Weekly Book Blog

The Time of the Doves Review

The Time of the Doves by Mercé Rodoreda is definitely a heart-wrenching book, and challenging to read at times (well, I mean basically all of the time). There is little to be happy about in this book, and the times that are happy, you can probably count on two hands. Nevertheless, I think that the complexity and layers that the book has are a lot to unpack. This book left me with so many questions that I think discussions would be very helpful to clear up. I enjoyed reading from Natalia’s perspective the effects the war had on a woman living through the revolution; that is not something you often read in war-centered books. It made me think a lot about the significance of conflict on civilians, people of different classes, and a mother to two children.

One of the first sadnesses I identified in the book was how Natalia decided to leave her fiancé for Quimet; it really hurt me when she found her ex-fiancé and they talked for a little and he had nothing but well wishes for her. Quimet was once charming, lovely, and intriguing. However, over the course of the novel, it basically fades into nothingness, and creates more pains for him, his family, and for Natalia. I believe that there is a reason for this choice to write him this way, but its still difficult because Natalia had a choice and upon reflecting on her decisions, she might have regretted getting with Quimet. 

While reading, I continually found myself thinking ‘wow. Natalia truly is a hard-working woman whom I cannot begin to understand.’ Well, Im attempting to do so now, but I suppose you know what I mean; she works until she can barely stand, takes care of her two children who were painstakingly difficult to raise, deal with her husband who moans and groans til the cows come home, and look after a ton of doves which she soon grows to despise. I remember her ‘last straw’ moment with the doves, and as violent as she was, I sort of understood why she acted as she did. I interpreted her feelings as being sick and tired of Quimet’s actions, especially with the doves and towards her. I feel like Natalia is so under appreciated by her husband. It seems as if Natalia once was very fearful of changing in front of Quimet, but the amount of time they have spent together, she was just done. I think that the use of doves within the novel is a massive metaphor; the exact meaning, I am still grappling with. But there is no way that the use of doves was this heavy and there is no significance to them. Originally when reading, I thought that the use of doves could be a metaphor for Quimet and Natalia’s dreams and hopes, but I don’t know if that would make sense due to Natalia absolutely destroying the doves. Unless that is actually what was intended…

The Time of the Doves is packed with symbolism, metaphors, and references. I constantly found myself taking note of them. For example, the constant use of flowers to describe Antonio and Rita, while also mentioning them when Quimet’s mother died, and the jonquil’s that his mother planted in her flashback about the boys uprooting them. Even the rose of Jericho that she had kept since Quimet was born (p. 59). So much thought and meaning went into the intentions of the symbols that Rodoreda used throughout the story. I also found that the consistent use of foreshadowing to be intriguing. Similar to the flower example, Quimet’s mother makes a remark about boys being difficult; we then see how Antonio is born, and he clearly is not an easy child. The employment of symbolism. Metaphors, and foreshadowing enrich the story and make it extra enjoyable to read. It felt slightly like a puzzle, in which if I went over it again, I would find things I missed the first time around. 

A question I sort of brought up before that I would like to discuss is ‘what exactly is the significance of the doves within the context of the story?’ Maybe it was clear and I misunderstood it, but I’m a little confused about it. 

I feel like this meme is from a super insignificant part of the book, but I thought of it anyways lol.

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So, I have just finished reading Proust’s Combray. In my opinion, I would say that this is a compelling novel that is relatively complicated and dense at times. It was not one of my favourite books. Nevertheless, there were many different aspects to the novel in which I found interesting, thought-provoking, and allowed me to pose different questions and takes on the book.

One of the most salient events that grabbed my attention (partially thanks to the lecture that helped clarify this) was the in-depth section in which the narrator longs for his mothers kiss. Assuming you’ve read Combray, but this description goes on for quite a while, and in very descriptive detail. For example, the narrative recalls how when M. Swann would come over in the evenings and for dinner, mamma would not kiss him goodnight, instilling great sadness within him (Proust, 1928/1992). Some time after this account, the narrator want’s to send his mother a letter so that she can come and see to him before sleep. During this moment, especially when M. Swann is dining with the narrator’s parents, I think that the decision to communicate with his mother is a rather risky one. Alongside the narrator’s obsession with his mother, I found that another common theme within the novel was the thought put into the way that people present themselves. During the narrators decision to send a note or not to his mother, he considers what M. Swann will think of him if he interrupts his visit (Proust, 1928/1992). Furthermore, the narrator’s family does not think of speaking about certain aspects of Swann’s personal life in front of him, but do so with ease once he is gone. If the narrator’s family were to be critical of Swann’s actions and life in front of him, that could prove to be a very disrespectful and inappropriate character. Something that I thought of when considering the importance characters place on the presentation of character was ‘is this theme consistent with the cultural norms of people during the time in which Combray was written?’ 

I want to go back to the narrators obsession with his mother and her kiss, because it was something that stood out to me so consistently. In relation to that, there was reference to how the narrator’s father strongly opposed such actions like receiving a goodnight kiss from mamma. Through this event in the novel, the theme of family and its role and influence on the narrator. The narrators family is a very salient part of the novel, especially due to the fact that the first part of Combray is a flash back to when the narrator was young, so the adults were a part of his upbringing quite a lot. Although it was a minor reference, I recall reading a line that had to do with the narrator claiming his father had a superior mind in comparison to his father (page 12 of the copy of Combray in which I read). Furthermore, there were certain references to the anxiety that his encounters with his family members (especially his father) gave him. I wonder how exactly the subject of anxiety was dealt with and perceived by the first or original audiences of Combray; how does the presence of fragility, confusion, and sometimes sadness sit with readers, if there is a certain expectation for men? 

Lastly, I found that the narrator’s perspective and accounts were a bit unreliable. I think this because there were certain parts of the novel in which the point of view switched from first person to third person omniscient. Furthermore, the novel switched from present to flashback every once in a while, which I found a bit confusing to follow (although I tried!!). My final question I want to leave blog readers is this: Did Proust intentionally or unintentionally write the narrator as unreliable? Or is the presence of an unreliable narrator a product of creating literature? Ah, the thoughts that riddle my mind after reading this novel.

Until next time,

Abi Franceschetti

I hope you enjoy the meme that sort of relates to Combray lol.

Reference:

Proust, M. (1992) In Search Of Lost Time Volume 1 Swann’s Way. Translated by C. K Scott Moncrieff, T. Kilmartin. New York: Random House, Inc. 

Weekly Book Blog

Thoughts on Proust’s Combray

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