Pierre Martin's Questionnaire

Pierre-Martin lives in Etretat, a small coastal town in the north of France, a place where he spent his childhood.

Although the town is renowned for its breathtaking cliffs and picturesque landscapes, for Pierre-Martin, it serves as a constant reminder of the past.

Once filled with hopes and dreams, the town has now become a prison of memories.

He resides in an abandoned building tucked away in a narrow alley, a place that offers him just enough shelter from the harsh cold.

At night, he covers himself with scraps of cardboard, desperately trying to find warmth amidst the biting chill of the sea breeze.

Despite his difficult situation, Etretat is still the place that feels most familiar, a distant echo of his former life.

For Pierre-Martin, his income is quite irregular and comes from a variety of small, occasional jobs that he can find around Etretat.

This might include helping out with odd tasks for local shopkeepers or collecting returnable bottles and cans.

On rare occasions, he might receive a small amount of assistance from local charities or kind-hearted strangers who take pity on him.

He spends his meager earnings mostly on essentials like food, which is often basic and inexpensive, and the occasional drink, which gives him a brief respite from his harsh reality.

A reality he is running from a lot more than he would like to. 

Pierre-Martin’s greatest ambition is to escape the pit of alcoholism that has consumed most of his adult life.

More than just becoming sober, he dreams of transforming himself into someone who can genuinely do good for others.

A man who, despite his past, leaves a positive mark on the world.

He wants to be a force of kindness, especially for those society ignores.

Pierre-Martin is willing to go to incredible lengths to achieve this; he would endure pain, hunger, rejection, and even face death itself.

But one thing he could never bring himself to do is kill.

He has a deep aversion to violence and an intense fear of death. Ironically, he would rather risk his own life than ever take another’s.

The most important event in Pierre-Martin’s life before signing the Contract was a conversation he had as a teenager with a priest.

At the time, he was just another lonely orphan, drifting without direction.

But this priest told him something that stuck: that being an orphan didn’t define him, and that his future was his to shape.

He said Pierre could do great things.

Days later, Pierre saw the same priest on television; it turned out he was a world-famous figure visiting the town incognito.

That moment changed him deeply.

Hearing those words from someone so respected made him believe, even briefly, that he might truly have a purpose.

The person closest to Pierre-Martin is René, another homeless man who shares his spot in the alley. René is older, quiet, and wise in his own way. They look out for each other like brothers. René is more than just a companion; he’s like a mirror of what Pierre-Martin could become if he gives up. He rarely talks about his past, but there’s pain in his eyes that Pierre recognizes. When Pierre starts to lose hope, René’s presence reminds him not to fully let go.

Then there's Madame Lemoine, an elderly woman who runs the small bakery nearby. She sometimes gives Pierre leftover bread and talks to him like he's a normal person, which he appreciates more than he lets on.

Finally, there's “le Curé,” the famous priest who spoke to him when he was young. They never met again, but his words have stayed with Pierre, like a quiet voice in his head pushing him forward.