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libtaylor

PerformedDisembodimentinDuras’sFictionalSpaces

By

LibTaylor

ThisarticlewillexploretheplayofdisembodimentandcorporealityinaclusterofMargueriteDuras’stextsandperformances,particularlyfocusingonIndiaSong（1992,firstpublishedinFrance1973）andEdenCinema（1992,firstpublishedinFrance1977）.Noteasilycategorisedasnovel,film,theatreorevensymphonicpoem,thisbodyoftextsoccupiesspacesbetweenformsandgenres,mergingfictionandmemory,destabilisingreadingwithmaterialperformanceandcounterpointingliveandmediatedactionandsound.ThetitlessuggestakindofintermedialityandindeedDurassubtitlesthepublishedFrenchversionofIndiaSong‘texte-théâtre-film’（1973）,toconveyherownmystificationofitsrepresentationalform.Parallelingthishesitationbetweenfictionalmodesandforms,thetextsarecharacterisedbyaninterplayoftheembodieddeadandthedisembodiedliving.InbothIndiaSongandEdenCinematheatrical‘vitality’islocatedinfigureswho,wearetold,aredead:

Anne-MarieStretterinIndiaSongandtheMotherinEdenCinema.Theirmaterialbodieshaunttheperformancespace,lingeringinitratherthanactinguponit,whiletheirdynamicsignificanceisevokedthroughacacophonyofvoicesandnarrators,‘live’figures,albeitbarelymorethanshadesthemselves,whosestoriescirculatearoundandanimatethedead.

ThequestionofhowtodelineateDuras’stextsbymedium,genreorformisembodiedatanotherlevelbydiscoursesthatdefineDurasherselfas‘unknowable’,despiteheracclaimedstatusawriterofinternationalsignificance.Herbiographer,LaureAdler,cameacrossthefollowingjottingonascrapofpaperamongstherarchiveheldatInstitutdelamemoiredel’éditioncontemporaineinParisafterthewriterdied:

Isaynothingtonoone.Nothingaboutwhatgoesthroughmylife,the

anger,thewildmovementsofmybodytowardsthatdark,hiddenword

pleasure.Iammodesty,Iamsilenceitself.Isaynothing.Iexpress

nothing.Aboutwhatisimportant,nothing.Itisthere,unnamed,

untouched.（2001:

8）3

Sheisdeemedawriterwhoselifeisindecipherable,whosewritingrepresentslossandnegation,whosefilmsembodydeath,non-appearanceandlackandmanyofwhoseplaysareregardedasnon-theatricalandunperformable（Willis1987,Cohen1993）.Inathirdstrandoftheproblematicplayofpresenceandabsence,thetextsworkwithandthroughtheembodimentofDurasherselfwithinperformances,despiteadeliberateerasureofherselffromherownhistory.ThepresenceofDuras,deadnowformorethantenyears,ismaterialisedthroughhervoiceamidtherecordedsoundtrackinthefilmofIndiaSongandthroughherunmistakeableimprintonthevoice-overofEdenCinema.4DuraswasbroughtupinFrenchIndochinaontheedgesofpovertyandrespectabilitybetweentheFirstandSecondWorldWarsandherwriting,herprosefictionandherscreenandplaywriting,continuallytracesandretracestheshadowsofhercolonialchildhood.Yetthoughherownlifebecomestheprimarymaterialformuchofhercreativeoutput,itsbiographicalstatusisneverassuredassherevisitsthesameeventsandrelationshipsoverandoveragain,recomposingandreinventingthem（andherself）eachtime.

NeitherIndiaSongnorEdenCinemahaveanysubstantialperformancehistoryintheEnglishlanguage.5IndiaSongisacollageoffragmentedandincompletestoriespromptedbytheappearanceofthefigureofAnne-MarieStretter,thewifeoftheFrenchAmbassadorinCalcutta.Itdelineatesasocialmilieuthatdefinesherimportunatelythroughamyriadofvoiceswhichbothdesireandimpreciselyrememberher.Sheisamagnetformemories,andthefocusoflongingforherenthralledlovers.

LiloBaurintheroleofAnne-MarieStretterinIndiaSongbyMargueriteDurasdirectedbyAnnabelArden’sandAnnieCastledineatTheatrClwyd,Walesin1993

TheunspeakingStretterlingersonstageasperipheralcharactersconstructhernarrative,inthesettingofthelaststagesofanexhaustedFrenchcolonialruleinIndia.Thisdwindlingofcolonialismisembodiedbythegradualphysicalandmentalcollapseofthebarely-presentVice-ConsulofLahore,glimpsedattheedgesofthesamenarrativefragments.SetinFrenchIndochinabetweenthetwoWorldWars,EdenCinemadepictsSuzanneandherbrotherJosephwhotellthestoryoftheirmother’sstruggletoprotectherlandfromconstantfloodingbythePacificOcean（thefarmingconcessionDuras’sownmothertoiledover）. Obsessedbythepossibilityofholdingbackthewater,theMotherresortstoextremeandunscrupulousmeasurestoraisemoneytofundthishopelessenterprise,untilultimatelytheendeavourkillsher.Thoughthisarticledoesnotallowthescopetodiscussitinanydetail,itisworthnotingthatSavannahBay（1992:

firstpublishedinFrenchin1982）isathirdvariationofaDurastextthatdepictsanabsentcentralcharacterwhoseidentityisconstructedbyvoices;agrandmotherandgranddaughterevoketheabsentSavannahwhoistheirrespectivedaughterandmotherandwhosenamerepeatsthatofthespatiallocationoftheplay.6

