After having read insightful posts by Meghan and Juliana on this reading section, I've definitely noticed the increasing contradiction and ambiguity in The Lover and also a disturbing and complex definition of desire. So far in the novel, desire has been portrayed through the narrator's love for her younger older brother, her relationship with the Chinese man, and now the narrator introduces her desire for Helene Lagonelle. Having mentioned Helene a few times in the novel without particularly addressing her significance, it was expected that Duras will re-introduce the character into the novel to finally clarify her significance in The Lover.
I think the introduction of Helene Lagonelle transcends the idea of desire into something more than just attraction felt between two individuals. Duras ties her desire and obsession for Helene's body with the her idea of religious spirituality. Perhaps her connection of desire for Helene's body and her "knowledge of God" is to convey the significance of the purity of her desire for Helene--but that would pose as a contradiction because it's not the traditional form of a "pure desire". Another interesting aspect of her desire for Helene is that she compares it to the her desire/sexual interactions with the Chinese man. First of all, the Chinese man is a man and Helene is a teenage girl of her age. There are more similarities between Helene and the narrator than there is between the Chinese man and the narrator. The girl's desire for the Chinese man is on the basis of his opulence and upper-class luxury whilst the desire for Helene is her "heavenly" body and a pure overwhelming obsession. The girl's desire for the Helene definitely outweighs the desire for the Chinese man.
Due to how Duras explicitly describes her "worn-out desire" and obsession for Helene, it made me question whether The Lover is supposed to be about Helene rather than the Chinese man. In terms of love and desire, the girl definitely loves Helene more than the Chinese man but at the same relies on the Chinese man for wealth in order to increase her status as a white girl. However, there is another type of desire that hasn't been explicitly addressed in the novel, which is the girl's love for her younger older brother. She loves him in a way similar to how a mother tiger would protect her cubs from any danger or any predators (the older brother). It's almost like a triangle-relationship of desire involving different kinds of sexual attraction and levels of "pure" and celestial desire. Furthermore, all of these types of desire also involve the notion of surrendering to death. "It’s via Hélène Lagonelle’s body, through it, that the ultimate pleasure would pass from him to me.
I really like your point about how by creating a connection between desire and religion, Duras is trying to show the purity of her attraction; I hadn't thought about it that way before. I also noticed the differences between her love for the Chinese man and Helene. Duras' relationship with Helene (is able to relate with her, has a lot of similarities) is almost the exact opposite from her relationship with her lover (many differences, unable to relate with one another). This is why her desire to be with Helene can be considered pure. Something that really confused me was when Duras said she wanted Helene and her lover to make love (74). If she only truly loved Helene, shouldn't she want Helene to herself?
ReplyDeleteYes, it seems like love is in the air. Or rather, desire. What's the difference? We all know that she desires Helene and sometimes the man but does that mean she loves them? It seems like a yes, but I don't think it's in the same way or on the same level. Most of the times her desire outweighs her love. So even though she may love Helene much more than she loves the man, because her desire for wealth is stronger than her random physical(?) desire for Helene, she sticks with the man. Of course having so much pleasure every evening/morning with the man must have some sort of influence on her decision.
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