L’OBJET-VALISE CHEZ PATRICK MODIANO: UNE RÉTICENTE NOSTALGIE – VILLA TRISTE, CHIEN DE PRINTEMPS ET POUR QUE TU NE TE PERDES PAS DANS LE QUARTIER
TROPE OF THE SUITCASE IN NOVELS BY PATRICK MODIANO VILLA TRISTE, CHIEN DE PRINTEMPS AND POUR QUE TU NE TE PERDES PAS DANS LE QUARTIER

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the trope of the suitcase in three novels by French author Patrick Modiano (1945-): Villa triste (1975), Chien de printemps (1991) and Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier (2014). Drawing from the notion that Modiano’s writing is characterized by a poetics of reticence, which echoes philosopher Paul Ricœur’s concept of the ‘ayant-été’(he/she who-as-been), the paper seeks to position Modiano’s writing in relation to nostalgia. It argues that reticence underpins the aesthetic and ethical dimensions of Modiano’s literary project, defines its relationship to nostalgic discourse, and positions readers’ apprehension of the text. Moving on the trope of the suitcase, the paper starts by summarizing common characteristics of the suitcase as narrative objet, and its appropriation in a range of artistic media, such as literature, art and film. The article then proceeds to a close discussion of the suitcase as trope in three novels by Modiano, expanding on the relationship of the object to themes of exile, identity, memory, oblivion and remembrance. The paper ultimately argues that the modalities of the suitcase powerfully illustrate Modiano’s apprehension and mode of representation of the past, and the role given to his readers in relation to what can be characterised as reticent nostalgia, consonant with post-Shoah writing.

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