Le Silence de la Mer, par Vercors (1942)

''Le Silence de la mer'' (, ''The Silence of the Sea'') is a French novel written during the summer of 1941 and published in early 1942 by Jean Bruller under the pseudonym "Vercors". Published secretly in German-occupied

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, the book quickly became a symbol of mental resistance against German occupiers.

Plot summary

In the book, Vercors tells of how an old man and his niece show resistance against the German occupiers by not speaking to the

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who is occupying their house. The German officer is a former composer, dreaming of brotherhood between the French and German nations, deluded by the Nazi propaganda of that period. He is disillusioned when he realizes the real goal of the German army is not to build but to ruin and to exploit. He then chooses to leave France to fight on the Eastern Front, cryptically declaring he is "off to Hell."

Adaptations

The book was translated into English by Cyril Connolly and published in 1944 under the title ''Put Out the Light''. An English-language adaptation called ''The Silence of the Sea'' was transmitted by the BBC TV service on 7 June 1946 as part of their first evening's programming following the resumption of TV broadcasting after the end of World War II. A French-language film, '' Le Silence de la mer'', based on the book and directed by

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), '' Bob le flambeur'' (1956), ''Le Doulos'' (1962), '' Le Samouraï'' (19 ...

, was released in 1949. A second English-language TV adaptation was broadcast by the BBC in 1981, and a stage version by John Crowther was performed by The Heywood Society in the theatre at

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

, Cambridge, in 1985, with the (presumably ironic) title '' Talking in the Night''. '' Le Silence de la Mer'' (2004), a French–Belgian TV movie based on the novel by Vercors, was shot from 1 to 28 April 2004 in Tusson and directed by

Pierre Boutron Pierre Boutron (born 11 November 1947 in Portugal) is a French actor and director. He is married to actress Magali Renoir. Biography Pierre Boutron is a well-known TV director. His ''Des enfants dans les arbres'' or ''Les Faux-fuyants'' was a g ...

for

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

television. This film was awarded at the Festival of Fiction of Saint-Tropez in 2004 three awards: best TV film, best female (Julie Delarme) and best music (Angélique et Jean-Claude Nachon). The actors are Julie Delarme (Jeanne Larosière),

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for ''Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

(André Larosière), Thomas Jouannet (Werner Von Ebrennac),

Marie Bunel Marie Bunel (born 1961) is a French film and stage actress. Biography Bunel was born on 27 May 1961 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood, California and to ...

(Marie), Timothée Ferrand (Pierre). In 2013, a new English version by

Anthony Weigh Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

was staged at the

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

theatre in London as part of the Donmar Trafalgar season, starring Leo Bill, Simona Bitmate, and Finbar Lynch. Simon Evans directed.Guardian review of 2013 London play
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References

1942 French novels French resistance publications Les Éditions de Minuit books Novels set in France Underground press in World War II Works published under a pseudonym Novels set during World War II {{1940s-WWII-novel-stub

Plot summary

Adaptations

See also

References