Sarah Kofman was a French philosopher and Holocaust survivor who wrote an autobiographical memoir titled "Rue Ordener, Rue Labat" about her childhood experiences hiding from the Nazis in occupied Paris. The memoir analyzes Kofman's complex relationships with her biological mother and her rescuer "Meme" who she became attached to, as well as critiques some of Freud's theories about femininity and fetishism through portrayals of her experiences. Kofman's writing style in the memoir is characterized by simplicity and leaving interpretation up to the reader while transitioning between first-person perspectives.

1. Rue Ordener, Rue
Labat
by Sarah Kofman
{ By: Sowmya Balusu, Stephanie Sollanek, Grace Hartman,
Alex Majeau

2. About the Author
Sarah Kofman is a renown French philosopher and Holocaust survivor
who is primarily famous for her philosophical writings, most of which
focus on the analysis of both Nietzschen and Freudian theories. She had a
successful career as a professor of philosophy along with her numerous
literary publications. Kofman was raised in hiding during the German
occupation of Paris. She was the second youngest of six children, her
father, a Jewish rabbi, was deported from Paris and died a brutal death in
Auschwitz while her siblings and mother went into hiding.
‚Rue Ordener, Rue Labat,‛ is different from the majority of her writing
because it is an autobiographical memoir. Kofman dedicated her memoir
to Philipe Cros, her doctor and therapist, someone she saw rather
frequently due to her faltering health and physical state. ‚Rue Ordener,
Rue Labat,‛ was the Kofman’s second to last work, because she committed
suicide shortly following the publication of this memoir. The date of
Kofman’s suicide, Nietzsche’s 150th birthday, is seen by many writers as a
significant date due to her intensive analysis of Nietzschen theories.

3. Writing Style
Kofman’s writing style in ‚Rue Ordener, Rue Labat,‛ is characterized her
simplicity in description. She leaves much of the interpretation up to the reader,
it’s not expressly verbose as Levi or Kluger. Kofman’s writing is also
characterized by her transition between ‚I-character,‛ and the ‚I-narrator,‛
personas. Unlike the other memoirs that we have read in class, ‚Rue Ordener,
Rue Labat,‛ is a short memoir that does not provide the reader with much
information.
We drew parallels between Kofman and Kluger’s memoirs due to the female
perspective that the memoir presented readers with. Both Kofman and Kluger
have troubled relationships with their mothers, which encapsulate much of the
memoir. Kofman’s memoir is centered around her relationship with her two
mothers, and her struggle in loyalties.

4. Background on Hidden
Children
“Theirs was a life in shadows, where a careless remark, a denunciation, or
the murmurings of inquisitive neighbors could lead to discovery and
death”- USHMM
Thousands of Jewish Children were able to survive the Holocaust
by disguising their identities and concealing themselves from the
outside world. Many of these children were protected by
institutions and persons of other faiths. Catholic convents in
Germany took in Jewish youngsters, Belgian Catholics hid children
in their homes and orphanages, in Albania and Yugoslavia, some
Muslim families concealed Jewish children, and French Protestant
townspeople sheltered thousands of Jews. In order to support their
newfound identities children had to learn their new names,
religion and places, and refraining from any actions that were,
‚too-Jewish‛.

5. “In hundreds of cases, rescuers refused to release hidden children to their
families or Jewish organizations. Some demanded that the child be “redeemed”
through financial remuneration. Others had grown attached to their charges
and did not want to give them up. In the more difficult cases, courts had to
decide to whom to award custody of the child. Some rescuers defied court
decisions and hid the children for a second time.”- USHMM
After the end of the war, parents who came to reclaim the children often
encountered resistance. For some children, after years of concealing
their identity they did not identify themselves as Jewish. Many hidden
youngsters associated Jewishness for persecution and Christianity for
security and maintained their newfound Christian faith. Some children
even grew more attached to their rescuers then their parents. The
author, Sarah Kofman also became detached from her own mother and
instead clung onto Meme. Kofman’s mother underwent a bitter trial in
order to reclaim Kofman from Meme’s care. Kofman in turn accused her
mother of physical abuse and Meme was entrusted with Kofman’s care.
Background continued…

