Marguerite Duras, Jean Genet, and the fait divers

Fascinated by crime and criminals, both Duras and Genet trawled faits divers for the material and structure of their works, especially their first plays, Les Viaducs de la Seine-et-Oise and Les Bonnes respectively. In so doing, they brought a universal and mythical dimension to the faits divers in question and altered the negative depiction of the crime and the criminal. In their work, the crime becomes a tragic act that illustrates the mystery of life. Meanwhile, the criminals are seen to possess an esoteric knowledge bound up with darkness.