THE GERMAN OCCUPATION IN RECENT FRENCH FICTION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE LITERARY “MODE RÉTRO” ALAN I. MORRIS A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 1985 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6462 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence --------------------- -------- ~~- ------- ---------~ The German Occupation in Recent French Fiction: An Analysis of the Literary 'mode retro' by Alan I. Morris A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Saint Andrews March 1985 DECLARATION I Alan Ivan Morris hereby certify that this thesis which is approximately 115,000 words in length has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. . date .v;t~ .. t:\.o:J:~~ ~~.lS.~ signature of candidate I was admitted as a research student under Ordinance No. 12 in October 1979 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy on 24 April 1980; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St. Andrews between 1979 and 1982. -, date signature of candidate CERTIF lCA TION I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of St. Andrews and that he is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. - - ~- --~-----~- - date signature of supervisor ---- - ~- - -- 7_ _ _ - --~--.... - --~- - COPYRIGHT In submitting this thesis to the University of St. Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. For my parents 'La mode "retro" appliquee a la collaboration nationale meriterait deja une etude specifique.' - Pascal Dry 'il s'agit des annees noires qui demeurent, pour les qui les Fran~ais ont vecues, une periode chargee de passions toujours vivaces et dont les plus jeunes n'ont, habituellement, qu'une image deformee.' - Jean-Pierre Azema 'La guerre n'etait pas toujours sur les champs de bataille. La facture etait alourdie par les lnfirmes, la jeunesse deboussolee et surtout la France divisee.' - Jose Giovanni ABSTRACT This thesis attempts to analyse and characterise the mode retro, the remarkable renewal of interest in the German Occupation of France, which is coloured by an extensive re-evaluation of the period's significance. An introduction places this fashion in its literary, social and historical context, revealing how, from 1940 to 1969, a collective and predominantly Gaullist 'myth' of the Resistance became established, with the result that the national response to invasion was accepted to be one of wide spread heroism and revolt. Part I studies the reaction to such resistancialisme, showing how this orthodox interpretation of events was undermined and, for many, discredited, and offering explanations of the timing and direction of the new view. Part II focuses on the fiction, memoirs, autobiographies and biographies of the younger authors, those who have no direct adult experience of the annees noires. It is suggested thaL their obvious obsession with 3bsent parent-figures reflects their awareness that the past has been misreoresented and their heritage rendered problematic. Their sole means of escape from this predicament, their only source of emotional relief is seen to lie in the creation of a personal account of the early 1940s running contrary to the prevalent orthodoxy, the fabrication of a 'counter-myth'. It is thus the notion of myth which links the various sections of the survey, and so gives the thesis its overall unity. TABLE OF CONTENTS page Preface i Abbreviations vi Introduction. The Heritage 1940-1969 1 Part I. 'La mode retro': New Myths for Old 35 Chapter 1. The Mechanisms of Demythification 36 Chapter 2. Why a 'mode retro'? 84 Part II. The Young Writers - A Generation of Orphans 117 Chapter 1 • The Orphan as Writer 118 Chapter 2. The Writer as Orphan (i): The Case of Patrick Modiano 177 Chapter 3. The Writer as Orphan (ii): In the Wake of Patrick Modiano 225 Conclusion 272 Notes 279 Bibliography 313 -- -- ---------------- PREFACE