These Enemy Soldiers

As I was reading this first section of Part Two, I felt that despite the change in characters and plot from chapter to chapter (which was consistent with the structure of Part One) the general narrative being conveyed through these different stories and perspectives was overwhelmingly similar. In almost every chapter that we read, Nemirovsky inserts a description of how the townspeople, and primarily the women, felt about the Germans. While this was not completely unexpected, for the Germans did just take over the town, I was a little surprised by the way that all of the ladies seemed so very interested by the physical appearance and refinement of these enemy soldiers.

It appeared to me that almost all of them, especially Lucile and Madeleine, were stuck between admiration, attraction and repulsion by their presence. And indeed the way that Nemirovsky describes them does evoke almost a sense of awe of these people who are so cultured yet are at the same time held responsible for so much of the pain and suffering that France has endured. On page 216, Lucile Angellier notices that Lieutenant Bruno, “was young, slim, with beautiful hands and wide eyes.” A little bit later, and “in spite of herself, [she] walked more slowly” for she was seemingly mesmerized by his hands.

Yet I also found it interesting that the soldiers, in comparison with the French men that Nemirovsky describes, symbolized more than just ‘the enemy.’ They represented a difference in class, which echoed the status of the two countries during that time as well; the refined German soldiers were winning the war, while the lowly French peasant farmers and village people lived under the thumb of these educated officers. I think this issue of class will become an important undertone that will add a deeper level of significance to any of the tension between Germans and French regarding the war.