6. Significance of the
Title:
Rue Ordener, Rue Labat
The title of the memoir itself describes the inner conflict that Kofman
undergoes throughout the novel. She is constantly in between two
crossroads, Rue Labat and Rue Ordener. Rue Ordener is the street on
which she lived before the war began and Rue Labat was the street
in which she was hidden with her rescuer, Meme. Throughout the
novel Kofman is at crossroads between her old Jewish life and the
new life that she has with Meme. We believe that Rue Ordener
symbolizes her old traditional Jewish life with her mother, and Rue
Labat symbolizes her new life in which she is detached from
Judaism and her mother, with Meme.

7. Freudian Impact
Kofman’s philosophical work beyond Rue Ordener, Rue Labat focuses
primarily on the writings of Nietzsche and Freud, with much of her works
running counter to those of Freud in the realm of female fetishes and
fetishism. Freud’s works posit that fetishism is strictly reliant on the male
ego, and that any degree of female fetishes are a result of women thinking
like men. Kofman argues that female egos may be splintered in the same way
male egos are, and are just as vulnerable to sexual fetishes. However, this is
not done as a way to ‚harden herself in the conviction that she does possess
a penis and may subsequently be compelled to behave as though she were a
man‛ (Schor 306) as Freud posits, but rather for women to deal with the
‚paradigm of un-decidability‛ that comes with sexual understanding.
Female fetishes are – according to Kofman – just as natural as male fetishes,
and are not the result of women adopting a ‚masculinity complex‛ and
trying to be a man or reconcile their frustration with not having a penis – a
common thread in Freud’s works. Such feminism and mental independence
comes through in Rue Ordener, as Kofman’s intimate interactions with others
are restricted primarily to women.

8. ‚Maybe all my books have been the detours *voies de traverse] required to bring
me to write about ‘that’ *‘ça’+.‛ (3)
On the very first page of Kofman’s memoir she uses French idioms that the
translation was unable to render. Her true meaning behind her words was lost in
translation. The Freudian term ‚ça,‛ was inappropriately translated as ‚id,‛ to
describe her past years. Kofman wonders if her books are ‚paths of traversal,‛
not ‚detours,‛ as the incorrect translation states.
‚Kofman insinuates that this book does not expose what happened ‚in reality‛
but is one portrayal—a paraphe. Like her other works, the memoir functions not
as an exposure but a traversal of this past, which is skimmed by, but also
withdraws from, the interpretative nets the testimony casts.‛ (Rizzuto, 2006)
Freudian Impact

9. ‚Four in the afternoon. Someone knocks. My mother opens the door. A cop
with an embarassed smile asks, ‚Rabbi Bereck Kofman?‛
‚He isn’t here,‛ says my mother. ‚He’s at the synagogue.‛
The cop doesn’t insist. He gets ready to leave. Then my father comes out of the
room where he’d been resting and says,
‚Yes, I’m here. Take me!‛
‚You can’t, I have a babe in my arms who isn’t two yet!‛ says my mother,
showing him my brother Isaac. Then she adds,
‚I’m expecting another baby!‛
And she thrusts out her stomach.
My mother is lying! My brother had just turned two on 14 July. And she wasn’t
pregnant, as far as I knew! I couldn’t be as certain on this point as on the first, but
I felt very ill at ease. I didn’t know yet what a ‘white lie’ was, < and I didn’t
understand very well what was happening: the idea that my mother could lie
filled me with shame, and I said to myself, anxiously, that perhaps after all I was
going to have another little brother. (6)
Freudian Impact cont…

