Villa Zamir and Archipels by Hélène Gaudy

building connections, establishing dialogues. the filiation narrative in the light of contemporaneity

Abstract

With Villa Zamir and Archipels, Hélène Gaudy offers two filiation narratives which, while they reflect the characteristics of the genre, notably defined by the work of Dominique Viart, are nonetheless atypical. Indeed, Villa Zamir is a filiation narrative somewhat hidden behind the biography of the banker Albert Kahn and the dialogue between the image of his villa and the places of the author’s childhood. In a very original way, Archipels is an investigation into the father conducted with him in a spirit of collaboration and dialogue. This article aims to see how Hélène Gaudy renews the filiation narrative. According to Dominique Viart, the filiation narrative is “a substitute for autobiography” (Viart; Vercier, 2009, p. 77): we speak of the other in order to speak of ourselves. Although this dimension is not absent from Hélène Gaudy’s two texts, it is far from being predominant since the author’s aim is to start from the intimate in order to open up to the world. In doing so, she places the filiation narrative within the challenges of contemporary literature, the major orientation of which is the need for dialogue, networking and taking into account the words of others.