Searching for Irène Némirovsky

This paper analyzes the critical literature on Irène Némirovsky in the context of her engagement of the Inter-war émigré Russian community of Montparnasse, Paris as well as the broader French public. This paper begins with a detailed account of the Inter-war Russian community of Montparnasse, Paris to provide historical context and evaluate existing research on the Russian émigré community. A traditionally held notion that the community was closed off from outside influence and unified ideologically will be dispelled as part of an effort to illustrate how the setting in which Irène Némirovsky worked and lived facilitated her ability to write and qualifies her as an appropriate subject for study of Russian émigré literature. It also serves a crucial role in providing context when analyzing her more controversial works such as "David Golder". Subsequently, an analysis of the scholarly work on Irène Némirovsky is conducted followed by an analysis of three of her most well-known novels. Study of these novels prove that Némirovsky was an atypical émigré in some ways but typical in others, but that above all, the community of Russian Montparnasse held a symbiotic relationship with its French host and a free exchange of literary ideas and cultures was available if it were sought after.