Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the Algerian War

222 Pages·2012·1.02 MB·English

UCLA
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the
Algerian War
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/16j946t5
Author
Haddix, Anneka Wylie
Publication Date
2016

Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library
University of California
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles

Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation
Novels after the Algerian War

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy
in French and Francophone Studies

by

Anneka Wylie Haddix

2016
© Copyright by
Anneka Wylie Haddix
2016
ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation
Novels after the Algerian War

by

Anneka Wylie Haddix
Doctor of Philosophy in French and Francophone Studies
University of California, Los Angeles, 2016
Professor Lia N. Brozgal, Chair

“Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the
Algerian War” examines the role of literature at the intersection of trauma, memory,
transmission in the context of Franco-Algerian history. Expanding Marianne Hirsch’s concept of
postmemory investigates the relationship between the generation that lives through a traumatic
event and the extent to which their traumatic memories can be inherited by the next generation.
This theory is based on intergenerational communication and transmission, which often occur to
such a great extent that the experiences of the second generation can appear to be dominated by
the ‘memories’ inherited from the first generation. This dissertation expands on the idea of
postmemory in the context of the Algerian War for independence and its afterlives in France. In
this case, the second generation is often met with silence and avoidance from the first generation.
Rather than being inundated with others’ memories as Hirsch described, these descendants must
ii
actively seek out the past on their own, often without the intervention of the first generation.
Although delay can be inferred from the name “postmemory” the experiences explored in this
project are further removed from the original trauma of the first generation and therefore
represent what I term deferred postmemory.
The six historically based francophone fictional texts studied in this project are constructed
on the collective trauma experienced and retained by the first generation; a trauma, which
although unexpressed, marked the second generation through its both internal and external
censorship. Moving farther away traditional postmemory with each chapter, this project
analyzes how the second-generation uses diverse scaffolds to gain access to the unshared
traumatic past of the first generation. Each chapter presents a couplet of texts that engage with
the same historical moment or depict the same method for discovering different traumatic pasts.
Through testimonial experiences, retracing the first generation’s movements to historically
significant locations, and finally visiting and creating archives, the second-generation characters
depicted in each text are better able comprehend the first-generation’s traumatic past and its
impact on future generations.

iii
The dissertation of Anneka Wylie Haddix is approved.
Dominic R. Thomas
Laure Murat
Nouri Gana
Lia N. Brozgal, Committee Chair

University of California, Los Angeles
2016

iv
For my family

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………. ii

Acknowledgements………………………………….………………………….. vii

Vita………………………………….………………………………….………... ix

Introduction
Crises of Postmemory………………………………….………………………… 1

Chapter One:
Postmemory and Paraliterature: Coincidences and Correspondences in
Entendez-vous dans les montagnes and L’ancienne demeure turque…………… 35

Chapter Two:
Mobile Memories: The Past Retraced in La Seine était rouge and Le village
de l’Allemand, ou le journal des frères Schiller…………………………………. 83

Chapter Three:
“Writing Wrongs”: Redeploying History in Mohand le harki and Meurtres
pour mémoire………………………………….………………………………… 128

Postlude
Deferred postmemory at the crossroads of science and literature………………. 183

Works Cited………………………………….…………………………………. 191

vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project and the original research conducted to complete it would not be possible
without the generous support of the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies, the
UCLA Graduate Division and the Borchard Foundation Fellowship. Beyond financial support,
the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies has supported me intellectually for
my six years as a graduate student.
I am deeply grateful for the insights and encouragement from the members of my
committee, each of whom has served as a mentor and a model of scholarship. I thank Nouri
Gana and Laure Murat for their flexibility and guidance. I am grateful for Dominic Thomas’s
positive encouragement and for expanding my understanding of Francophone studies. This
project would not be what it is without the unwavering support of my committee chair, Lia
Brozgal. From the earliest stages of this project, she has mentored me and pushed me to think
more critically. Her generosity with her time, insightful commentary and mentorship has molded
me into the scholar I have become. I am also thankful to Caroline Ford of the UCLA
Department of History, whose courses I took as an undergraduate. Her enthusiasm for French
and Francophone history and culture inspired my own. Additionally, the staff of Royce 212, and
especially Kerry Allen, have been absolutely essential to my success.
The support systems and friendships I have cultivated in Los Angeles and abroad have
carried me through this project. My colleagues, past and present, have served as a sounding
board for nascent ideas, been my teaching buddies, and have constantly inspired me throughout
this process. I owe my thanks to both of my writing groups, and particularly to Lauren Van
Arsdall, Kate Schlosser, Nanar Khamo, Adelaide Kuehn, Veronica Dean and Anne Mueller for
vii
their questions and critiques as I completed my studies and developed my project. Their
friendships and support have meant so much to me.
For their immeasurable support, unconditional love and ceaseless patience, I thank my
family. My parents, Keven and Brian Haddix, have always encouraged me to follow my
passions and continue exploring. I thank my sister, Keelin, for her understanding and for lending
her ear and advice during many a panicked phone call. After six years in Los Angeles, my
family has grown. I’m thinking of Kate Willis, Catalina Oaida and Anne Mueller who have
accompanied me on this scholastic journey and supported and encouraged me in ways I cannot
express. From girls’ dinners to adventures around California, these three friends and the
memories we’ve made have shaped me into the woman I have become. It has been such a
comfort to go through this stage of life with my colleague turned roommate turned best friend,
Anne. Finally, I would like to thank John Paul Perry for being my partner and my sanctuary
throughout this process and for reminding me what is important.

viii