SOURCE: "A Voice in the Dark: Feminine Figuration in Truffaut's Jules and Jim," in Literature/Film Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 4, 1994.

In the following essay, DalMolin discusses the role of the female voice in Jules and Jim.

In the very beginning of Jules and Jim, while the screen is still black, a woman's voice is heard. No musical background, no other artificial sounds accompany this voice so crisp and clear that it sounds like an earnest statement purposely isolated to underscore the intensity of a vocal feminine presence from the start. "Tu m'as dit: je t'aime. Je t'ai dit: attends. J'allais dire: prends-moi. Tu m'as dit: va-t-en." ("You said to me: I love you. I said to you: wait. I was going to say: take me. You said to me: go away.") The voice is deep and sensual—two qualities defining the voice of Jeanne Moreau, the woman behind the...