What was it like having to form an opinion regarding the Nazi occupation of your country? Would you obey or would you resist? By what standards would your actions be classified as good or bad? As if these questions aren’t hard enough to answer as it is, imagine having to take a stand to these questions as a young adult or even a child.
The Nightingale (Hannah, K , 2015) is a novel within the genre of historical fiction which brings up the topic of growing up in war times and presents average scenarios of growing up in nazi-occupied France. The plot follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, who at first have different moral approaches when the German Nazis occupied France. Isabelle has a patriotic view and a strong belief that the virtuous thing is to speak up and fight against the Germans to show that the French has integrity and refuses to be pushed over. Isabelle therefore joins the resistance to act accordingly to her beliefs. Isabelle's task oriented mind seems to act as a blind spot in regards to the dangerous life a resistance fighter would imply. If Isabelle witnesses injustice she wants to take actions and administer justice.
The indirect danger is something that Vianne tries to get through to Isabelle. Vianne, as one who has seen what an effect a war can have on a man, such as her father, grasps that resistant actions are more complex than simply performing them. The emotional toll it takes and your responsibilities towards your loved ones is something Vianne promotes to take into account. This view stems from her having her own family, which she feels a strong responsibility towards to survive to take care of. Vianne clearly sees the logical error Isabelle has made by concluding that she might be able to accomplish a resistance, but forgetting the aftermath. The misunderstanding between Isabelle and Vianne is caused by their different values. Isabelle’s values keeping one’s integrity higher no matter what the effect might be. In this way the war has not only affected Isabelle's and Vianne's way of life by having to standing in line for food, but also their interpersonal relationship.
When Julien sacrifices himself to save her one might expect Isabelle to change her mind. Instead, one understands that Isabelle might have been right all along with her altruistic and utilitarian thinking and conclusion that one’s life is important. Even if she dies, she did save all those airmen.
The war erased the line between child-parent for Vianne and Sophie. Sophie is worried about having to care of her mother, who is broken down by the war, instead of as a child being comforted since she is anxious about being forced to deal with complex topics such as death with the soldiers carrying rifles occupying the streets. At Sophies age of eight the brain is not developed to handle these topics and the collection of experiences, hopefully, has not prepared you either. The possibilities about your mother disappearing since your father already has should be one of the last things on a child’s mind. The transportations of Jews, even the children, as in Rachel’s case, is a clear statement that the children no longer belongs to their parents, but the state.
Watching the war from Vianne and Isabelle’s opposite angle is Beck. The Wehrmacht has ordered him to settle in the Mauriac-Rossignol’s house because of the convenience since it is close to the Nazi headquarters. Beck tries to be a gentleman by caring about the family’s emotional state and showing respect for the inconvenience of him being there by helping around the house. Beck takes a dangerous risk when he gives a false birth certificate to Vianne that says Vianne is the mother of Rachel’s son, which she takes care of since Rachel got deported. Beck’s similar actions suggest that people’s actions speaks louder rather than their words. Beck’s words in the form of his rank say he is on the Nazis side, whereas his actions in various ways contradicts them. If one is conversant with the act of Oscar Schindler, one might notice that the theme of similar good actions amongst evil is a theme in Schindler’s story as well as in Beck’s (Keneally, T, 1982).
Beck’s suffering is caused by the fact that he would be seen as evil in the public eye for obeying harmful orders and be seen as insubordinate if he disobeyed.
The novel raises awareness of the civilian points of view of the war, which was more of an emotional torture and mental summary executions rather than physical torture if you were sent to a concentration or war camp.
Reference list:
Keneally, T (1982) Schindlers Ark London: Hodder and Stoughton
Hannah, K (2015) The Nightingale
New York: St. Martin’s Press