Renée Michel is on duty as a concierge when one of her employers’ sons, Antoine Pallières tells him that Karl Marx has changed his life. Renée is familiar with Marxist writing and doubts that Antoine can relate to it, but Renée keeps her thoughts to herself—she doesn’t want Antoine to suspect that she has thoughts beyond being a concierge. 

Renée introduces herself to the reader. At 54 years old, she has been a concierge for a luxury apartment building in Paris for 27 years. She is a widow and calls herself ugly. She lives alone with her cat. She is not friendly and not well-liked. While on duty, Renée indulges her interests in art and culture through reading and television.

Profound Thought number 1 contemplates the goldfish bowls adults construct for themselves. Rather than teach children to work hard for a bright and stable future, children should be taught the absurd reality of life. The thinker of this profound thought identifies themselves as a 12-year-old girl, later confirmed to be Paloma Josse, whose wealthy family lives in the building in which Renée works. Paloma is extremely intelligent and has decided to embrace absurdity and avoid the fishbowl of society.