To have and have not: A poetics of ambivalence in the cine-ecriture of Marguerite Duras, Assia Djebar, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

In this study I examine the theme of ambivalence as a fundamental aspect of three artists' personal and aesthetic identities. Marguerite Duras, Assia Djebar, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala distinguish themselves by their commitment to a "total work of art" that resists discrete compartmentalization by genre, medium, or politics. In appreciation for their role as "dual-practitioners," I assert that they be referred to as cine-romanciers, a variation on the term cine-roman, originally coined by Armand Astruc. The nomenclature is especially apt, as it implies hybridity both in form and substance. Duras, Djebar, and Jhabvala create on screen and in print characters that struggle with competing cultural, religious, and aesthetic identities. This dissertation focuses on selected examples of what I refer to as cine-ecriture, a multi-media-enriched practice foregrounding the play of competing allegiance and betrayal, of belonging and exile.