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Thoughts on Agualusa’s “The Society of Reluctant Dreamers”

This week’s reading The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa revolved around dreams. Dreams have always fascinated me, as it probably should for any psychology major. The lecture mentioned how dreams are often considered to be opposed to practicality, and while I believe that can be true at times (with all of its surrealism), I think it also has some authenticity to it. Similar to how life imitates art, I think that our dreams reflect our reality. What is the purpose of dreams? Perhaps it is a way for our minds to further explore our thoughts without limits, though we ultimately have no control over them – hence the phenomena of nightmares. However, the way we interpret life and what we are exposed to can greatly influence what we dream of, so perhaps there is a way for the government to influence our dreams by censorship, false narrative, and so on. I found this quote quite interesting concerning the topic: “The war isn’t over, my friend. It’s only sleeping.” (131). For me, this statement can be taken in one of two ways. First, the war is on a temporary pause. Second, the war is still prominent in our sleep, signifying how we dream of the war even when it is not active.

I think we also discussed memories, in particular, false memories, earlier this term. However, I am currently unable to recall which text we were discussing. Nonetheless, I think that false memories and dreams are also related to each other, in that they both alter our perception of reality and cause us to think differently. Moreover, we may mistake our dreams for reality because they are that realistic to us, we feel that we have truly experienced them. Similarly, dreams are also fleeting. Though I dream almost every night, I can only remember a handful of my dreams. My question is, what do you make of your dreams? Do you try to interpret them and find a deeper meaning or are they just completely random to you?

Overall, I had a difficult time following this text because of my lack of knowledge of the historical setting. Like many of the texts throughout this course, I felt like I was missing out on context. Though I can usually still make it through, and I found the theme of dreams really intriguing, it was still a challenge for me. However, that may also just be because we are nearing the end of the term.

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Thoughts on Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse”

At first glance, I found this novel quite interesting. Keeping the title from being translated seems to make it appear more authentic and true to its originality. As a student who is also currently taking french classes this term, I was able to interpret the meaning of the title. Nonetheless, I can see why readers may not pick up this book from the shelf – they say not to judge a book by its cover, but I think the title is fair game. The title is meant to draw you in, in minimal words, so that you want to know more about the book and read the back cover. If one does not understand the title or has to look up its translation, does it not take away a part of the process of reading the book? On the other hand, keeping the title in its original form sets the atmosphere of the text; it provides some background information, that is in fact, French. From there, the reader would judge the cover and synopsis with that knowledge before choosing whether they want to read the book or not. Of course, this argument doesn’t really apply to our case of choosing to the reading the book, but I do find the impact of a book’s title intriguing. My question is, how much do you pay attention to a book’s title – what do you notice first and what draws you in?

I think this novel is similar to Agostino in a lot of ways. As Agostino could be said to have “mommy issues”, Cecile could be said to have “daddy issues”, but in completely differing ways. Agostino was more sheltered and possessive of his mother, he idolized her. Whereas Cecile sees her father as almost incompetent, in the way she describes him as a baby who needs to be protected. Cecile sets out to protect her father and relationships through her strategic ways as if she is not his child who he is supposed to be protecting instead. Cecile takes on a lot more responsibility for her father than a child should when instead she could have been studying for her exams – a more common stress of an adolescent. Though I empathize with Cecile for resenting Anne for trying to lock her in the room to study or keep her away from Cyril, I also sympathize with Anne. Anne is trying to ensure that Cecile has a bright future ahead of her and that she does not tarnish it by failing her exams or getting pregnant, as this could result in a limit of opportunities for her in the future.

 

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Thoughts on Moravia’s “Agostino”

Since Alberto Moravia’s novel, Agostino, was a relatively short text in comparison to the past novels we have read, I thought it would be light reading. However, upon beginning the book I quickly came to realize the heaviness of the text and how packed it was in its lesser pages.

