But François is not satisfied with one happiness; he believes in the multiplication of joy. While on a business trip, he begins an affair with Émilie (Marie-France Boyer), a postal worker. He does not hide this affair out of guilt, but rather presents it to Thérèse as a logical extension of his philosophy: "I love you both. More love for me means more love for you."
: Scholars argue the film critiques the "myth of domestic happiness" [21]. It highlights how women are often treated as interchangeable ciphers in a patriarchal structure, valued more for their emotional and domestic labor than their individual personhood [5, 18, 30]. Critical Legacy Decades after its release, Le Bonheur le bonheur 1965
– A smart reviewer might note how the film's saturated colors, Mozart, and impressionist paintings mirror the protagonist's own belief that he's simply expanding happiness. The review would point out that Varda isn't endorsing this – she's dissecting a male fantasy of "plenitude" that erases women's interiority. But François is not satisfied with one happiness;