Woah. The title made me think it would be like a nice romantic novel in Spain with roses and dancing, but it was in fact a not nice and not romantic book, which actually did include roses and dancing. Doves definitely suggest love and softness, and seeing them represented as pests and a source of Natalia’s suffering was very powerful.
Many of the other blog posts talked about her looking back at the doves as representative of freedom, but I felt the opposite. She didn’t really want the doves, Quimet and her kids wanted them, and the doves consumed her family and she could not escape them. As she looks back on the doves they seem to represent Quimet. He was never a simple and loving man who took care of things, with his tapeworm, his leg, the cockroaches his whining, and his insecurities, he constantly dragged her down. But at the same time, she misses him. Even difficult/horrible parts of your life are parts of your life, and leave a hole when gone. This leads to my first example of holes in The Time of the Doves:
- Both Quimet and the doves left LITERAL holes (Quimet in the door just above the lock, and the doves in their roof where they built the trapdoor). These are both holes of necessity. Natalia forgives and thinks about these holes long after they are left and she has moved on. Senyora Enriqueta’s words on page 194 I think suggest back up what I am saying. She says that our lives are actually many interwoven lives, that can be broken by death or marriage, and how these interweaving lives are bothersome, and sometimes it’s a good thing these ties are broken. I see this as another metaphor explaining the same thing, that we feel pain when bonds are severed, even if they were bothersome to begin with.
- Right before this message on page 194, Natalia reflects on another example of holes in remembering her conversation with Quimet about termites. He hates termites and says they go making holes all the time, but she sympathizes with them. She suggests that termites may be digging themselves out of something. I think this conversation shows how she realizes that sometimes holes are necessary, and maybe holes don’t appear out of malice but rather out of circumstance. She has to appreciate the holes in her life because her life is made up of them.
- Another example of holes is the holes in Quimet’s lungs when he gets TB. These may have been the holes that killed him, or maybe he died of bullet holes, but either way.
I see this as a story of accepting everything, either good or bad, that Natalia has lost on her journey. Some concluding remarks are:
1. Quimet is an ICK 2. I was SOBBING on page 136 3. its my favourite book so far, I thought the first 50 pages were really funny!
My question: Did you notice any other uses of holes as a metaphor in the book?
Dalia, I truly love your observations about holes. I have been re-reading the novel since I first read your blog post (yesterday, I think), and thanks to you have been noticing them as I didn’t the first time. I am not entirely sure what to say about them, but really appreciate the fact that you noticed them and have pointed them out to me (to us). I will have to think more about them. Though I also like your point that “Even difficult/horrible parts of your life are parts of your life, and leave a hole when gone.”
I think there’s an article by (my old friend, as it happens) Josep Anton Fernández that may talk about holes. I’ll have to return to it.
(Other things that fascinate me about this book: the dolls; Senyora Enriqueta’s painting.)
(And I’m glad you like the book. I really love it.)
Another hole, by the way: the belly button. (Not literally a hole, but Natalia imagines it as one, at least potentially.)
I thought about the bellybutton a few hours after posting my blog. I was lying in bed and had a eureka moment and was kicking myself for not including it lol, but you’re right, at the end she definitely envisions it as a hole.
Hello!!!
I love this post, I did not pick up on the amount of physical holes present in the novel, I super enjoyed the book so now I want to re-read to see all the hole metaphors. (I agree Quimet is an ick)
Thank you!
Maya B
Hi Dalia! What a fun way of thinking about this rather sad book. I am unfortunately not as good at identifying holes so I have none to add to the list, but I like the idea that the book believes the holes in one’s life can actually be cause for gratitude and not just longing. Thank you for this!
Hi Dalia! I’ve got to say your title really drew me in and was confusing at first because I totally did not think about this at all when first reading the book but after reading your blog post I can totally reflect on it and I think it is such a unique and interesting perspective of reflection on the book! It just goes to show that even when a book is inherently sad, the things the reader perceives or admires or dislikes about the book is entirely their own!