Tag Archives: Relationships

I hate Quimet – Time of the Doves

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First Impression

 

This week’s reading was Times of the Doves by Rodereda. The first impression I had in this book was that Quimet was a walking red flag. A few pages in, Natalia or Colometa, as Quimet would call her, had just broken up with her fiance, Pere. Quimet just did not hesitate to ask her to marry him and just practically asked if she had broken up with him. This might not necessarily be the red flag itself, as this could also be part of a cultural component or perhaps the norm of the society in that period of time. However, what really made me dislike Quimet was how he treats Natalia and how controlling he seems as a partner. Because I have already disliked his character from the start, I did not even feel like I had any remorse or felt bad when he was having what seems to be long-term or enduring leg pain. 

 

One segment of the book where I had wished Natalia had seen it as an indication of a red flag was when Quimet was mad because apparently, he saw Pere and Natalia at the street together. This was obviously not the case, as according to the narrator, she has not spoken to Pere since they had broken up. It felt like he was gaslighting her and putting blame that she did something inexcusable. Even if hypothetically they were down the street together, they had already broken up, so what Quimet would have been complaining about demonstrates a projection of jealousy. Although this was towards the beginning of the book and the behavior could also be explained by an episode or issues he has deep down. Possibly this was a dream that felt real to him, however, this is not to excuse how he was mad and had this audacious claim he made but rather it is just another perspective to think about. 

 

Quimet is obviously a character I feel strongly negative about. His character feels like the embodiment of patriarchy or the yearning to be an dominant, authoritarian figure. This seems to be a common and emerging theme that has also pertained to other novels we have read such as Shrouded Woman.  One example of how Quimet would demonstrate his authoritarian figure is that he was straight forward with being the one to choose the name of their first baby boy, despite the suggestions of name from her father. 

 

My speculation and feelings towards Natalia as a character is that she feels obligated to be with Quimet. Notably, the book does not explicitly nor necessarily hint at this, but Natalia seems like a character who has not had the person to talk to when it comes to problems such as talking about Quimet. Natalia’s mother has died and she has primarily her father and step mother as parental figures, but it does not seem like she has ever had the guidance in terms of looking out for signs of people to not be around or befriend. The narrator even mentions that the mother has never spoken to her about men (p. 28), which could explain why she does not see Quimet as problematic and just accepted his vow to marriage, despite his obvious red flags. 

 

Question:

Do you think Natalia genuinely likes or even loves Quimet?

Bombal – Shrouded Woman

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Impressions

This week’s reading on Shrouded Woman was written in a poetic style with an imaginary and descriptive expression. The literature was like a fusion between a poem and a novel. The usage of literary devices such as similes and anaphoras, instills a vivid scenery. For example, the word falling is used in the following passage, “falling and sliding like tears […] falling on her heart and drenching it, dissolving it into sadness and languor” (Bombal, p. 159). I found that with sections of the literature where poetic expressions were used, such as the example, makes the reading easier to follow and illustrates the imagery that the author wants readers to have glued to them. This does not mean that being easier to follow meant it was easier to interpret because to be frank, I had to reread some passages and look through for missed details. This makes me wonder, if what I’m reading is within the intent to be understood or is it a subjective experience where we report our interpretation of what is the meaning.

I found this reading quite compelling because of the way I would imagine Ana Maria being behind a dome and watching her life events in a movie, from her first love whom she could not marry to the spiral of conflict she faces. Just like the title, it felt like the narrator’s life was shrouded and went downhill after not being able to be with her first love, Ricardo. This was a result of Ricardo’s mother disapproving the marriage, illustrated with the passage, “she is afraid that you will marry me […] she thinks I’m not well brought up” (Bombal, p. 166). Ana’s marriage with her latest husband, Antonio, was one that was met with conflict. In the scene where Antonio confronts Ana with the past love letters from Ricardo and tosses every item reminiscing the times with Ricardo. Although evidently a troubling marriage, it was not one she could freely emancipate from, assuming that societal expectations and stigma were an additional conflict and barrier for if she sought to divorce.

 

There were instances of the book that would ring a bell on how societal ideas imposed on women, such as not having them being taken seriously. A passage that captures this in the literature is when Antonio talks about how “he can’t follow how you women talk and their usage of the word betrayal” (p. 247). It felt like almost a strange relief for Ana Maria when the narrator says that she finds herself immersed into the second death. This to me felt like it was a final shut off of the events she had to recollect as she is dead, but as the chapter ends, so does the pain and suffering she so wanted to emancipate from.

 

Question:

If Ana Maria had married Ricardo, do you think that she would not have felt like life was despairing?