I want to start by saying that I enjoyed this week’s reading due to it being a linear storyline which makes it much easier to read but also by the fact that it is narrated which for me makes you feel much more in interaction with the reading and everything that is happening and because of all of this, I think that this reading has been my favorite one so far.
Onto the reading, I think this is a dark reading because of everything that happens and I personally experienced a lot of uncomfortable moments, especially at the last two chapters of the book. A moment that made me especially uncorftable is on page 126 when she is saying how Anne was very different from them, as she explians how they would’ve commited suicide diferently compared to how Anne did it and to me that paragrapgh seemed really cold as Cecile is talking about the death of someone and I felt she says it as if she does not even care.
Relating back to where I said that I felt that Cecile was really cold about all that happened. Also in the last chapter how they said they are not going to rent the same villa again but another one nearby. To me that just felt as if they did not care that much about all of that happening and were just thinking of what to do next year, which again to me seems very cold.
The reason why I think that Cecile thinks this way and is not that bothered or touched by someone’s death, is because of two things. The first one might be because of the death of his mother when she was younger and the second because she is still only 17 and thus might be a little too innocent or naive to understand the full event of what has just happened, although I could be wrong about this as I think that even though you could be considered still naive about a lot of situations at 17. The death of someone because of your acts is something that I believe must create some type of emotions inside you and not just be as cold as I believe Cecile is.
To finish my blog, this week’s question is whether you think that if the dad had introduced Anne more cautiously and slow to Cecile. If Cecile could have felt different about the entire situation and thus leading to a different story where Cecile is fine with the idea of him marrying Anne.
It is interesting, is it not, that Cecile both admires and admonishes Anne for her “aloofness” (9, 30, 59, 70, 118), and yet the case that you point out on page 126 appears to be an extreme case of aloofness (in regards to her suicide).
I enjoyed reading your blog and I see lots of potential tags for your post here: death, emotions, narration, innocence etc.
Hi! I definitely that the way that Raymond springs on his marriage plans with Anne to Cecile was a bit rash. If Cecile had spent more time with them and realized that Anne’s presence wouldn’t necessarily replace her father’s love for her, she probably would have been more open to the idea of them getting together!