The memory of Rabbi Bereck Kofman, removed by French police on 16 July 1942 and killed at Auschwitz, serves as the grounding force for the autobiographical writings of Sarah Kofman. Born in 1934 in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, she navigated the complexities of twentieth-century French philosophy, becoming a scholar who deconstructed the works of Freud and Nietzsche.
Academic Trajectory and Influences
Kofman began her career teaching in 1960 at Lycée Saint-Sernin. Her intellectual development was shaped by mentors including Jean Hyppolite, Mikel Dufrenne, and Gilles Deleuze. She pursued her third-cycle doctoral studies under Dufrenne, focusing on Freud’s aesthetics, which resulted in the publication of The Childhood of Art. In 1969, she initiated a long professional relationship with Jacques Derrida, frequently attending his seminars at the École Normale Supérieure. She held a teaching position at the University of Paris and eventually secured a chair at Paris I in 1991.
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Much of Kofman’s output involved a critical re-examination of the intellectual foundations laid by Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche. In The Enigma of Woman, published in 1980, she provided an exhaustive critique of Freud’s theories regarding female sexuality. Her bibliography reflects a sustained effort to reconcile psychoanalytic theory with philosophical inquiry, seen in works such as Nietzsche and Metaphor and her various studies on Ecce Homo.
Autobiographical Investigations
Beyond her philosophical critiques, Kofman utilized the autobiographical form to document personal loss and survival. Paroles suffoquées centers on the trauma of her father’s death. Her final work, Rue Ordener, Rue Labat, details the conditions of her own survival during the war, including her time spent under the care of a Parisian divorcée she referred to as Mémé, and the subsequent legal struggles for custody that occurred after the liberation of Paris.
Death and Legacy
Sarah Kofman died by suicide in 1994 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. Her death occurred on the 150th anniversary of Friedrich Nietzsche’s birth, a coincidence noted by various scholars. She was buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery and was survived by Alexandre Kyritsos, her partner of 25 years. Following her death, Jacques Derrida characterized her work as a pitiless yet essential engagement with the thinkers she studied.
Fast facts
- Born: 1934, 10th arrondissement of Paris
- Died: 1994, 15th arrondissement of Paris
- Education: Lycée Saint-Sernin
- Partner: Alexandre Kyritsos
- Burial place: Montparnasse Cemetery
- Primary fields: Philosophy, Autobiography
Questions readers ask
What is the significance of the title Rue Ordener, Rue Labat?
It identifies two Parisian addresses: the home where her family lived before her father’s arrest and the location where she was sheltered during the war.
When did Kofman receive her first university chair?
She was appointed to a chair at Paris I in 1991.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Paris
