Alice Rivaz became a novelist at a time when, following the sense of relief just after the war ended, the world seemed to be hurtling towards a new global conflict while also releasing the poison of anti-Semitism. To portray these incomprehensible years, in Comme le sable and Le Creux de la vague she developed an innovative novelistic technique to question the interweaving of the individual subjective lives of her characters, as she captured them in an arbitrary moment of collective history.
Letter written by Paul Golay about the war (SLA) / This letter, which Paul Golay addressed to Ida and Alice when they went on holiday together while he stayed alone in Lausanne, illustrates the affection that bound this trio more closely than people thought. Despite the natural secrets between a father and daughter regarding their love lives, Paul, Ida, and Alice connected through their understanding of events, their social marginality and shared disposition of subversion.
Letter written by Pierre Girard, 10 August 1946 (SLA) / “I read Comme le sable in one go.” Himself an enthusiast and novelist, Pierre Girard’s opinion counts as the bare truth from of a friend!
Photo of BIT staff (OIT Historical Archives, Geneva) / BIT staff at the time when the plot in Alice’s novels took place. The man in the centre, with a beard and wearing small glasses, is Albert Thomas, director from 1920 to 1932, revered by the fictional character Hélène Blum.
Alice Rivaz, “A Bon Accueil”, Servir, 3 January 1946 (BCUL) / This ‘novelistic cycle’ attempts to portray history by questioning collective responsibility or collective irresponsibility. It is also part of the duty to preserve memory Alice Rivaz initiated in January 1946, as per this article devoted to “deported women”.
Alice Rivaz in a car, circa 1930 (SLA) / Although a passenger here, Alice Rivaz could drive. In “Comme le sable”, Hélène Blum’s car demonstrates the female character’s modernity and independence.
Alice Rivaz’ notebook (SLA) / A page from her notebook, undated: Alice Rivaz wonders about the significance of writing in her life.
Traces de vie
Her notebooks go beyond the realm of the novelist to also provide a fascinating account of cultural and social life in 20th-century Geneva.
Keywords
When a woman writes
Long before écriture féminine, Alice Rivaz wrote about the difference of a woman’s voice in a male-centred tradition.