Category Archives: Introduction

The “Love” across Age and Race– Marguerite Duras

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“Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you’re more beautiful now than then (p. 3). “

This is the classic beginning of The Lover by Marguerite Duras, where the aged narrator when her looks are devastated, longs for a lover who expresses the love that transcends above time.

In this novel, the narrator looks back on her first love and offers her personal reflections on past regrets, sorrow, and joy. Unfolding in the first-person narrative, the novel explores the deep and hopeless love between a poor French teenage girl and a rich Chinese man in his mid-twenties.  For me what makes this story so influential is that it takes the life of the French colonists in Vietnam as the background, where there was a rise of nationalism among Vietnamese people and the idea of racial discriminatory views among French colonists. Under this concept,  this forbidden love between a French girl and a Chinese man highly reflects that love can transcend the prejudice of race, colour, and wealth. 

“I say that’s how I desire him, with his money, that when I first saw him he was already in his car, in his money. ( p. 40)” In the first part of the novel, the narrator emphasizes that she’s with this Chinese man for the money. Similarly, the rich Chinese man desires her young body and sex. At this point, this seems to be a fair trade. However, I feel great sympathy for the narrator. Her family looms over her like a shadow, the source of all her suffering comes from poverty and her mother. In such a family, her mother always sees her daughter in a patriarchal view and sees her as a commodity, caring about her daughter’s value in the marriage market. Her mother never provided the love a teenager needs, and so she is thirsting for the love she never had.  This accumulated desire for love was satisfied by the sex and love with this man, who cares for her. With the love of sexes, she was able to detach herself from the suffocating coldness that surrounded her. Reversively, this young girl seems to fulfill the desire for freedom of this rich young man under this nationalist context. However, despite such true love, their class and race differences hindered their possibility. 

As the narrator is looking back, without wondering how she faces this sorrow in her heart, she has already admitted from the bottom of her heart that he has loved, she has loved, and money, and interests and it has nothing to do with it. 

“ He told her that it was as before, that he still loved her, he could never stop loving her, that he’d love her until death.” (p.129)

In the end, the Chinese man manages to express his love years later, and my question for everyone is, how do you interpret this ending? Do you view this as a tragedy full of regrets or a completion of their complex love story?

Week 3 Nadja———André Breton

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    Nadja was written by André Breton, who is a theorist of surrealism. The concept of surrealism is greatly expressed in the novel “Nadja.” Personally, surrealism is very abstract to me, and its ideas seem to transcend conventional reasoning and rationality, not depending on any conventional aesthetic constraints.

    The novel begins with the question “Who am I?” (p.11), which leads to the author’s philosophical debate. This is a question that seems never to be directly answered, but the answers are scattered throughout. The first part of “Nadja” was the most complicated for me to read, as it was a mix of a diary and philosophical thoughts. I realized that the images were disorganized and misplaced with the corresponding text. While it was distracting, it strengthened the surrealist belief, emphasizing the freedom of narrative. Nadja was not present in this part; this is where Breton was self-exploring, and trying to understand the world, not only discussing his insights but also mentioning inspiration from those surrealist artists around him. One interesting character who appeared in this part was Robert Desnos, who always seemed to “doze.” However, Desnos can always tell the name of a potential appointment before the time when his eyes are closed. Things happen in a way that escapes the control of human reason, and the author simply follows the stream of consciousness.

In the later part, where Nadja appears, it was easier for me to read and follow the main plot. Unlike traditional literature, where the main characters are often noble, beautiful, or special, the characterization of Nadja is just a woman he encounters on the street with poor clothes. However, in this surrealist literature, she becomes the main character where Breton is attracted by her eyes and her free spirit. They often meet on the street and sit at the café, but Breton never knows where she lives, why she is on the street, and exactly who she is. There is a moment when Breton asks Nadja, “Who are you” (p.71). The answer he got is “I am the soul in limbo” (p.71).  Nadja is mysterious and seems to exist in a state of unconsciousness. Nadja’s answer also seems to respond to the first question Breton asks in the novel, who is he? Breton keeps a diary of her strange behaviour and rootless thoughts. But their relationship does not last long.

Nadja has mental problems and was admitted to the hospital. However, Breton never considers her mental illness as an abnormal condition because Surrealism focuses on the freedom of mental consciousness. In sum, this was a novel full of mystery and freedom.

One question I would like to post about the novel is Nadja’s answer “I am the soul in limbo.” What is your interpretation of this answer about who Nadja is, and how does it contribute to the surrealistic atmosphere in the novel?

 

Week 1 Introduction

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Hello Everyone,

My name is Esther Zhou and I am a second-year student majoring in psychology. I am an international student born in China and grew up in Spain, France, and Italy. Since a child, I have enjoyed listening to classical music and playing the piano. Music makes me relax and escape from this noisy, fast-paced world. During my childhood in Europe, every day after school, I could hear musicians playing classical music by the metro station, couples chatting and kissing at the coffee shop, the Eiffel Tower lights up at night, and elders reading on the bus. Therefore, after physically experiencing European cultures of living and languages, I am particularly interested in the topic of romance, and romance literature.

To be honest, I am not a reader and rarely read books. Instead, I often enjoy activities that require more physical activity like dancing and swimming. Therefore, I only read books when it was mandatory and required by the school or my professors. For this semester, I hope to establish a habit and pattern of reading as well as analyzing books and novels. This class is an especially good opportunity for me to do so. This class allows me to fulfill the literature requirement for my graduation but also blends my interest in the culture of romance with literature. My expectations for this class and myself are to really understand the meaning of reading literature and gradually start to enjoy reading. Like the  question we were asked in the first intro class today, Professor Beasley-Murray asked us, “What makes a “good” reading?” The answer I have is that the reading that makes me reflect on my own life, inspires, me, or motivates me. Similarly, I think good reading is never forced, it should be volunteered, immersed, and experiencing a “flow”. I really hope for this class, after reading 11 novels, I can truly discover my interest in reading, and be able to understand some of the meaning and themes behind them! As Professor Beasley-Murray said, it requires time and practice.

Moreover,  I am interested in and love the structure of this course. I love how we can have flexibility in choosing 1 of the 2 novels each week, and how we can choose the grade we want and sign the contrast. The contrast really serves as a motivation for me to read, and do my best effort in this course. The contrast is also a sign of trust from the professor, which I really hope not to break! I’m very excited to learn more about Romance literature explore the topic and dive into the deeper theme in it!

To end my introduction, I am also interested in what makes you all interested in romance culture and literature?

 

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