The story of Irene Nemirovsky is that of a remarkable writer who was driven to create, even as her world was being destroyed around her. Her life, work, and legacy are the subject of a new, extraordinary exhibition, Woman of Letters: Irene Nemirovsky and Suite Francaise opening at the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on September 24, 2008.
Woman of Letters is more than literary history: it is the story of a mother and her daughters, of memory and identity, of legacy and loss. A Russianborn Jewish writer, Nemirovsky quickly became an acclaimed author in her adopted France, where she lived for many years. But her fame and accomplishment, and even her conversion to Catholicism, were not enough to save her? she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz in 1942, where she perished within a short time. Three months later her husband, Michel Epstein, was also arrested and deported to Auschwitz where he was murdered upon arrival.
Among the few mementos Irene left her daughters, Denise and Elisabeth, who survived the war, was a valise that contained a leather notebook they believed to be their mother’s diary. Haunted by painful memories, they avoided opening the notebook until Denise resolved to read it more than fifty years after her mother’s death. She discovered not a diary, but a major literary work: the first two parts of an unfinished fivepart novel, Suite Francaise, now a bestseller in several countries.
This remarkable story— about a longforgotten writer and her literary tour de force — will be told through stunning and heartbreaking artifacts, including the manuscript, and the valise itself, never before exhibited. In fact, aside from the manuscript, none of the source material for the exhibition has ever been displayed before or even been out of France. Two years ago, Museum Director David G. Marwell was invited to a book launch of Suite Francaise at the French Cultural Center in New York, where he first encountered the manuscript, on display for the first time and only for that event.
“It was the most extraordinary artifact I had ever seen. The manuscript said so much about the person who wrote it and the circumstances under which she wrote. As an artifact, it communicated to me in a profound way. I knew we had to tell its story. I knew, too, that it would be a challenge to relate this story with all of its nuance and texture. Irene Nemirovsky’s life and work must be understood in the full context of the world in which she lived and in the art form in which she expressed herself.”
“Irene was a stunning and incisive novelist, writing in real time, unmediated, as the German invasion of France unfolded,” remarked Deputy Director and exhibition curator Ivy Barsky. “It is a privilege to bring her life and legacy to light through the extraordinary objects and artifacts that survived her. Irene’s narrative is a Holocaust story, a French story, and a Jewish story — in all its complexity. We are especially honored to have the trust of Denise Epstein who, for the first time ever, is allowing the treasured valise out of her possession and out of France,” Ms. Barsky concluded.
About the Exhibition
Although the circumstances under which the book was created, how it was passed on, and how it came to light will form its centerpiece, this exhibition will explore Irene’s various identities: daughter, wife, mother? emigre? writer? Catholic convert? and Jew. Highlights of the exhibition include family photographs and filmed interviews? Irene’s ID card that documents her struggle to see her daughters once they had been moved from Paris for their own safety? and her ration card visually confirms when she was arrested.
Museum visitors will be able to view the Suite Francaise manuscript in itsentirety using an interactive computer program in the exhibition. Visitors can flip through the manuscript, and witness for themselves the tiny writing — evidence that the author knew that paper was limited and that she was not sure when she would obtain more, and that time itself was a scarce resource. The notes Irene wrote to herself and her crossedout notations show that she was a thoughtful writer who was constantly questioning characters’ motives. Visitors will feel the urgency Irene felt as she penned what would be her last work. “As you can imagine, life here is very sad, and if it weren’t for my work…” she wrote to her publisher. “Even the work becomes painful when the future is so uncertain,” she concluded.
Perhaps the most poignant artifact that will be on display is a note with Irene’s last written words to her daughters, hastily written at an internment camp. “Courage and hope,” she wrote. “You are in my heart, my loved ones. May God help us all.” Miraculously, the note reached the girls. It was their hope that their mother’s story would be remembered. Their wishes were realized in 2004 — more than six decades after her death — when Nemirovsky received the Renaudot Prize, France’s most prestigious literary award, which was the first time the prize had been given posthumously. -- www.mjhnyc.org
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