Agostino’s relationship with his mother resembles that of the classic Oedipus tale in which Oedipus is strongly attached to his mother and views her lovers as his rival. Similarly, Agostino is a young boy who spends a great deal of time with his mother at the beach, he looks up to her and in his eyes, she can do wrong. That is until his mother starts seeing another man which makes Agostino envious. This causes an awakening in Agostino that makes him realize his mother is more than just a mother, she is a woman and she has had a life before him. I found this aspect of the text really interesting because it made me think about when I went beyond viewing my parents as only parental figures – when I realized they were/are also a student, co-worker, friend, etc. I think that as children, it is natural for us to think that the world revolves around us because we know so little about the world at that point. We think we are entitled to certain liberties and possessive of what we have – such as our parents because we cannot imagine anybody else needing them like we do.
Moravia writes a coming-of-age story in which Agostino sees his mother in a new light, as a real person beyond motherhood. The novel is about when we, as children, start viewing people, relationships, and the world differently, when reality hits us. I used to think that this discovery came simultaneously with our maturity – when we learn our actions have consequences and that in fact, the world does not revolve around us and we must choose our battles. However, given that Agostino is thirteen years old at the time and does not fully portray this level of maturity quite yet, I suppose that we may have to be exposed to the reality or harshness of the world before we can fully develop our maturity – which in itself is a long ongoing process. Once we have learned the reality of the world, we can also understand our role in society and our relationships, as Agostino does with his mother.

I was also surprised at how accurately Moravia was able to portray this confusing and almost awkward time in our adolescent lives as we were coming of age. My question is, did you find Agostino’s struggles somewhat relatable in terms of how he started viewing his mother as a real person and learned about the real world?

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Thoughts on Bombal’s “The Shrouded Woman”

Reading Bombal’s novel The Shrouded Woman, as a woman, I felt deeply appreciated that a book like this existed in such a time. I’m not quite sure how prevalent female authors were at the time or how popular their works were, but I’m glad that Bombal had the opportunity to share her perception of a woman’s world. The novel goes beyond viewing women as an object. Bombal gives the female characters lively personalities, often even more so than she does with the men. She gives her female characters depth by exploring the complexity of women. That is not to say that women are more complex than men, but during this time period and even today though less, women are often overlooked or given stereotypical personalities in media in comparison to men. Bombal allows us to see the life of women in all its pleasures, struggles, and feelings. The novel acknowledges and addresses the harsh pressure of gendered expectations on women, and how they can never truly escape it. Even after death, people will still think of the woman through that artificial lens. The novel resonated with me because it explores the diversity of women and was perhaps able to change some of the readers’ perceptions of women after reading the book.

Overall, I found this novel the most straightforward from our past course texts. This is partly because I found the text easy to read and because I was more engaged in the storyline and characters, specifically Ana Maria. I also enjoyed reading about Ana Maria’s experiences and feelings after her death, I felt that it broke down a wall and represented how the memory of ourselves lives on even after death. I found the way death was portrayed in this text very thought-provoking, even though everything in Ana Maria’s life was already said and done, I still felt that emotional connection with her as she reminisces her life. Ana Maria recalls her experiences and expresses her regret in some situations, yet she is still able to be at peace with herself in the end. I find this a bit bittersweet, but also realistic, as it demonstrates that we will always wish we could change a part of our past, but since we are unable to do so, we have to accept it and live (or die) with it.

My question is, how do you think Ana Maria’s story would be different if it were to be told in the present tense, or rather, if she were not dead? Would it gain more or less meaning?

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Thoughts on Aragon’s “Paris Peasant”

Aragon’s “Paris Peasant” was a strange experience to read. The text describes venturing through the Passage de L’Opéra, which includes cafes, theatres, and small shops. The journey is rather imaginative due to its ambiguity. A consistent theme in this book is its surrealism. There are illogical scenes combined that make the text so unordinary. For example, the gardens become a place of dreams and for mad invention. Similarly, during the night, the parks become places lurking danger yet also a sensual delight. Surrealism uses techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, and I think this is what Aragon was trying to do with his writing.

Another feature of this text I noticed was that it does not follow a timeline. This is most likely why I felt like the text was dragging on, with no real goal. As Jon explained in the lecture, most stories have a sequence of events, even if there are flashbacks in the text, it makes sense because it follows the storyline and contributes to the plot. I prefer this because in these types of books actions have consequences, everything that happens in the story is meaningful because it impacts the main story, builds character development, or contributes to the story in some other way. In this sense, we read with reason and do not have to invest ourselves in lines that have no impact on the story. In this book, however, we are reading about the mundane, with a surreal twist. We are subject to reading about the ordinary, there is no particular climax or purpose, but we are viewing the mundane through a new lens. Perhaps this is Aragon’s way of getting his readers to appreciate the everyday and see it in a new light, pushing us to think outside of the box and create fiction out of reality, as this text does.

