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RESEARCH PRODUCT

L'évolution de l'image enfantine dans "Tropismes" et "Enfance" de Nathalie Sarraute

subject

description

Inspired by the memories of her own difficult childhood in the shadow of the war, Nathalie Sarraute attempts to show the specificity of this period. In Tropismes (tr. Tropisms) and Enfance (tr. Childhood), she attempts to capture and present the child’s psychological experiences, at the same time refuting the stereotypes associated with this period in life. From the pen of the representative of the so-called new novel, there emerges an evolving image of a child: from a submissive/subordinate being, feeling shame or fear (because of his/her own distinctness), and lack of love, to an independent, liberated being rejecting conventions, sensible and sensitive, ready to accomplish his/her goals and face the adult world and its limitations. Writing makes it possible to convert a childhood experience into a personal myth which forms the basis of the identity of the future writer. It also turns out to be the source of artistic experiments. The originality of Sarraute’s vision manifests itself in penetrating the reality full of insinuations, unknown problem areas, relevant to the world of the child, in which the child’s consciousness and personality are shaped. The confrontation with the Other creates an opportunity to analyze the “tropisms” of childhood recorded in memory, and a unique and personal way of growing up marked and characterized by transgression of norms and conventions.