SOURCE: Lee, Mark D. “The Last Word: Deathbed Scenes in the Works of Nathalie Sarraute.” L'Esprit Createur 40, no. 1 (spring 2000): 47-57.

In the following essay, Lee contends that the deathbed scene is used repeatedly and with consistency across all of Sarraute's work, offering fertile ground for tropismic exploration.

Je comprends parfaitement que l'on conserve au fond de son portefeuille le récit d'une heure d'agonie, tant d'années durant. Il ne serait même pas nécessaire qu'elle fût particulièrement choisie. Elles ont toutes quelque chose de presque rare.

—R. M. Rilke, Les Cahiers de Malte Laurids Brigge¹

With the death of Nathalie Sarraute, it is time to examine a scene whose recurrence and consistency across her literary career demands critical attention. Novels, short texts, even anecdotes recounted in interviews and essays by Sarraute are punctuated by what may best be described as a deathbed scene. A...