 French
novelist, representative of nouveau roman, screenwriter, scenarist, playwright,
and film director, internationally known for her screenplays of HIROSHIMA
MON AMOUR, directed by Alain Resnais in 1959 and INDIA SONG (play 1973,
screenplay 1975). After fairy traditional novels and stories she published
in 1958 the novel MODERATO CANTABILE, which first summarized her themes
of sexual desire, love, death and memory. Marguerite Duras was born in
Gia Dinh, Vietnam. She spent most of his childhood in Indo-China, but
at the age of 17 she moved to France, where she studied law at the Sorbonne.
From 1935 to 1941 Duras worked at the ministry of colonies. During World
War II she was a member of French Resistance. Her husband Robert Antelme
was member of the resistance group Richelieu, led by François Mitterand.
He was captured by the Gestapo in 194, but he survived Buchenwald, Gandersheim
and Dachau, and wrote his memoirs L'escepe humaine, when he returned to
France, having been on the brink of death. Antelme was nursed by Duras,
who had already earlier planned to leave him, but waited for his recovery,
to marry then the man who would be the father of his child. This period
was basis for Duras's later collection of short stories, entitled LA DOULEUR(1985),
a literary cry about the pressure under which she lived. After the war
Duras worked among others as a journalist for the magazine Observateur.
Duras published her first book, LES IMPUDENTS, in 1942. Her reputation
was made in the 1950s with such works as UN BARRAGE CONTRE LE PASIFIQUE
(1950), which depicted a poor French family in Indochina, the psychological
romantic novel LE MARIN DEGIBRALTAR (1952), and LE SQUARE (1955). In the
1960s Duras's writing grew increasingly minimal and abstract. Her sparse
and limpid, yet suggestive style and her use of language was much discussed
by feminists as embodying feminine writing. From the 1970s Duras concentrated
on making films and publishing screenplays. In the 1980s she wrote her
Goncourt-winning autobiography L'AMANT (1984), which was adapted into
screen, and was based on her youth in Indo-China. Duras's struggle with
her alcoholism was subject for Yann Andréa's book M.D., her 45 years younger
friend. Nouveau roman, see also Claude Simon, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Michel
Butor, and Nathalie Sarraute. For further reading: The Other Woman: Feminism
and Feminity in the Works of Marguerite Duras by Trista Selous (1988)
Note: Although Duras helped writers opposing Nazis during World War II,
among others Robert Antelme, who was imprisoned in Dachau, she has been
accused of being member of literary committee controlled by the Germans.
French novelist, representative of nouveau roman, screenwriter, scenarist,
playwright, and film director, internationally known for her screenplays
of HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, directed by Alain Resnais in 1959 and INDIA SONG
(play 1973, screenplay 1975). After fairy traditional novels and stories
she published in 1958 the novel MODERATO CANTABILE, which first summarized
her themes of sexual desire, love, death and memory. Marguerite Duras
was born in Gia Dinh, Vietnam. She spent most of his childhood in Indo-China,
but at the age of 17 she moved to France, where she studied law at the
Sorbonne. From 1935 to 1941 Duras worked at the ministry of colonies.
During World War II she was a member of French Resistance. Her husband
Robert Antelme was member of the resistance group Richelieu, led by François
Mitterand. He was captured by the Gestapo in 194, but he survived Buchenwald,
Gandersheim and Dachau, and wrote his memoirs L'escepe humaine, when he
returned to France, having been on the brink of death. Antelme was nursed
by Duras, who had already earlier planned to leave him, but waited for
his recovery, to marry then the man who would be the father of his child.
This period was basis for Duras's later collection of short stories, entitled
LA DOULEUR(1985), a literary cry about the pressure under which she lived.
After the war Duras worked among others as a journalist for the magazine
Observateur. Duras published her first book, LES IMPUDENTS, in 1942. Her
reputation was made in the 1950s with such works as UN BARRAGE CONTRE
LE PASIFIQUE (1950), which depicted a poor French family in Indochina,
the psychological romantic novel LE MARIN DEGIBRALTAR (1952), and LE SQUARE
(1955). In the 1960s Duras's writing grew increasingly minimal and abstract.
Her sparse and limpid, yet suggestive style and her use of language was
much discussed by feminists as embodying feminine writing. From the 1970s
Duras concentrated on making films and publishing screenplays. In the
1980s she wrote her Goncourt-winning autobiography L'AMANT (1984), which
was adapted into screen, and was based on her youth in Indo-China. Duras's
struggle with her alcoholism was subject for Yann Andréa's book M.D.,
her 45 years younger friend. Nouveau roman, see also Claude Simon, Alain
Robbe-Grillet, Michel Butor, and Nathalie Sarraute. For further reading:
The Other Woman: Feminism and Feminity in the Works of Marguerite Duras
by Trista Selous (1988) Note: Although Duras helped writers opposing Nazis
during World War II, among others Robert Antelme, who was imprisoned in
Dachau, she has been accused of being member of literary committee controlled
by the Germans. French novelist, representative of nouveau roman, screenwriter,
scenarist, playwright, and film director, internationally known for her
screenplays of HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, directed by Alain Resnais in 1959
and INDIA SONG (play 1973, screenplay 1975). After fairy traditional novels
and stories she published in 1958 the novel MODERATO CANTABILE, which
first summarized her themes of sexual desire, love, death and memory.
Marguerite Duras was born in Gia Dinh, Vietnam. She spent most of his
childhood in Indo-China, but at the age of 17 she moved to France, where
she studied law at the Sorbonne. From 1935 to 1941 Duras worked at the
ministry of colonies. During World War II she was a member of French Resistance.
Her husband Robert Antelme was member of the resistance group Richelieu,
led by François Mitterand. He was captured by the Gestapo in 194, but
he survived Buchenwald, Gandersheim and Dachau, and wrote his memoirs
L'escepe humaine, when he returned to France, having been on the brink
of death. Antelme was nursed by Duras, who had already earlier planned
to leave him, but waited for his recovery, to marry then the man who would
be the father of his child. This period was basis for Duras's later collection
of short stories, entitled LA DOULEUR(1985), a literary cry about the
pressure under which she lived. After the war Duras worked among others
as a journalist for the magazine Observateur. Duras published her first
book, LES IMPUDENTS, in 1942. Her reputation was made in the 1950s with
such works as UN BARRAGE CONTRE LE PASIFIQUE (1950), which depicted a
poor French family in Indochina, the psychological romantic novel LE MARIN
DEGIBRALTAR (1952), and LE SQUARE (1955). In the 1960s Duras's writing
grew increasingly minimal and abstract. Her sparse and limpid, yet suggestive
style and her use of language was much discussed by feminists as embodying
feminine writing. From the 1970s Duras concentrated on making films and
publishing screenplays. In the 1980s she wrote her Goncourt-winning autobiography
L'AMANT (1984), which was adapted into screen, and was based on her youth
in Indo-China. Duras's struggle with her alcoholism was subject for Yann
Andréa's book M.D., her 45 years younger friend. Nouveau roman, see also
Claude Simon, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Michel Butor, and Nathalie Sarraute.
For further reading: The Other Woman: Feminism and Feminity in the Works
of Marguerite Duras by Trista Selous (1988) Note: Although Duras helped
writers opposing Nazis during World War II, among others Robert Antelme,
who was imprisoned in Dachau, she has been accused of being member of
literary committee controlled by the Germans. |