Strangers in a Strange Land

Throughout Suite Française there is a conflict between viewing the Germans with dignity as humans and viewing the Germans with disdain as soldiers and conquerers. This is often a surface level observation. Older mothers and younger single woman are often juxtaposed: "the mothers of prisoners or soldiers killed in the war looked at [the Germans] and begged God to curse them, [while] the young women just looked at them" (239). The young women often value their passions over their countrymen, even young women with fathers and brothers affected by the war. They are able to see the Germans as humans while the mothers can only see brutes. This contrast is also evident in the characters of the elder Madame Angellier and the younger Lucile Angellier. There is a very interesting scene in part two, Dolce, chapter 9, where Lucile connects with the German officer staying in her home on a level deeper than that initial peculiar attraction shared by all young women during the time of occupation. The officer tells Lucile that her home is beautiful; he speculates what type of people built it and resided in it, but Lucile admits that she really has no idea about the history of her residence. The officer is surprised at Lucile's lack of interest. The Frenchwoman reveals that she is in fact not from the area and therefore can give no information about the Angellier estate but "can tell [him] about the house where [she] was born [and] ... can tell [him] when it was built and by whom" (256). She makes a very cold assertion that she "wasn't born here. [She] just live[s] here" (256). This moment reveals Lucile's true indifference towards her husband's family and her sense of imprisonment under her mother-in-law. From this moment, Némirovsky connects Lucile and the officer on a personal level. The two realize that neither of them consider where they are currently a home, but rather a place to live. Both of their rhetoric sounds transitory, which is sensible considering the officer but does not quite make sense considering the married woman. This connection is another instance where the author is able to illustrate the many facets of humanity in war.

This conversation in the garden is what eventually causes Madame Angellier to attack Lucile and her morality, but Lucile reveals that Madame's beloved Gaston is actually the immoral one with a lover. Lucile considers her mother-in-laws "passionate soul" as "simple" with her black and white hatred for the German and blinding love for her son (257).