Duras in the next set of pages develops the plot and the characters in The Lover. I'm starting to observe a pattern in her writing technique and what Juliana proposed as, "the interweaving motion of the text." It starts at one end and then submerges, finally appearing again at the other end. I also noticed how she always felt the need to clarify herself by the incessant repetition, and perhaps she's trying to convince herself that her memory recall is valid....and not as distant from her than she had initially thought so.
Jumping back to the themes discussed in the novel, the concept of beauty is further analyzed with her pride of her "white supremacy" over the native Vietnamese population. Her ethnicity and identity is significant in her life, but at the same time, yes another contradiction is posed in the novel. She enjoys shape-shifting identities to satisfy other's assumptions of her. "I know it's not a question of beauty, though, but of something else, for example, yes, something else--mind, for example. What I want to seem I do seem.....I can become anything anyone wants me to. And believe it. ....And when I believe it, and it becomes true for anyone seeing me who wants me to be according to his taste, I know that too." (18)
I think the quote displays how Duras was in control of her identity and almost manipulating other people because it deceives people. However, this type of "deception" doesn't exactly harm anyone or hurt people's feelings, quite contrarily it would hurt her mental state of mind by having to constantly change her identity for to satisfy the people around her. What I admire about Duras is that she's very blunt and honest when she writes, she doesn't beat around the bush, and she doesn't conceal her weaknesses or exaggerate her ability. Her criticism of women dressing up for the sake of seeking romance from other other men is a condemnation for materialistic desires. "You didn't have to attract desire. Either it was in the woman who aroused it or it didn't exist. Either it was there at first glance or else it had never been. It was instant knowledge of sexual relationship or it was nothing. That too I knew before I experienced it." (19) She also constantly reminds us that she was mature and advanced for her age, which I don't think is always a good thing in her case.
Page 27 ended with a new shift in the plot of her meeting a man who was "not white" (once again, emphasis on racial identity). She also admits that her mother's depression took over her family as a whole and it explains why Duras herself is very pessimistic in her narration. "Everything has grown up all around us. There are no more children, either on the buffalos or anywhere else. We too have become strange, and the same sluggishness that has overtaken my mother has overtaken us too." (26)
I agree with you that Duras is very blunt in her writing and directly says whats on her mind, which is admirable. However, I think we also have to be skeptical towards her hypocrisy. She criticizes women for dressing up for men when she herself "becomes anything anyone wants [her] to be". Isn't she doing the same thing?
ReplyDeleteI also realized after reading the quote in your post: "the same sluggishness that has overtaken my mother has overtaken us too" that Duras' life and her mother's are closely connected. Even though she gives off a very independent and isolated attitude, she is directly affected by her mother's mood and situation and knows it. This might be another reason she resents her mother, because no matter how hard she tries to be separate from her, her mother still inevitably affects her and so ultimately has power over her.