Études romanes de Brno (Jul 2013)
Représentations de l'histoire dans les textes de Marguerite Duras et Simone de Beauvoir
Abstract
The works of Simone de Beauvoir and Marguerite Duras provide individual assessment of historical facts and social issues. Beauvoir – an icon of feminism, a socially committed writer – had a major impact on the mentality of the second half of the 20th century. The main problems addressed by the author are colonization, war in Algeria, the 1968 student uprising, and the women's liberation movement. Her keen observation of the socioeconomic relations reveals the mechanisms of action of state institutions; she rebels against social inequalities, downgrading of women, and the bourgeois value system. Duras was also familiar with the issues of colonization, occupation, and Nazi savagery. Her texts and films criticize bourgeois and denounce social injustice. It is worth considering the extent to which the historical vision of these two great Frenchwomen is innovative. It might be equally interesting to assess how they influenced perception of reality by successive generations of readers.
