La thématique de l’eau dans l’œuvre de Marguerite Duras
01 Jan 2006-
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how the water motif is used in Marguerite Duras's literary work and show that water has multiple functions in these texts: it is linked to major themes and creates an enigmatic atmosphere by its association with the unknown, the inexplicable and the unconscious.
Abstract: The aim of this thematic study is to examine how the water motif is used in Marguerite Duras’s literary work. The study shows that water has multiple functions in these texts: it is linked to major themes and creates an enigmatic atmosphere by its association with the unknown, the inexplicable and the unconscious. The strong presence of water in Duras’s texts is striking. References to the water element can be found in several titles throughout her career, from early works such as Un barrage contre le Pacifique (1950) to La mer ecrite (1996), published just after her death. Almost all of her fiction take place near water – and the rain or the sound of waves serve as leitmotifs in specific novels. The water motif can play a metonymic as well as a metaphoric role in the texts and it sometimes takes on human or animalistic characteristics (Chapter 4). Several emblematic Durassian characters (e.g. the beggar-woman, Anne-Marie Stretter and Lol V. Stein) have a close relationship to water (Chapter 5). The water motif is linked to many major Durassian themes, and illustrates themes with positive connotations, for example, creation, fecundity, maternity, liberty and desire, as well as themes with negative connotations such as destruction and death (Chapter 6). A close reading of three novels, La vie tranquille (1944), L’apres-midi de Monsieur Andesmas (1962) and La maladie de la mort (1982), shows that the realism of the first novel is replaced by intriguing evocations of the sea and the pond in the second text, motifs which resist straightforward interpretation. The enigmatic feeling persists in the last novel, in which the sea illustrates the overall sombre mood of the story (Chapter 7). Finally, the role of the water element in psychoanalytic theory is discussed (Chapter 8), and a parallel is drawn between the Jungian concept of the mother archetype and the water motif in Duras’s texts. The suggestion is made in this last chapter that water is used to illustrate an oriental influence (Taoist or Buddhist) of some of the female characters in Duras’s work.
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288 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1868
TL;DR: In this article, the lecteur, enhardi and devenu momentanément féroce comme ce qu’ il lit, trouve, without se désorienter, son chemin abrupt and sauvage, à travers les marécages désolés de ces pages sombres and pleines de poison.
Abstract: Plût au ciel que le lecteur, enhardi et devenu momentanément féroce comme ce qu’ il lit, trouve, sans se désorienter, son chemin abrupt et sauvage, à travers les marécages désolés de ces pages sombres et pleines de poison ; car, à moins qu’ il n’ apporte dans sa lecture une logique rigoureuse et une tension d’ esprit égale au moins à sa défiance, les émanations mortelles de ce livre imbiberont son âme comme l’ eau le sucre. Il n’ est pas bon que tout le monde lise les pages qui vont suivre ; quelques-uns seuls savoureront ce fruit amer sans danger. Par conséquent, âme timide, avant de pénétrer plus loin dans de pareilles landes inexplorées, dirige tes talons en arrière et non en avant. écoute bien ce que je te dis : dirige tes talons en arrière et non en avant, comme les yeux d’ un fils qui se détourne respectueusement de la contemplation auguste de la face maternelle ; ou, plutôt, comme un angle à perte de vue de grues frileuses méditant beaucoup, qui, pendant l’ hiver, vole puissamment à travers le silence, toutes voiles tendues, vers un point déterminé de l’ horizon, d’ où tout à coup part un vent étrange et fort, précurseur de la tempête. La grue la plus vieille et qui forme à elle seule l’ avant-garde, voyant cela, branle la tête comme une personne raisonnable, conséquemment son bec aussi qu’ elle fait p 24
40 citations
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01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: Ellie thinks she's marrying into the ideal family but soon realizes that her perfect mother-in-law, Linda, can be a perfect monster.
Abstract: What's the only thing worse than a mother-in-law who can't stand you? One who wants to be your best friend. Ellie thinks she's marrying into the ideal family but soon realizes that her perfect mother-in-law, Linda, can be a perfect monster. What Linda thinks is generous and affectionate, Ellie sees as manipulative and invasive; from commandeering the wedding to crowding the vacation plans, Ellie can't escape her mother-in-law's meddling. To make matters worse, her husband, Dan, offers little support in the escalating struggles between motherand daughter-in-law. Are his twicedaily phone calls to Linda really necessary—or even normal? How will the arrival of baby Tom affect the family? When will Michael, Linda's submissive husband, finally stand up to his wife? Ellie has always dreamed of having a close-knit family and now she's discovering what happens when wishes come true.
21 citations
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Book•
20 Sep 1990
TL;DR: The authors provide succinct and often witty explanations of over 1000 potentially troublesome terms encountered in the study of literature, from "absurd" to "zeugma", from ancient Greece to contemporary schools, and give details of adjectival forms, derivations, and terms from languages and literatures other than English.
Abstract: This dictionary provides succinct and often witty explanations of over 1000 potentially troublesome terms encountered in the study of literature, from "absurd" to "zeugma". Fully cross-referenced, the entries cover prose, verse, drama, and literary theory from ancient Greece to contemporary schools, and give details of adjectival forms, derivations, and terms from languages and literatures other than English. The book is aimed at general readers; students (from the 6th Form upwards) and teachers of English literature; and those studying classical and modern European literature.
508 citations