The Time of the Doves tells the story of the two marriages of the heroine, Natalia, living in the period of Spanish Civil War, when she first meets and falls in love with Quimet in the square. But their married life was not a prosperous one, and to make matters worse, Ouimet enlisted in the army when the Spanish Civil War broke out, leaving Natalia to raise her two children on her own. This, of course, brought the already poor family to an even more devastating situation, and Quimet’s death brought Natalia and her children to a point of no return, even to the point where Natalia thought of killing her children and then committing suicide. In the midst of this desperate situation, Antonio’s appearance becomes a ray of hope that shines on Natalia. After marrying Antonio, her life became more affluent. As her children grow up, Natalia returns to the square and begins recall her family’s days, releasing the emotions she has suppressed for years.

The whole story made me feel Natalia’s strength as a mother, and at the same time, the traditional concept of marriage also made me wonder about the role of women in a traditional marriage. The theme of “motherhood” is widely reflected in everyday life and is closely related to social attitudes, gender relations, child rearing and education, cleaning and other household chores. In the story, Quimet’s mother is anxious to find out the news of Natalia’s pregnancy soon after their marriage, and Natalia is accused of almost suffocating the baby because she is in pain during labor. This shows the understanding of motherhood in the society of that time, that is, they considered it as a social duty of women. Secondly, the interpretation of motherhood is also reflected in men’s attitudes and decisions about pregnancy, which in turn is related to the equality of gender relations. Natalia originally refuses to have a child, but fails to do so because of Quimet’s “brainwashing”. Moreover, mothers from different social classes have different attitudes towards child rearing, education and domestic labor. Since Natalia’s family was poor, she had no choice but to do everything herself. We can see the awareness of “motherhood” at the social level in Spain at that time.

In the story, Rodoreda also makes full use of symbolism in interpreting the theme of “motherhood”. “When they saw me coming the doves who were roosting raised their heads and stretched their necks. They spread their wings and tried to protect the nests. When I stuck my hand under their breasts they’d try and peck me” (111). The doves protecting the eggs symbolizes a mother protecting her child, the most straightforward interpretation of mother’s protective love.

Question for Discussion:

“And while she was talking the doves were the bosses of the roof. They came and went, flew out of the little room and went back down into it, strutted along the railings and pecked at them with their beaks. They were like people. When they took off it was like a flight of light and shadow. They’d fly above our heads and their Shadows fell on our faces. Quimet’s mother tried to startle them, waving her arm like a windmill, but they didn’t even look at her(102)“.

This novel is just like its title, doves are everywhere in the story. What do you think these doves mean in Natalia’s mind? Similarly, why does Rodoreda use the doves as a symbol?