A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

‘Philippe Claudel’s Le Rapport de Brodeck as a Parody of the Fable or the Holocaust Universalized’




AuthorsHelena Duffy

PublisherHolocaust Studies

Publication year2018

JournalHolocaust Studies

Volume24

Issue4

First page 503

Last page526

Web address https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17504902.2018.1468669


Abstract

This article examines Philippe Claudel’s 2007 novel Le Rapport de Brodeck[Brodeck] which, while alluding to the events of the Holocaust, parodies tropes and narrative structures characteristic to fables and fairy tales. While analyzing the author’s simultaneous inscription and subversion of the fabulous genre, I speculate about the possible reasons for his narrative choices and consider the meanings that Claudel’s indirect representation of the Nazi genocide potentially generates. Given the widespread view of the Holocaust as sacred and unique, the article problematizes the novel’s universalization of the Shoah, which Claudel achieves precisely by drawing on genres that shun historical and geographical specificity, and that aim to convey timeless and universal truths.


Downloadable publication

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.





Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 22:57