. The one you secretly hoped I would not ask.
Rose All of them!
Babyface All of them?
Rose I do not open up easily. You know that now. Some things can be used against us.
Babyface And yet you have confided several things to me.
Rose I am beginning to wonder whether that was a good idea.
Babyface I am particularly persuasive.
Rose Above all, you are very curious.
Babyface That is also a professional quality. But if you had to name just one question?
Rose The one about final destruction. What I would be willing to sacrifice for others.
Babyface Why that one?
Rose Because it is a weakness. If your enemies know you are willing to sacrifice yourself to save someone, they may try to exploit it.
Babyface So you fear your compassion being used against you.
Rose Obviously. But mind you, I am not stupid either. If someone starts massacring innocents simply to lure me into a trap, I'm not about to step in front of a bus.
Babyface So you try to remain true to your principles without becoming predictable.
Rose Exactly.
Babyface That cannot always be easy.
Rose No.
A silence settles.
Babyface Do you know what strikes me, Rose?
Rose I fear the worst.
Babyface You seem convinced that your compassion is a weakness. Yet everything you have told me shows that you have spent your existence trying to ensure it does not disappear.
Rose It is sometimes difficult.
Babyface I do not doubt it.
Rose And I do not always succeed.
Babyface Nobody always succeeds.
Rose That is rather poor consolation.
Babyface I know. I am not a doctor.
She smiles.
Babyface So I shall finish with another question. Not an indiscretion this time.
You have spoken of your fear of dying, your refusal to kill in order to feed and your desire to protect those you love.
If you had to choose between staying alive and staying true to the person you want to be, which would you choose?
Rose thinks.
Rose I would like to believe I would know how to make the right choice.
Babyface And if you were wrong?
Rose Then I would have to accept the consequences.
Babyface That is an answer that seems to suit you.
I close my notebook.
Babyface Thank you, Rose.
Rose You are welcome. But I hope you do not intend to tell everything.
Babyface I know how to keep certain confidences.
Rose You will understand if I reserve judgement.
Babyface Of course. You are cautious.
She rises. Our interview is over.
I reflect that there are vampires who no longer fear much because they have stopped valuing anything.
Rose Moreau has the opposite problem.
She still has far too many things to care about.
Babyface's perspective
I have met vampires who killed to feed, others who killed to govern, and a few who seemed no longer to need any particular reason.
Rose Moreau belongs to a much rarer category: those Kindred who still ask themselves whether they have the right to do what their nature allows.
She is Gangrel. She knows violence and understands perfectly what survival means in our world. Yet she refuses to feed on humans and continues to practise medicine whose first vocation remains to preserve life.
It would be tempting to call her an idealist.
That would be unfair.
Rose is no stranger to the world's cruelty. She encountered it long before her Embrace. She has known war, death, fear and impossible decisions. She knows there are circumstances in which saving someone may put other lives in danger.
She also knows that letting a man die can have consequences one had not imagined.
And she must live with that knowledge.
What troubles me about Rose is not her refusal to drink human Blood. It is the way she regards that refusal as a personal necessity rather than proof of moral superiority.
She does not seem to be trying to be better than other vampires.
Above all, she tries not to become someone she could no longer bear to be.
When she told me she had saved a man connected to the Inquisition, my first thought was that she had taken an insane risk. Hunters generally have no such scruples when it comes to us.
But I think I understand her reasoning.
If she starts deciding who deserves treatment according to their affiliations, convictions or supposed acts, she turns her vocation into an instrument of power.
And that is precisely what she refuses.
That does not mean her decision was without consequence. The man she saved might one day return intending to destroy her. She knows.
She saved him nonetheless.
I wonder how many Kindred would still be capable of such a gesture.
There is, however, a contradiction Rose does not really try to hide.
She has killed.
She has accepted letting someone die.
She acknowledges having sometimes given in to fear, anger or decisions she regrets.
These are not the acts of a blameless heroine.
But perhaps that is precisely what makes her attachment to her principles interesting.
Virtue has little value when it has never been tested. Rose knows what it costs to stray from it.
I also discovered a woman far warmer than she wished to seem at the beginning of our interview.
She loves opera, Chopin's music, walks in the forest and Parc Monceau. She retains a particular affection for the scent of lavender and seems capable of speaking enthusiastically about a garden's history for hours.
I was touched by her memory of Philippe Durant, the doctor who enabled her to pursue her vocation. And by her regret at not having known her sire better.
These are two men who, at very different moments in her existence, opened a door for her.
One towards medicine.
The other towards eternity.
I wonder whether Rose has ever truly separated those two legacies.
She also possesses a sense of humour I had not suspected. Her relationship with the other members of the Milice seems made of affection, exasperation and a certain ability to endure the absurd.
I am thinking in particular of Raphaël and his sartorial ambitions.
Or of Bogdan, whose strange place in our guest's last wishes I prefer not to comment on here.
There would certainly be material for a few further interviews.
But what I shall remember most about Rose is a sentence she did not utter in quite these words, yet which runs through almost all her answers.
She would like to save everyone.
She knows it is impossible.
And that impossibility seems to cause her more pain than the danger she personally faces.
Her greatest ambition is to cure every ill. Her greatest fear is losing control of the Beast. Her greatest weakness, she says, is being willing to sacrifice herself for those she loves.
Yet when I asked what had driven her to accept the Embrace, she acknowledged having been afraid of dying.
I find that admission important.
Rose wants to live.
Not simply survive, but continue to see, learn, heal, walk in gardens and share moments with the people who matter to her.
Her compassion is not that of someone who has given up on her own existence.
It is that of a woman who knows what a life is worth because she cares deeply about her own.
She would not sacrifice herself for just anything, or just anyone. And fortunately so.
For I am wary of heroes who seek an opportunity to die too actively. They sometimes end up dragging others along with them.
Rose, above all, seems to be looking for reasons to carry on.
I think that is what makes her endearing.
As for her mysterious portrait discovered after a walk in Fontainebleau, I admit that story leaves me puzzled.
Someone observed her, depicted her and left her a work whose origin she does not know.
In another life, I would have found that romantic.
In ours, I would be a little more wary.
But I would not like to end this interview on a note of anxiety.
Rose explained that she preferred to leave a smile behind.
So I shall respect her wish.
And if you encounter her one evening in Parc Monceau, do not hesitate to offer her a few sprigs of lavender.
On the other hand, avoid asking her for fashion advice.
It seems someone else has already reserved that responsibility.
Babyface
The Midnight Confessions, Paris la Nuit.