[3][4] The character of Odile was clearly inspired by Simenon's daughter, Marie-Jo, who suffered from manic depression, and was deeply affected by the violent quarrels that frequently flared up between her mother and father.

She has had many empty and meaningless love affairs, and is tired of living with her father, a successful writer who only thinks about his books, and her mother, who does nothing but drink and host bridge parties.

Odile decides to leave Lausanne for Paris, but is not merely running away: she takes with her her father's revolver and some sleeping pills, intending to commit suicide.

She finds the family atmosphere to be oppressive, and once again she leaves for Paris, where she returns to her hotel room and Albert Galabar, to whom she entrusts her father's revolver.

[5][6][7][8][9] In his biography of Simenon, Pierre Assouline writes: "La Disparition d’Odile is a frightful portrait of father and daughter, especially in view of the context in which it was written and its fictionalized self-criticism.