The Light of Days – An Uncomfortable But Necessary Read

Typically, “major histories were written by men, who focused on men, not on courier girls who themselves downplayed their own activity […] only physical combat—which was public and organized—was held in esteem, while other undercover tasks were considered trivial.” Moreover, “women self-silenced. […] Many of these women were in their midtwenties when the war ended; they had everything ahead of them and […] did not all want to be ‘professional survivors.’” For some, endurance itself became unendurable and engendered suicide; as Batalion poignantly avers, “not everyone survives surviving.”

Rehabilitating the history of women resistance fighters unsurprisingly profits from a woman’s touch, as exemplified by this evocative passage: “One can imagine the sisters, […] both donning the modern fashion of the day: berets, fitted blazers, shin-length pleated skirts, and short cut hair pulled back in neat clips. Renia, a fashionista, would have been put together from head to toe, a standard she upheld her entire life. The interwar style in Poland, influenced by women’s emancipation and by Paris fashions, saw the replacement of jewels, lace, and feathers with a focus on simple cuts and comfort. Makeup was bold, with dark eyeshadow and bright-red lipstick, and hairdos and skirts were shortened.” 

Inevitably, The Light of Days presents an extensive litany of woes, and often disturbs through graphic depictions of violence and violation. Indeed, the topic’s particulars factored into the authoress’ prolonged gestation process. And if the narrative seems novelistic, this may be because Batalion’s “reconstructions sometimes enhance feelings that were implied in the original text and take into account multiple perspectives of the same event”.