10. ‚The testimony's first transformation of Freud's theory of fetishism appears in
the scene above. Reading the language and gestures of the mother and child
shows that the text articulates an instance of a possible female fetishism, which
Freud structurally precludes in his 1927 paper ‚Fetishism.‛ Fetishism is the
effect of castration anxiety, Freud maintains. Since a girl, according to Freud, is
already castrated because she lacks a phallus, she cannot become a fetishist.
Kofman restages Freud's theory first, by displacing castration anxiety with a
fear of feminine fecundity. The passage suggests that the mother's (supposed)
dissimulation of pregnancy produces a fetishistic reaction in the child. But
instead of witnessing what Freud calls ‚lack‛—female genitals in place of the
phallus—the narrator gazes at the mimed fullness of her mother's belly, and
finds it unsettling and therefore takes it away from her in the subjunctive mode.
Perhaps this is because she imagines a competitor for her mother's love, a
‚brother,‛ who might take the father's place and become yet another rival.
When her mother thrusts out her stomach, the narrator claims to know there is
nothing (in) there, but then, feeling ‚very ill at ease,‛ makes her knowledge
undecidable. She responds ‚anxiously,‛ and gives her mother a baby, perhaps.
Instead of a phallus, Kofman makes pregnancy the apotropaic defense,
rearticulating the concept of fetishism, and rerouting the pathway to sexual
maturity.‛ (Rizzuto, 2006)
Continued…

11. After reading other background sources on Kofman’s memoir, it is apparent that
Rue Ordener Rue Labat criticizes Freudian concepts and narratives by indicating
that they fail to describe the psychic experience of Jewish women and girls who
lived through the Shoah and occupation. Not only is this memoir a autobiography
of Kofman’s childhood during the war, it is also a display of her traumatized
memory. The beginning scene of the memoir revises the elements and fetishism
and Oedipal narrative.
I didn’t know yet what a ‘white lie’ was, < and I didn’t understand very well what
was happening: the idea that my mother could lie filled me with shame, and I said
to myself, anxiously, that perhaps after all I was going to have another little brother.
(6)
From our readings we have learned that women writers use lying as a narrative
strategy in order to reformulate the discourse of an autobiographical confession.
Freudian Impact cont…

12. Gender
 The majority of Kofman’s relationship in her memoir were with other
females. Although she does not outwardly declare her feminist
views, the only instances of intimacy in her life involved other
women. The only relationships with men she ever referenced in ‚Rue
Ordener Rue Labat,‛ were with her father and in her later years, her
professors.
 In Kofman’s other literary works, she writes to defy the anti-
feministic theories of philosophers such as Freud and Nietzsche.
 While reading ‚Rue Ordene Rue Labat,‛ we drew parallels to
Kluger’s memoir, ‚Still Alive,‛ due to the female perspective of both
memoirs. Both Kluger and Kofman had difficult relationships with
their mothers and as a result their memoirs centered around this
conflict.

13. Maternal Conflict
Kofman’s relationship with both maternal figures in her life were abusive to some extent.
Her biological mother physically abused her to exert her power and control over Kofman.
There were many instances when Kofman references the evidence of physical abuse.
(1) ‚My mother welcomed me with shouts and blows. And she shuts me up for several hours
(or days?) in the bathroom.‛ 73
(2)‚If I stayed away a minute too long, she would beat me with a strap. I was soon covered
with bruises and began to detest my mother.‛ 59
Kofman’s relationship with Meme was also abusive, however, more mentally than
physically. She constantly criticized Kofman’s upbringing along with the Jewish culture
and religion. (4) This could be evidence of mental abuse that caused Kofman to question
her own worth, her heritage, and her love for her mother.
(3)‚She punished me by going out for a walk with Jeanine and leaving me at home alone. It
was a well crafted punishment. She knew perfectly well that my greatest pleasure was to do errands with
her, to hear her pass me off as her daughter to the salespeople, and to carry bottles of beer back to the
apartment.‛ (48)
(4)‚She never stopped repeating that I had been badly brought up: I obeyed ridiculous
religious prohibitions but had no moral principles.‛ (47)

