Rachel Bespaloff (1895–1949) was a Ukrainian-French philosopher.Rachel Bespaloff
''New York Review of Books''

Life

Rachel Bespaloff came from a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family: her father was the

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

writer and activist Daniel Pasmanik. A disciple of

Lev Shestov Lev Isaakovich Shestov (; 31 January .S. 13 Februaryref name="ReferenceA">Martin, Bernard, Introduction to "Athens and Jerusalem" 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yeguda Lev Shvartsman (), was a Russian existentialist and religious philosopher ...

, Bespaloff took an increasingly critical distance from Shestov throughout the 1930s. She was one of the first French readers of

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

, and wrote on Kierkegaard,

Gabriel Marcel Gabriel Honoré Marcel (7 December 1889 – 8 October 1973) was a French philosopher, playwright, music critic and leading Christian existentialist. The author of over a dozen books and at least thirty plays, Marcel's work focused on the moder ...

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

, and Julien Green. In 1942 she left France for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, working for the French section of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

before teaching French at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

. She committed suicide in 1949. Bespaloff's correspondence with

, Daniel Halévy, Boris de Schloezer,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

and Jean Wahl has been posthumously published.

Works

* 'Sur la répétition chez Kierkegaard', ''Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger'' (May–June 1934) * ''Cheminements et carrefours: Julien Green, André Malraux, Gabriel Marcel, Kierkegaard, Chestov devant Nietzsche'', 1938. * 'Notes sur les Etudes kierkegaardiennes de Jean Wahl', ''Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger'' (June–July 1939), pp. 301–23. * 'The Twofold Relationship', ''Contemporary Jewish Record'', 6: 3 (June 1943), pp. 244–53. * ''On the Iliad''. Translated by Mary McCarthy, with an introduction by Hermann Broch. Pantheon Books. The Bollingen Series IX, Washington, 1947. * 'L'instant et la liberte chez Montaigne', ''Deucalion'' 3 (1950), pp.
Le monde du condamné à mort
''Esprit'', January 1950. Translated as 'The World of the Man Condemned to Death', in Germaine Brée, ed., ''Camus: A Collection of Critical Essays'', Prentice-Hall, 1962. * 'Lettres au R. P. Gaston Fessard', ''Deucalion'' 5 (1955), pp. 65–107. * ''Lettres à Jean Wahl, 1937-1947: Sur le fond le plus déchiqueté de l'histoire'', ed. Monique Jutrin. Paris: Claire Paulhan, 2003.

References

1895 births 1949 deaths 1949 suicides French women philosophers Jewish philosophers 20th-century French philosophers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France French emigrants to the United States French people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Mount Holyoke College faculty People of the United States Office of War Information 20th-century French women Suicides by gas Suicides in Massachusetts {{France-philosopher-stub