Marguerite Duras’ novel, “The Lover,” is a unique literature that explores the themes of love, family, and colonialism. At first, I was confused about the story’s setting as there seemed to be a diverse array of ethnicities and there were some city names (such as Mekong, Cholon, and Saigon) that I had never heard of before. It turns out that this novel was based on the French colonial period in Vietnam in the 1930s, which piqued my interest. At the novel’s beginning, I thought that the protagonist’s family was well-off because her mother greatly valued education and wanted her daughter to specialize in mathematics. Later on, it was revealed that the protagonist’s family was poor. Still, they were White which heightened their socioeconomic status: “The head agrees because I’m white and the place needs a few whites among all the half-castes for the sake of its reputation (pg. 71).” 

Throughout the story, the protagonist has to navigate through complex family dynamics and her sexual relationship with an older Chinese man who is very wealthy. The blatant racism and prejudice in some parts of the story were very discomforting as societal norms and racial prejudice made the relationship between them unsustainable. Everyone gossiped about their relationship when they found out which caused tension between the two so they never connected on a deep level despite their sexual desires. Even though the Chinese man was rich and treated her well, society and even her own family couldn’t look past his ethnicity and still considered the girl to be too good for him. 

Furthermore, this is another novel from this course that plays with the fickle characteristic of memory. The storyline was fragmented, with her repeatedly retelling the death of her younger brother then jumping to the present where she had a husband and then back to her first lover. It made the plot a little more complex and engaging as it left the readers connecting the story and timeline on their own. Another interesting aspect of the narration is that the author switches from first person to third person throughout the story. At first, I thought it was to detach herself from unpleasant memories and interactions by narrating it as if it didn’t happen to her but to someone else instead. But I think it was more for the protagonist to reflect on her life in the past from the present from an external viewpoint because she can see and understand things more clearly now that she’s older and wiser. 

Discussion Question: 

It appears that the girl harboured a love/hate relationship with her family, especially her mother. How do you think the girl’s family influenced her life’s choices in relationships, education, and prospects? Do you think she would have continued the relationship with the Chinese man if her family wasn’t a factor in her life?