Hello, everyone! This week, I read Marguerite Duras's novel "The Lover". I was kind of scared to read this book after Jon explained it to us in the last class. I was ready to face some discomforting moments, but I may have exaggerated a bit. It is still unsettling, but it is not what I made it to be. Let's just say I don't think I would read this novel again anytime soon.
The Lover is a story about a young girl who is French and comes from a struggling family. She takes on a forbidden romance with a Chinese man who is a lot older than she is. This book explores themes like societal expectations, power dynamics, forbidden love, desire, and identity.
What stood out the most to me was the challenge of traditional ideas of love. This novel made me question love and identity due to its exploration of relationships and examination of societal norms. This book challenges the conventional ideas of love as the romance between the Chinese man and the girl is seen as forbidden due to their age and racial differences. However, their love also goes beyond age, race, or social status. It is super complex, which forced me to confront my own beliefs about what proper and genuine love is. There are also some power imbalances that can be seen in the relationship. The Chinese man has money, which makes him an influential figure, giving him a higher social status than the girl and her family, who are struggling with money allowing the Chinese man to have influence over the girl. The girl views the Chinese man as a means of escape from her difficult situation. Her dependency on him holds power over her own decisions and actions, which can lead to a feeling of vulnerability for the girl in the relationship. Their love can be seen as tense and hidden but also very raw and passionate.
To summarize, "The Lover" was a very interesting read about love, desire, and power. Through their experience, I was reevaluating my perceptions of relationships and societal norms and how emotions can be a part of them. Although I didn't enjoy this novel as much, Marguerite Dura still managed to impact me when it comes to human relationships and the complicatedness accompanying them.
Questions: How did you feel when reading this book? Did it change the way you see relationships? Was it unsettling for you?
Julia, I like your framing of “traditional love,” and how the book challenges them. I’d love to hear more about what you think that traditional love looks like. I, for my part, often question what was love and what was infatuation many times over during the narrative. I think I actually came out on the other side than you did in terms of where this “love” transcends age, race and class. Although it is also clear to me that you understand the complexities behind the interaction and the power dynamics! Very well written blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
- Tesi
Hi Julia, I also feel that the novel has definitely changed my perspectives on love and identity, especially when it comes to how much power Duras holds in her relationship with the man. To answer your question, initially, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable when I learned of the age gap between the two. However, later on, Duras mentions how she "exposes" her lover's dependency on her father's wealth, hence her disdainful attitude toward that.
ReplyDelete- Janae