The Novels of Jean Renoir: Memories of Love and War

摘要

Jean Renoir is celebrated as one of France's most important film directors. It is less well known that he wrote four novels: Les cahiers du capitaine Georges: souvenirs d'amour et de guerre, 1894–1945 (1966), Le cœur à l'aise (1978), Le crime de l'Anglais (1979) and Geneviève (1979), which he completed in the final days of his life. Although these novels could fruitfully be read in conjunction with his films, they also merit serious study in their own right. This article focuses on the themes of love and war, especially in Les cahiers du capitaine Georges and Geneviève. Love and war appear as opposing principles, one giving cause for faith in humanity, the other shattering it again. In Geneviève, the suicide of a disabled girl betrayed in love shortly before the First World War implicitly condemns a society that does not deserve to survive. Renoir's novels challenge prevalent critical views of his post-war work and might provoke a re-assessment of his achievement as a filmmaker and writer.