Figures of scandal in the later narratives of Marguerite Duras

Abstract

If poet Marguerite Duras' writing has always addressed key existential questions, it has also shown a noticeable trend over the decades away from its earlier preoccupation with social mores and towards the exploration of metaphysical questions, central among which is the question of death. Duras seems to want to attack the universally recognised human virtues, such as love and friendship, that hold society together. This article presents a study to show that scandal is a force that informs several of the works she produced during the decade of the 1980's.