Along with a dramatic beginning, Duras alternates poetic descriptions, usually of the sea. As in The Square, dialogue is her main tool in carrying the story. Yet the omnipresence of the sea in this nameless town thrusts the characters outward to another existence. The child is absorbed in the activities on the sea as he fails to satisfy the stern piano teacher. Anne is also conscious of the sea and the sky on the walk she takes in the direction of the cafe where she is to meet with Chauvin. The sea is very important in Duras's life and works, as she tells us in Les Lieux de Marguerite Duras. She notes that her books always take place by the sea, perhaps because she was linked to it very early in her life.

In addition to dialogue, Duras uses interior monologue very effectively.

During...