14. (1) ‚I had my mother all to myself for whole days at a stretch.‛ 28
(2) ‚It was especially hard for her to endure Meme’s tenderness towards me; she thought it excessive.‛ 40
(3) ‚And my mother had other things on her mind: first of all, to reclaim me from the woman who wanted to
‚steal‛ me on the pretext that my own mother had more than enough to handle with five other children and
wasn’t looking after my best interests- which were, according to Meme, not to be raised by my own mother
but rather to be brought up by Meme herself.‛ 58
(4) ‚I was soon covered with bruises and began to detest my mother.‛ 59
(5) Mother’s Day at the Store: ‚I hesitate a moment, and then I choose the first for Meme. Of the two, it is the
one I find more beautiful. I’m ashamed and feel myself blushing right there in the shop. My choice has
undeniably just been made, my preference declared.‛ 45
(6) ‚Overnight I had to take leave of the woman I now loved more than my own mother.‛ 58
Kofman’s relationship with her mother and with her protector Meme changed drastically over the course of
the book. In the beginning of the story, Kofman was extremely attached to her mother. (1) However, after
moving into Meme’s house her attachment shifted away from her mother. We believe her experience on
Mother’s Day marks the point at which her love for Meme becomes stronger than her love for her mother.
(5)Kofman’s relationship with her mother greatly deteriorates as the story progresses, especially after her
forced separation from Meme, (3)(6) proving to be a constant interior battle of guilt and loyalty for Kofman
during her childhood year.
Relationship with Mother

15. (1) ‚But very soon Meme declared that the food of my childhood was unhealthy; I was pale, ‘lymphatic,’ I
must change my diet. From then on it was she would take care of me.‛ 40
(2) ‚Bit by bit Meme brought about a real transformation in me. ‚ 41
(3) ‚When I was sick, Meme, unlike my mother, never showed any sign of panic.. On that day I feel
vaguely that I am detaching myself from my mother and becoming more and more attached to the other
woman.‛ 44
(4) ‚Knowingly or not, Meme had brought off a tour de force: right under my mother’s nose, she’d
managed to detach me from her.‛ 47
(5) ‚She had saved us, but was not without anti-Semitic prejudices. She taught me that I had a Jewish nose
and made me feel the little bump that was the sign of it.‛ 47
(6)‚For several years I cut off all contact with Meme: I can’t stand to hear her talk about the past all the
time or to let her keep calling me her ‚little bunny‛ or her ‚little darling.‛ 84
Kofman viewed Meme as more of a supportive maternal figure than her mother during her stay on Rue
Ordener. (1) (2) (3)Her attachment became so strong that in the trial for custody at the French tribunal, she
sided with Meme over her own mother. Although Meme cared greatly for Kofman, they had a somewhat
abusive relationship and Meme was very critical of Kofman’s Jewish heritage, religion, and lifestyle.
(4)(5)Following the liberation of Paris, Kofman continued to visit Meme despite her mother’s insistence
that she discontinue all contact. In her later years, she avoided communication with Meme. We believe this
may have been a result of her maturity, or possibly the sexual abuse during their time together. (6)
Relationship with Mémé

16. Religion
Kofman was brought up with a strong Jewish background since her father was a
rabbi. Her beliefs changed when she went into hiding, due to the Catholic
background of her rescuer. Kofman found herself becoming detached from
Judaism and began to question her religious beliefs and heritage.
‚One day during my last year, I drank so much milk at recess that I vomited in
the middle of class. I was put in a corner, on my knees. This incident was all the
more upsetting to me because my family had always forbidden me to kneel: it
was too Christian a posture.‛ 21
‚On Rue Labat I had to ‘restore my health’ by eating raw horsemeat in broth. I
had to eat pork and ‘acquire a taste’ for food cooked in lard.‛ 42
‚Right under my mother’s nose, she’d managed to detach me from her. And also
from Judaism. She saved us, but she was not with-out anti-Semitic prejudices.
She taught me that I had a Jewish nose and made me feel the little bump that
was the sign of it.‛ 47

