The Dogs and the Wolves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Les Chiens et les Loups (The Dogs and the Wolves) is a novel by Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942), published at the end of 1939 as a serial in the weekly magazine Gringoire, then by Albin Michel in 1940. Overshadowed by the Phoney War, it was the last work by Irène Némirovsky to be published in volume under her own name during her lifetime, before she was banned from the profession and deported to Auschwitz, where she died after one month.
Author | Irène Némirovsky |
---|---|
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | Éditions Albin Michel |
Publication date | 1940 |
Publication place | France |
Pages | 342 |
The story follows the characters from Kiev to Paris, from the beginning of the 20th century to the interwar period. The plot is essentially a combination of two threads: the passionate love of the heroine, Ada Sinner, a painter married to her cousin Ben, for the rich and distant Harry; and Harry's rediscovery, through his painting, of the Jewish community to which he belongs.
The title refers to the two male protagonists and, beyond that, to two opposing characters: the "dogs" who, like Harry, wait for destiny to be fulfilled, and the "wolves" who, like Ben, confront it, even provoke it. Ada appears to be a double of the author, embodying his relationship to creation. Finally, through the downs of two Jewish families who fled an anti-Semitic Russia, the novel depicts exile and the desire to integrate as well as to find one's roots. It allows Irène Némirovsky to express her questions about the Jewish people, about social success and assimilation, as well as about her own Jewishness.
The Dogs and the Wolves is not free of the stereotypes about Jews that the author is often accused of. It does, however, offer a masterpiece against those who would like to see her as an anti-Semitic Jewish novelist: this story expresses more than others her compassion for the Jewish people, and betrays her growing doubts about the protection to be expected from her adopted country. As such, it confirms a turning point in Irène Némirovsky's career as well as in her inner self.