They are physically involved, and they argue while Chéri plays with Léa's pearls and thinks on her age.

Léa considers Chéri's mother, Charlotte, a competitor but she also appears to be one of her closest friends.

Chéri is telling Léa of his upcoming marriage to Edmée and is disappointed by her lack of response.

Chéri does not take this news well and wishes constantly to know more while reflecting on the shocking youth of his young (nineteen year old) bride and comparing her with Léa.

After an argument with Edmée, Chéri goes for a late night walk and eventually ends up with a friend, Desmond.

Although this may be true, in the light of morning, he sees how she has aged tremendously and realizes that the Léa he longed for is gone.

The novel has been adapted to film twice, in 1950 by Pierre Billon[citation needed] and in 2009 by Stephen Frears to a screenplay by Christopher Hampton with Rupert Friend as Chéri and Michelle Pfeiffer as Léa; and for television twice, in 1962 by François Chatel [fr] with Jean-Claude Brialy and Madeleine Robinson,[citation needed] and as a five-part series for the BBC in 1973 by Claude Whatham with Scott Antony and Yvonne Mitchell.

[citation needed] South African composer David Earl wrote the music for a ballet of Chéri in 1978.

[1] Choreographed for the Scottish Ballet by Peter Darrell, it premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in September 1980 with Léa and Chéri danced by Patrick Bissell and Galina Samsova.

They filled the closet with old-looking clothes and veiled hats, and wallpapered the walls to add a feeling of nostalgia.