17. Impact As a Memoir
The biggest difference in Kofman’s memoir in comparison to other
Holocaust memoirs is the fact that Kofman was a hidden child. Many
Holocaust memoirs depict the author’s time spent in concentration
camps and the aftermath. We believe that Kofman’s memoir did not
garner as much attention as other Holocaust memoirs such as Night, or
Still Alive, because the way the memoir was marketed and the fact that
she was a hidden child. No where on the front or back sleeve of the
memoir does it mention the Holocaust. Readers can view this memoir
as a ‚coming to age,‛ or ‚traumatic,‛ memoir. The major focus of the
book is not on the Holocaust it is about her childhood and her
relationship with Meme and her mother.
We also believe that most memoirs about hidden children might not
garner as much attention because other Holocaust survivors might view
the experiences of hidden children as less than their own.

18. “Jewish children who lived in hiding generally were treated well by their
rescuers. But not all youngsters had such experiences. Because they could
not turn to local authorities for help or were afraid of being turned out,
some children had to endure physical or sexual abuse by their “protectors.”
Studies conducted in the Netherlands estimate that more than 80% of the
hidden children interviewed were treated well by their rescuers, while 15%
were occasionally mistreated, and some 5% were treated badly.”- USHMM
Based on our readings of Rue Ordener Rue Labat, we theorized that
Kofman was subjected to sexual and mental abuse by Meme. This is
why in her later years, she did not go and visit Meme and cut off
contact with her.
Theory

19. Evidence
‚She punished me by going out for a walk with Jeanine and leaving me
at home alone. It was a well crafted punishment. She knew perfectly well
that my greatest pleasure was to do errands with her, to hear her pass me
off as her daughter to the salespeople, and to carry bottles of beer back to
the apartment.‛ (48)
‚We slept in the same bed. Meme got undressed behind a big mahogany
screen, and I, curious, watched as she emerged. Back on Rue Labat, to the
amazement and irritation of my mother she routinely walked around the
apartment in pajamas, her chest uncovered, and I was fascinated by her
bare breasts. I have no memory of that night in the hotel, save of that
undressing scene behind the mahogany screen.‛ (55)
‚Meme was accused of having tried to ‚take advantage‛ of me and of
having mistreated my mother. I didn’t understand the expression ‚take
advantage,‛ but I was convinced my mother was lying.‛ (59)

20. ‚Our reunion was idyllic. We knew we had only a little time together.
Despite an undercurrent of anguish, our joy was intense, and during that
whole period, about one moth, we slept in the same bed, in her room, in
order to not be separated at all this time, day or night. I remember
especially the first night, when me emotions and excitement were very
great. Just to feel so close to her put me in an ‚odd‛ state. I was hot, I was
thirsty, I was blushing. I kept mum, and I really would have been hard put
to say anything about it, since I had no idea what was happening to me.‛
(67)
‚For several years I cut off all contact with Meme: I can’t stand to hear her
talk about the past all the time or to let her keep calling me her ‚little
bunny‛ or her ‚little darling.‛ 84
‚She knew very well that this woman adored children (she was indeed
keeping another little girl during the daytime- Jeanine, of whom I quickly
grew jealous), and that also took in stray cats to feed and pet, but still!
Why did she kiss me so often? In the morning, at bedtime, on the slightest
pretext!‛ 41
Evidence continued…

21. Schor, Naomi. "Female Fetishism: The Case of George Sand." Poetics Today
2nd ser. 6.1 (1985): 301-10. JSTOR. Duke University Press. Web. 2
June 2012.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/1772136>.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/hiddenchildren/index/
Rizzuto, Nicole. ‚Reading Sarah Kofman’s Testimony to Les Annees Noires
in Rue Ordener Rue Labat.‛ Contemporary French and Fancophone
Studies, 10(1), 5-14. (2006) doi:10.1080/17409290500429137
Reference