Vous terminez Ourika de Claire de Duras et vous commencez à lire L’Amant de Marguerite Duras. Est-ce qu'il existe des similarités entre les deux œuvres ? En quoi consistent les différences principales ? Quelle est l’importance du développement de son amour-propre (self-esteem) dans les deux romans? Discutez-en.
6 comments:
I think that the two novels are very different in the sense that Ourika seems to have self esteem at the beginning and loses it and the opposite in L'Amant. I think that the biggest difference is just this. It is very important to develop your self esteem becuase it has a huge impact on who you are and how your life turns out. It changes your outlook on life and alters the course of life that one will take.
In light of Anna's comment, I think she touches on the greatest difference between the texts. However, beyond just a loss of self esteem, I would argue that the major difference is the effect that public prejudice has upon the lives of the two girls. Ourika loses her self esteem, but she loses it because she begins to be affected by the way she is viewed by her society. Though I have not finished L'Amant, I don't see societal prejudice as a major theme in her loss of innocence. Hers is not a loss of self confidence, as Ourika experiences, because she is not facing the same circumstance. Their stories are similar in the fact that they struggle as figures in a minority, but their struggles and race driven obstacles are by no means the same.
I agree with Katie and Anna- I tend to find that as I continue to read L'Amant, the more attractive the main character become to society the more self esteem she acquires. In Ourika the opposite seems true, as seen in the comments above. Self confidence is important as they face the many situations that seem to arise. There is a major similarity in that they are minorities in a country that has been overtaken with the French "way of life." This I think too affects their self esteem. Ourika is from a culture that has been overtaken by the French, where Mme. Duras was from a French culture that overtook another culture. An interesting contrast if you ask me!
On self-esteem, I think it is notable that self-esteem plays such a vital role in that transitional period between adolescence and adulthood. It was big for me, and I've been told it's even more influential for young women. As a part of finding oneself, judging what does and does not affect our view of ourself and how much we'll let that effect us. In that sense, I think the two works are similar in that they deal with that transitional period; they challenge the naiveté of childhood and see how the two characters differ in their response to changes. Frankly, imho, Ourika is less of a heroine and more of a tragic figure, the way I see it based on how the two characters react to society and life. I would venture to say that Ourika is more along the lines of what would happen if the character rejected the call to arms.
I think the two novels are similar in that the protagonists are living in different societies other than their countries of origin. The loss of innocence is a common theme to both novels. I agree with Brett that the two characters differ in their response to the changes which usher them into adulthood. Ourika let her self-perception and confidence be affected negatively, while the main character in L'Amant took more control of her life as she faced the challenge of her childhood innocence. Another difference was the difference in the social status of both protagnists. The idea of French superiority is paradoxical as presented in the two novels. Ourika suffers the perceived inferiority of the color of her skin related to her nationality in a French society, while in L'Amant, the protagonist is not presented as part of the Upper class in society. Being French didn't give put her in a position of power and control in Indo-China as would be expected.
I guess since I'm the last, I should probably answer this. I think that these novels are essentially the same story. There are differences of course, but essentially, it is the loss of innocence of two young girls. For L'Amant, we would in the 20th century, consider her loss more serious than that of Ourika, but none the less, these are the stories of two young women who grow up a little too soon. However, Ourika grew to hate herself, while Duras' character learned to accept what she had.
Post a Comment