Hélène Dworzan

The Time of the Chrysalis Hélène Dworzan

The story of Mireille, a young Jewish woman and her older brother, Saul, both of whom survived the Holocaust which claimed the lives of their parents, The Time of the Chrysalis presents a couple of vulnerable young people dealing with the complexities of postwar Paris in the absence of any social support. Evoking the nightmare of history in allusions and flashbacks, the novel focuses primarily on the trials and tribulations of the surviving adolescents, orphans left with no mooring in a world of heedless adults. Exploring the neurotic compulsions of those who have spent their formative years under siege, the novel deals with the dynamics of abuse internalized by the survivors, presenting the generally sensitive and intelligent older brother as one who falls into the role of patriarchal bully in his dealings with his beloved sister. In fact, Dworzan?s characters seem compelled to reenact, in dealings with each other, the abuse imposed on them by an oppressive world in the aftermath of catastrophe. A coming-of-age novel in which the twenty-year-old protagonist occupies center stage, the novel also presents several poignantly and sympathetically rendered male characters, including Saul and his good friend, Marcel. Most remarkable and haunting is the author?s presentation of Denise, Mireille?s neighbor and friend, a coarse, street-wise woman brutally exploited by the thugs who surround her. Eminently vulnerable to the kind of violence perennially endured by such women, Denise occupies a crucial position in Dworzan?s plot, since she is at one and the same time Mireille?s only female friend and the embodiment of all the dangers from which Saul is determined to protect his little sister. Except for a few peripheral figures, there are no good guys or bad guys in this novel. All of the major characters and various minor ones display remarkable complexity.