Nathalie Sarrautes Portrait d’un Inconnu (1948) - Satire oder Weiterentwicklung eines Kriminalromans?

Narratologische Analyse der discours-Ebene mit Fokus auf der Funktion des Lesers und des Erzählers im Kontext des Nouveau Roman

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between Nathalie Sarraute’s first novel Portrait d’un Inconnu (1948) and crime literature. The aim is to find out whether the author’s work is a satire or a further development of the crime novel. This question will be considered especially from the reader’s perspective. The first part briefly introduces the role of the reader as well as the main characteristics of the detective novel and the Nouveau Roman, creating a context that allows a better understanding of the novel under study. In the second part, the content and structure of the work will be analysed, which will finally show that Nathalie Sarraute uses the tradition of the detective novel to create her own work. Despite the banality of the plot and the unreliability of the narrator Portrait d’un Inconnu should not be considered a satire but rather a praise or development of the detective genre.