De la réparation à l'émancipation: la transposition du récit familial chez Marguerite Duras

Abstract

With particular focus on the processes of rewriting and adaptation of works by Marguerite Duras, this study will examine the generic, stylistic, and thematic differences between the novel Un Barrage contre le Pacifique (The Sea Wall) and the play adapted from that novel, L'Eden Cinéma (Eden Cinema). The transition from narrative to drama first of all implies formal changes, but we will see that with Marguerite Duras, the texts are often hybrid, thereby minimizing the generic differences between the novel and the theatrical adaptation and accentuating their similarities. In terms of style, we can perceive a more feminine tendency ; however it is especially at the thematic level that we find significant differences, whether because of a change in family relationships which seem to undergo a healing process, or because of Suzanne, the main character’s gradual emancipation. Thanks to the use of comparisons, analyses and hypotheses already published by Duras’ literary critics, we will not only compare these two works but we will also see under what circumstances these hypotheses are applicable to our own corpus. We will analyze the relationships between the characters, taking into account their alienation and submission, their contradictory feelings of love and hatred, and escalating tensions between them with the goal of determining the link between the generic and thematic changes between the two texts. Ultimately, we will ask ourselves if it is through the rewriting of her own family narrative that the author can not only emancipate herself but also represent herself in her text.