Theformoftheplays

Astheatre,IndiaSong,EdenCinemaandSavannahBaytakeonafluiddramaticforminwhichtext,music,images,light,soundandvoiceareinterwoventocreateelusivememoryplays,partlyabouttheinstabilityandintangibilityofthepast.Charactersaretentativeandonlypartiallypresentghostswhohauntthestageastheyenacttalesof‘trauma,loss,separation’（Willis,1987:

11）.Allthreeplayscentreoncharacterswhoaredeadandwhosestoriesaretoldthroughhalf-recalledmemoriesoftheliving,memorieswhichfadealmostassoonastheyareconjured.

ThesecurityofidentifyinganysingleDurasworkasitselfanindependenttextual‘body’isdifficulttoestablishwhenbeginningananalysisofherwork,sinceeachtextisaretellingorimperfectre-embodimentoftheothers.ThenarrativesfromoneDurasfiction（film,novelorplay）permeateothers,distortingandreformingtheevents,historiesandrelationships,juxtaposingfragmentsofpersonalhistorywithinventedfictions,reconfiguringtherelationshipsbetweenfabricationandactuality.EdenCinemaispartofanexusofintertextualnarratives,proseanddrama,thatdrawsonthestoryofDuras’smother,firstexploredinDuras’sautobiographical1950novelUnBarrageContreLePacifique（TheSeawall）andlaterwovenintoher1984shortnovel,L’Amant,subsequentlyadaptedintoapopularfilmTheLoverin1992.7IndiaSonginterweavesfragmentsofnarrativestakenfromotherDurasfictions,from,forexample,LeRavissementdeLolV.Stein（1964）,LeVice-Consul（1965）andLaFemmeDuGange（1973）.Onetextisdestabilisedbyitsencounterwithanothersoherworksareaconstantprocessofreformationandre-inscription,adynamicinterplayoffictions,half-truths,incompletememories,constructedrealitiesanddreams.Theirvolatilepotentialisexploitedinperformancesofherworkfortheatreasmeaningsofspace,time,presenceandbodyarecontinuallyrenegotiatedthroughaninterplayoffluid,intermedialforms.Theycreatenotacoherentsynthesisofdramaandmusic,butadeliberatedestabilisationofboundedrepresentationalforms.

Butmorethanlinkingtheplaysatthemetatheatricalleveloftheirfamilyresemblancesofconcerns,formsanddiscourses,Ishallfocusonthenotionof（dis）embodimentinthespatialandtemporalrealisationoftheworkinperformance.Myaimistoconnectnotionsofdisembodimenttotheambivalentfiguringof‘characterpresence’anddeath,representationsoftimeandplaceonstage,andthehistoricalnarrativesfragmentarilyconstructed.Furthermore,Iintendtolinkeachofthesebeyondthebordersofthetextstotheirauthor’sunstablebiographicalself-presentation.IndiaSong,EdenCinemaandSavannahBayallsummonupthedeadtotelltheirstories,orrathertohavethemtoldbyothers.AtthebeginningofSection1ofIndiaSong,theVoicesdiscussStretter:

Voice2:

Aftershedied,heleftIndia…

[Silence]

[…]

Voice2:

She’sburiedintheEnglishcemetery…

[Pause]

Voice1:

…shediedthere?

Voice2:

Intheislands[Hesitates]Onenight.Founddead.（1992:

123）

IntheopeningsectionofEdenCinema,Josephtellstheaudience:

Joseph:

It’stherethatwewereyoung.Therethatthemotherlivedhergreatesthope.Thereshedied.（1992:

53）

andatthebeginningofSavannahBayMadeleinesays:

Madeleine:

Iknowyounow.[Longpause]You’rethedaughterofthechildthatdied.Ofmydaughterthatdied.[Longpause]You’rethedaughterofSavannah.（1992:

100）

Inallthreeoftheseperformancesthenotionof‘performed（dis）embodiment’linksthepresenceofliveperformersstanding-inas,orfor,thevitalbodiesofthedead.Itistheenervatedandwearybodiesofthelivingwhoconjurethemupindialogueandvoice-over.Thefocusofthisanalysisisanexaminationofthefunctioningofvoice-overinIndiaSongandparticularlyinEdenCinema.ItwillnotreferindetailtoSavannahBaysincethestrategyofvoice-overisnotusedasasystemlinkingpastandpresentinthatplay.Moreover,whiletheMotherinEdenCinemaandStretterinIndiaSongarephysicallymaterialised,thetangiblepresenceofSavannahistracedacrossthephysicalityofhermotheranddaughterinSavannahBay,ratherthanthedeadSavannahincarnateonstage.

Voice-over,soundandspace

AsGabrielleCodystates:

‘Durasdisorientsourspectatorshipbyusingvoiceashermainrepresentationalframe’（2000:

81）.InIndiaSongno-onespeaksonstage.Thepresenton-stageactionisconjuredupbyoff-stagevoices,thusmarkingthestageactionasreminiscence,separatedtempor