A Theory of Doubling in Charlotte Delbo's Texts Virginia H
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 "Je Vis dans un Être Double" a Theory of Doubling in Charlotte Delbo's Texts Virginia H. Osborn Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES "JE VIS DANS UN TRE DOUBLE" A THEORY OF DOUBLING IN CHARLOTTE DELBO'S TEXTS By VIRGINIA H. OSBORN A Dissert tion submitted to the Dep rtment of Modern L ngu ges nd Linguistics in p rti l fulfillment of the re.uirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree A0 rded1 Spring Semester2 2011 Copyright6 2011 Virgini Hudson Osborn All Rights Reserved The members of the committee pprove the dissert tion of Virgini Osborn defended on Febru ry 112 2011. _______________________________________ 9illi m J. Cloon n Professor Directing Dissert tion _______________________________________ L urel Ful:erson University Represent tive _______________________________________ Aim;e Boutin Committee Member _______________________________________ J mes T rpley Committee Member _______________________________________ Reinier Leushuis Committee Member The Gr du te School h s verified nd pproved the bove-n med committee members. ii I dedic te this 0or: to Perry nd Olivi . iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I 0ould li:e to begin by th n:ing my professor nd mentor Dr. 9illi m Cloon n for his support nd encour gement. He 0 rmly 0elcomed me to Florid St te in 2004 nd he h s continuously supported my rese rch throughout this time. As my professor2 Dr. Cloon n h s guided me in m ny of my c demic pursuits from cl ss projects to conferences nd no0 s my dissert tion dvisor. As mentor2 he h s continu lly reminded me to follo0 my interests nd enjoy the c demic journey. Th n: you Dr. Cloon n for your support nd l0 ys being v il ble to t l:. I m lso gr teful for the dvice from Dr. Aim;e Boutin. She is l0 ys 0illing to sit do0n 0ith me nd help me sort through my ide s. She l0 ys goes beyond 0h t is expected by giving her time2 guid nce2 nd ny resources th t she might h ve. I h ve lso h d the privilege of 0or:ing 0ith Dr. J mie T rpley 0ho h s been both my professor nd dvisor during my time t Florid St te University. J mie sp r:ed my interest in 20th century liter ture 0ith his cre tive courses nd boo: selections. I 0ould lso li:e to th n: Dr. Reinier Leuishuis for his ctive support nd enthusi sm in the cl ssroom nd on my dissert tion. His insight nd suggestions l0 ys ch llenge me. During this dissert tion project I lso 0or:ed 0ith Dr. 9illi m Oldson. Th n: you for the opportunity to t :e your Holoc ust cl ss nd 0or: together on directed independent study. I 0ould lso li:e to th n: Dr. L urel Ful:erson 0ho gr ciously c me on bo rd for this project in the 0ee:s le ding up to my defense. Th n: you for your ide s nd insight. I gre tly ppreci te everyone's dvice nd guid nce. I 0ould lso li:e to th n: the 9inthrop-King Institute for the fin nci l support 0hich h s llo0ed me sever l opportunities to present p pers t conferences nd tr vel bro d to study nd collect inform tion for my dissert tion. I 0 nt to s y th n: you s 0ell to the Dep rtment of Modern L ngu ges nd Linguistics for giving me the opportunity to pursue my go ls nd te ch in very 0 rm nd friendly environment. L stly I 0 nt to s y th n: you to my p rents 0ho h ve supported nd encour ged me in this long journey. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstr ct ......................................................................................................................................... vii 1. CHAPTER ONE1 INTRODUCTION TO CHARLOTTE DELBO AND TO A THEORY OF DOUBLING .....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Delbo's uni.ue 0riting style1 A theory of doubling ......................................................A 2. CHAPTER T9O1 DOUBLING OF THE SUBJECT .............................................................7 2.1 The desire to publish ......................................................................................................C 2.2 One person2 t0o 0orlds ...............................................................................................10 2.A One person2 t0o time fr mes .......................................................................................1D 2.4 T0o people2 one voice .................................................................................................2E 2.E Conclusion ...................................................................................................................A0 A. CHAPTER THREE1 DOUBLING OF THE LITERARY SETTING ...................................AA A.1 MoliFre's Alceste ..........................................................................................................AD A.2 Ch rlotte Delbo's Alceste .............................................................................................AC A.A Glectre nd Ondine .......................................................................................................41 A.4 Gree: Mythology's Glectre ..........................................................................................42 A.E Je n Gir udoux's Glectre ..............................................................................................4A A.D Ch rlotte Delbo's Glectre .............................................................................................4D A.7 Ondine ..........................................................................................................................49 A.C The M;lusine Myth ......................................................................................................E0 A.9 Je n Gir udoux's Ondine .............................................................................................E2 A.10 Ch rlotte Delbo's Ondine .............................................................................................EE A.11 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................E9 4. CHAPTER FOUR1 DOUBLING OF THE NARRATIVE FORM .......................................D2 4.1 An lyIing Delbo's liter ry forms .................................................................................D4 4.1.1 Delbo describes her o0n style of 0riting ........................................................DD 4.1.2 Delbo's blended liter ry form ..........................................................................DC 4.2 Motherhood ..................................................................................................................70 4.2.1 Neige ................................................................................................................74 4.2.2 The 9omen of Buenos Aires ...........................................................................7E 4.2.A Gilberte ............................................................................................................77 4.2.4 Gypsy mother ...................................................................................................79 v 4.A Truth .............................................................................................................................C2 4.A.1 Telling the truth................................................................................................C4 4.A.2 Juestioning Truth in Prose nd Poetry ............................................................CC 4.A Conclusion ...................................................................................................................94 E. CHAPTER FIVE1 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................97 E.1 A form of 0omen's 0riting ..........................................................................................99 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................104 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ......................................................................................................109 vi ABSTRACT Most of the rese rch on Ch rlotte Delbo h s rem ined 0ithin the re lm of Holoc ust studies2 nd her 0riting2 in p rticul r2 h s been seen s me ns of 0itnessing nd preserving memory. L beled solely s KHoloc ust survivorL nd subse.uently oversh do0ed by m le 0riters of the Holoc ust2 Ch rlotte Delbo h s not been de.u tely re d nd ppreci ted s 0riter of the 20th century. Although her experiences in Ausch0itI re one of the m in subjects of her 0riting2 I do not focus explicitly on her experiences2 but r ther on the methods nd liter ry devices th t Delbo uses to MreNconstruct nd rticul te these experiences. Delbo bre :s the tr dition l templ te th t l bels her s survivor by using combin tion of t0o or more liter ry genres2 :no0n in gener l s generic hybridity2 to cre te uni.ue liter ry form th t c ptures her struggles 0ith the soci l nd cultur l dem nds of post-9orld 9 r II Fr nce. My dissert tion 0ill ttempt to convey s lient spects of this uni.ue liter ry form 0hich I 0ill c ll doubling. In this study2 I investig te the v rious 0 ys th t identity2 n rr tive settings2 liter ry ch r cters2 time fr mes2 nd n rr tive forms re doubled. Doubling2 I believe2 is result of DelboOs gendered experience in the c mps nd in Fr nce fter the 0 r. Not only do 0e 0itness the experience of Delbo trying to m int in unified self in the c mps s the N Iis relentlessly strip 0 y her