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The article examines the narrative organization of Jonathan Littell’s novel Les Bienveillantes [The Kindly Ones], dedicated to the events of World War II and offering the experience of an artistic understanding of the Holocaust. Maximilien Aue, the protagonist and narrator of Les Bienveillantes, is an ex-officer of the SS and SD. The author of the article attempts to explain how his personality traits influence the specifics of the novel’s narrative. She shows that Aue’s important characteristic is infantility; this feature determines his behavior, perception, and, as a consequence, the specifics of the narrative. In the analysis of the novel, the author uses narratological methodology. She studies aspects illustrating manifestations of Aue’s infantility: relationship with his family, joining the ranks of the SD, direct participation in the extermination of the Jewish people and performance of official duties; transformation of his mental state; his behavior in situations that threaten his freedom. The author shows that Aue is unable to break the infantile relationship with his family: the narrative contains his childhood memories and his thoughts about his family as part of the story of the tragic events of the Holocaust. The author reveals that Aue’s involvement in service to the Third Reich is unconscious: his decision to join the SD is not based on ideological reasons, but on the fear of criminal punishment and the physical discomfort he experiences. When completing errands, Aue pursues his own interests rather than official duties (in particular, he compiles a photo album with executions instead of a formalized report). Metamorphoses of Aue’s mental state also testify to his infantile consciousness. The author analyzes dreams and fantasies that indicate Aue’s immaturity. His dreams perform a characterological function in the novel: they show his failure as a leader. Aue’s lack of empathy shows in his inability to sympathize with the victims of the genocide; it determines the speech features of his story such as the neutral narration about the executions, shocking comparisons and associations, the physiological nature of the narrative language. Aue’s infantility also leads to his inability to take responsibility for his actions; his self-consciousness develops many years later. Aue’s maturity shows in the recognition of his own non-exclusivity and in the intention to write a novel—to return to his experience of participating in Jewish actions. The choice of a bearer of infantile consciousness as the narrating protagonist in Les Bienveillantes indicates that modern literature is attempting to comprehend the situation of a person embroiled in hostilities, in the situation of no choice.

Infantile Consciousness and Its Narrative Incarnation in Jonathan Littell’s Novel Les Bienveillantes