Marguerite Duras Summary

Marguerite Duras (1914 - 1996) (Born Marguerite Donnadieu) French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, short story writer, and essayist. Marguerite Duras: Introduction Marguerite Duras: Principal Works... Read more

One of the most important literary figures in France, Marguerite Duras won international acclaim after she was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt for her autobiographical novel L'Amant (translated almost ... Read more

Critical Essay by Alfred Cismaru As does all her fiction after 1953 (the date of Les Petits chevaux de Tarquinia, a transitional work), Madame Duras' first play [Les Viaducs de la Seine-et-Oise... Read more

Critical Essay by Francis S. Heck [The purpose of this study is to reveal a] possible dimension to … Dix heures et demie du soir en été, namely that of symbolism in the relationsh... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Tarantino India Song is a film which simultaneously represents a departure from, and a codification of, Marguerite Duras' oeuvre. The narration introduces characters w... Read more

Critical Essay by John Coleman I have slumped through India Song twice. It does not improve on closer acquaintance. To be fair to Mlle Duras, she is quotably her worst enemy: 'I make films to k... Read more

Critical Essay by Janet Maslin In "The Truck," the director and novelist Marguerite Duras plays a woman whose lips curl into a joyless, knowing half-smile every time she makes mention of... Read more

Critical Essay by William F. Van Wert Marguerite Duras has pioneered what she calls the "multiple work of art," a text which is simultaneously a novel, a play, a dance, a film, an opera.... Read more

Critical Essay by John Russell Taylor Like scènes à faire that should absolutely not be faites, there are inescapable questions which just should not be asked. With Détruire, Dit-... Read more

Critical Essay by Vincent Canby The most insidious thing about the nouveau movie, which is a polite way of describing Marguerite Duras's newest, most minimal film, "Nathalie Granger,�... Read more

Critical Essay by Michael Tarantino [Woman of the Ganges] is a deliberate journey through a self-endowed world, in which cinema itself, as a means of expression, is alternately questioned, denied, and... Read more

Critical Essay by Molly Haskell [In "India Song," Marguerite Duras's] most perfectly realized film, the present is in a constant state of deliquescence. As in her previous films, ... Read more

Below, Gunn reviews two of Duras' works, Le Monde Exterieur and Ecrire, as well as Christiane Blot-Labarrer's Marguerite Duras and Leslie Hill's Marguerite Duras, both biographies... Read more

In the following review, Manguel considers the autobiographical nature of The North China Lover and concludes that a clear, factual biography would aid the reader in interpreting Duras' works. ... Read more

In the essay below, which is based on an interview with Duras, Riding discusses the autobiographical nature of her writing. To describe Marguerite Duras as a little old lady, even though she is all th... Read more

In the following interview, Duras remarks on feminism and how the response to her work has differed in France and the United States. [Jardine:] Question 1: What does it mean to you to write at the end... Read more

In the following review, Grossman states that despite its unusual and sparse style, somber mood, and difficult subject matter, Summer Rain is a compelling novel. It would be foolish to argue with Marg... Read more

In the following review, Thon contends that The North China Lover is less distant and more humane than the earlier novel The Lover. Spare and erotic, The North China Lover is not merely the story of T... Read more

In the following essay, Rava examines the attempts of Duras's female characters to create a linguistic voice and presence for themselves in the predominantly male urban milieu. In the works of ... Read more

In the following essay, Cismaru analyzes Des journées entières dans les arbres, praising Duras's realistic depiction of “the world of the dispossessed.” The year 195... Read more

In the following essay, Reid discusses the ways in which the café setting represents an “ideal inner space” in Duras's fiction. … écrire, c'est ç... Read more