Surrealism is demonstrated by Aragon in his portrayal of the gardens and parks as previously mentioned. During the time that Aragon wrote this book, I’m sure that he received a variety of responses. As he implies on page 85, lawyers would not think so highly of his untraditional novel. My question is, why are we so opposed to new concepts and techniques? Though I believe this is more true in the past and we are more open to new ideas today, why is our initial reaction to reject it? What has made us more open to new writing styles today?

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Thoughts on Proust’s “Combray”

Proust’s novel “Swann’s Way” was a bit difficult to follow at first. Though I was able to pick up on a few main themes through the first and second sections, I often found myself lost in the text – and not in the form of fantasizing or escapism, but rather in confusion. I felt like I was reading a piece of literature that required background knowledge on the narrator/protagonist that I simply did not have. I also found myself getting lost in the timeline of the text, I wasn’t quite sure where I was in the space and time of the text, much like the narrator. Perhaps blurring the lines in time was exactly what Proust intended to do. I think it would reflect Modernism in that sense, as it explored creativity and imagination instead of the traditional rational and logical thinking. Proust leaves the text up to interpretation instead of providing a straightforward, black and white narrative/storyline.

I really enjoyed how the narrator discusses sleep and memory and how they affect each other. In particular, the narrator noted how whenever he sleeps, he recalls memories of his childhood and gets the opportunity to rediscover those memories in a new light. Nonetheless, those childhood memories will never be exactly true, as they are broken fragments being pieced together to form a similar but new memory. Moreover, as time goes on, eventually all the fragments of a memory will fade away, as the narrator notes when recalling the woman from his dreams. I think this theme is interesting because it explores and experiments with the relationship between reality and the subconscious. This connects back to Modernism because it is representing how literature was being used to think outside the box instead of following the traditional ways.

Another aspect I found interesting about this text was the narrator’s need to be kissed goodnight by his mother before bed. I’m not quite sure how old the narrator was at this point (hence me being lost in the text), but it seemed like a big deal to the father, so I assume the narrator was at least older than a toddler. I think this factor raises an interesting point and question about mental health and how it was greatly overlooked back then in comparison to today. This part of the text made me curious about whether mental health was given more attention after the emergence of Modernism, a time in which people were getting more in touch with their thoughts and feelings, or rather introspective.

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Introduction.

Hi everyone, my name is Aliyah (she/her) and I am from Vancouver, British Columbia. I am a third-year student, though I am a transfer student, so this is my first semester at UBC.

This course, in both its structure and content, seems very refreshing from my usual classes that involve papers, projects, and exams. The ability to plan ahead and know which grade we will be receiving accordingly is quite comforting as well. Overall, I think this course allows a lot more freedom for creativity, which I appreciate.

I chose this course not only to fulfill my literature requirement but to also expand my horizons. I have never taken a course like this before – the content and structure of this course are both very new to me but I feel that I can use this to my advantage, discovering new ways to learn and looking at the romance world with a fresh perspective.

Pre-covid, I used to travel internationally quite a bit. Learning about different cultures, traditions, and lifestyles around the world always fascinated me from a young age. Hence, I am also curious to learn about the history of the intangible romance world through books. I do enjoy reading in my spare time, however, I do have a particular taste. I am hoping that the readings of this course will not only be easy to follow but also capture our interest.

This course, in both its structure and content, seems very refreshing from my usual classes that involve papers, projects, and exams. The ability to plan ahead and know which grade we will be receiving accordingly is quite comforting as well. Overall, I think this course allows a lot more freedom for creativity, which I appreciate.

After listening to the first lecture and attending the first class, I was able to familiarize myself with what the Romance World truly is, fiction. Romance studies is not bound to any territory, though it can exist anywhere. Romance languages derive from Latin and are considered as their untamed spawns, having created their own respective identities. This concept reminds me of how young adolescents will distance themselves or rebel against their parents in order to form their own identity and gain independence.

Nonetheless, there are still aspects of the Romance World that I am struggling to grasp. Such as, if we can define the Romance World through historical texts that represent it and its power, why would it be untrue to state the Romance World is not real? Of course, it is not a physical location that we can go to, but perhaps it is a period in time or a state of mind.

My question is, how would you describe the Romance World?

I look forward to learning more about the world of romance through our readings and discussions. 🙂

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