HOLLOW IMPRINTS

Abstract

Modiano's Dora Bruder (1997) is not only a biographical fragment for Dora, a teenage Parisian Jewish girl deported to Auschwitz in 1942, but also a memorial to all the murdered Jews of the Holocaust where historiography merges with autobiography and biography, as well as with elements of novelistic writing. Modiano emphasizes the human in this text, using his own consciousness and experience in default of Dora's and of others where this is necessary, in order to counter in some small way the dehumanization of the Holocaust. Yet his narrating “je” is highly aware of its role in shaping the narrative, and aware that the hypotheses presented may be wrong, even though they are supported by scrupulous research. Nonetheless, the “devoir de mémoire” is paramount, and Modiano seems aware that a respectful attempt at representation is always better than silence. This discussion analyses three main questions: the role of autobiography in the work; the fact/fiction problematic and the ethical questions it poses; and the related question of genre. While the text is brimful of transcribed documents, its literary style and its resonances with imaginative texts by both Modiano and other authors show that even historiography can be “literary”, and that this can render events even more poignant than would a drier, more “neutral” style. It is thus possible to argue that Dora Bruder is making an argument in favour of “literature”, while not coming down clearly on the side either of strictly factual writing or of invention.