The Earth Moved

Abstract Childhood exposed both Auclair and Ségal to different perspectives and broadened their vision of family life. Ségal’s parents immigrated to France from Russia in the 1890s and opened a textile business in the northeast of France. Her father died shortly after she was born, leaving her mother to run the business and the family. Over time the family adopted the local way of life. When Auclair was 7, her father, an architect who pioneered the use of steel-reinforced concrete, moved the family to Santiago, Chile, to help rebuild after a devastating 1906 earthquake. Living far from France, Auclair, like Ségal, interacted with a different culture that broadened her perspective. She began writing poetry and exploring spiritual texts from American New Thought to the Bhagavad Gita. Auclair’s father focused his attention on Marcelle and encouraged her literary ambitions.