They walked in shadow: Three women on the frontlines of communism

Through the works of Simone Tery, Edith Thomas, and Elsa Triolet emerges a picture of women's status during the Spanish Civil War, the phony war, and the German Occupation of France. The participation of these women in the communist movement from 1936 to 1945 resulted in their roles as ecrivains engagees, (committed writers), using their writing as a tool to further the advancement of the proletariat.;Although outwardly living within the shadow of men, Tery, Thomas, and Triolet carried on activities which made them part of the critical two percent of the French population which, during the Occupation, sought to overturn the status quo. The work of Albert Einstein in this regard shows the importance of this two percent in changing the direction of the country. The political events of the day and the role of clandestine publishing are presented in this dissertation as a way of better understanding the work of these women. In an effort to carry on their tradition, their activities and writings from the years 1936 to 1945 are presented here.;With the conflict engendered by communism, fascism, and democracy as background, each woman created stories reflecting the daily life of women at that time. Although propaganda was the aim of each writer, their views on the role of women in their society are evident. Tery's women, while strong, defer to communism's belief that women's liberation will occur along with that of the proletariat. Thomas' female characters are strong women who find ways to be themselves in spite of society's strictures. While Triolet's weaker characters are abused by the society in which they live, her strong women find ways to use society's rules to their advantage.