Duras and Beckett: Close Encounters at a Distance

Marguerite Duras and Samuel Beckett, both prominent writers internationally during the same period, and both living in Paris during most of their careers and rooted in French literature, appear to be a remarkable case of closely parallel writerly trajectories in conjunction with an apparent absence of exchange between them. Living in the same capital, they shared aesthetic, theatrical, editorial and political allegiances, and were both at some points intrigued by each other’s work and life. Both produced a medially diverse oeuvre including novels, theatre plays, screenplays, both worked as directors, rather often with the same actors or troupes, and they were regularly considered as examples of the same aesthetic tendencies in literature and the theatre. Their writing – themes and styles – tends to diverge importantly on several points, but Beckett was impressed by Duras' first theatre play, and Duras occasionally identified strikingly with Beckett. Nonetheless, hardly any form of contact or of direct influence between the authors is known.