In defense of Haydée

I've read all the reviews here for this film, and also in Amazon for the DVD edition, and somehow there is something which is not being paid attention to, which I think it the real 'core' of the movie.

WHAT ARE HAYDÉE'S REAL MOTIVES?

We have Adrien whose motives we perfectly know, as he narrates them with his voice in off. Also, Daniel's point of view he makes it also clear in his speeches.

But what about Haydée's?

Is she a dim-witted harlot? Is she just plain amoral? Is she a reckless hedonist? That's what Daniel thought of her.

Is she a "collector of men", someone who enjoys her power in seducing them and adding them to her collection as trophies? That's what Adrien thought of her, and that's --surprisingly-- what Rohmer chose as the title for the film.

But why should we judge Haydée as per Daniel's judgement of her, or as per Adrien's judgement of her, when she does indeed explain herself and her motives? It's just there, in the movie!

She says, in a conversation with Adrien: "It may be that I don't get what I want, but I certainly do know what I do want. I want to have normal relationships with people. That is very hard for me to manage. In fact, I've never had a normal relationship with anyone. What I really wanted was to be friends with Daniel, and also with you, Adrien."

There. Soul breaking confession. Is she lying to excuse her amoral behavior? I don't think so. I felt that confession really matched her.

Haydée wants to have a normal relationship with the people she meets in her life, but she can't, which pains her.

I see it as a rehearsal of Midas myth: everything he touched turned into gold, he embraced his beloved daughter and she turned into a statue of gold, to his despair. So much happens with Haydée, because she is so cute every relationship she has turns into sexual appetite for the other part, therefore neglecting her of "a normal relationship with anyone". She herself is a hostage of her beauty and good looks. That forces her to keep pressing ahead in her search for "a normal relationship with someone", further submerging her in her promiscuous life --because everything she touches turns into gold, everyone she meets just lusts for her and objectifies her as a sexual thing, instead of seeing her as a possible friend.

So, she is NOT a collector of men, she is a girl searching for normalcy, normalcy which she longs for but which she can never reach! It's the Midas myth adapted to beauty/sex.