Shifting Borders, Shifting Selves The Construction of the Russian Emigre's Identity in the Autobiographical Fictions of Henri Troyat and Andreï Makine

Marilee Pray

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Van Tuyl, Jocelyn

Keywords

Makine, Andreï, Soviet Union, French Literature

Area of Concentration

Literature

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationships émigré characters have with Russia, the country they leave, and France, the country to which they move. The focus is placed on three autobiographical novels: Aliocha by Henri Troyat, and Au temps du fleuve amour and Le testament français by Andreï Makine. Both these authors left the Soviet Union for France, where they became prolific and celebrated novelists who published in their adopted language. In this thesis, I examine the ways the authors look at aspects of cultural identity through their characters who are, like the authors, faced with displacement and a sense of being an outsider. This thesis examines how personal identity is shaped by the lack of a reliable historical narrative available to the characters in the novels. In the first chapter, focusing on Troyat’s novel, I investigate the formation of the artist-narrator through Aliocha’s interpretation of French culture and his difficulty with accessing memories from his country of origin. The second chapter looks at the Makine novels, focusing on how French culture acts as a source of optimism for adolescent boys growing up in what they see as a brutal country.

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