Monthly Archives: February 2022

Week 7- Rodoreda’s “The Time of the Doves”

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This is the first novel that I have a physical copy of and the feeling of holding a book and flipping through the pages was so different compared to scrolling through the pages on a computer, so I was looking forward to reading this novel. This week I chose to read The Time of the Doves. This novel takes place during the Spanish Civil War and it shows how the main character, Natalia, had to struggle throughout this challenging time. 

“I had two mouths to feed and nothing to put in them.” (134) was such a heartbreaking line to read, it must be one of every parent’s worst nightmares, to not be able to provide for their children. Along with Natalia having to place her son into a camp “for refugee children” (139) so he wouldn’t starve despite her own desire of wishing she didn’t have to leave him. But her desire for Antoni to have his basic needs fulfilled was stronger. Even when he was begging her “not to leave him” (136), she “had to harden [her] heart and push him away” (136) for his own sake. It must have been difficult for Natalia to not give in to her son who was crying and begging to stay with her, but she had to be the level-headed person. Her son was still a child, young, and naive, unaware of the necessary but difficult decisions that must be made for the sake of his health. However, Natalia who is an adult, a mother, doesn’t get the choice to be ignorant. She must be the one to not be blinded by her or his emotions, and make the logical decision. I can’t imagine how that must feel, especially when she looked back at him and Antoni had “stopped crying… his face was like an old man’s” (137). It was like within these few minutes, where Natalia had to run out with her daughter, Antoni suddenly stopped being a child. It was almost like he had grown within those few minutes, and he’s no longer young and naive anymore, as he came out of the camp as a “different boy” (139). 

I was extremely shocked when one night when Natalia was lying with Antoni and Rita, she “decided to kill them” (145) and then herself due to being in poverty after her husband, Quimet had passed away in the war. Especially with her belief that “no one loved them” (146), which is once again, another heartbreaking line. However, thankfully a grocer, who ironically had the same name as her son, had saved her and her children by giving her a job and was also a man she ended up marrying. Eventually Natalia “returned to life… [her] children stopped looking like skeletons” (158).

A question I have for my classmates is, were you surprised when Natalia had a plan to kill her own children and herself? Did you think her plan was too extreme or did it make sense due to her challenging situation? What would you have chosen to do?

Week 6- Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse”

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This week I chose to read Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, which was a novel about the relationship between a daughter and her father, Raymond, along with Anne, who is a woman he plans to marry. 

Firstly, I found it was quite odd that Cécile “knew his need of a woman” (6) and “his fancy changed every six months” (6). I also felt quite bad for Cécile to have to know this playboy side of her father. As it may be difficult for her to see Raymond with so many women, and it seems to also negatively contribute to her perspective on relationships as she found the “conception of quick, tempestuous and passing love affairs… enticing.” (11). Thus, this may have been part of the reason that led Cécile to manipulate and use Cyril, who truly loved her. As she didn’t seem to know what a healthy relationship seemed like since she “knew little of love” (11) and had mainly witnessed her father’s quick relationships with mistresses. Raymond also doesn’t seem to consider how his relationships with mistresses would affect Cécile and he didn’t seem to be discreet about them either. He doesn’t seem to care about her and was more focused on his own life with his mistresses. 

Initially, I felt bad for Cécile due to her mother’s passing and her father’s actions and behaviors with other women, along with his inability to actually be a father. However, my sympathy started to fade away when she came up with a plan to break up Raymond and Anne’s relationship and use Cyril’s feelings for her as a part of the plan. 

Raymond’s lack of proper parenting ultimately led to Cécile having freedom to do whatever she pleases, which definitely led her to being spoiled. She didn’t mind too much of having Elsa with them since she knew Elsa’s presence wouldn’t effect her. However, Anne is seen as a threat to Cécile due to trying to take on a motherly figure to her and throwing some control into Cécile’s life. Despite the fact that there were some actions Anne did that seemed to cross the line, such as making the comment regarding Cécile’s weight and even slapping her. Which definitely didn’t help decrease Cécile’s hatred of her. Cécile was willing to do anything to keep the freedom lifestyle she had and she didn’t seem to care about anyone else. 

My question for my classmates is if Raymond had tried to slowly introduce Anne and the idea of marrying her to Cécile, would she still have developed a hatred towards Anne and planned to break them up?

Week 5- Laforet’s “Nada”

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“Nada” is currently my favorite novel so far. The novel takes place after the Spanish Civil War and the narrator is an orphan named Andrea, who was ecstatic to be able to study literature in Barcelona to the point she carried her luggage by herself as she had enough strength due to “[her] youth and eager anticipation” (3). Not even the fact that “nobody was waiting for [her]” (3) dimmed her excitement. However, the minute she arrives at her relative’s house, her excitement seems to be replaced with horror that “it all seemed like a nightmare” (5).

The novel seems to have a sense of nostalgia, as the way the grandmother talks about Juan and Roman who were “angels” (31). Especially when she mentions “back then, my child, Roman was a good man” (32), as if she doesn’t truly want to admit that Roman has changed and has become a terrible man. It seemed like she still wants to believe that there’s still some good in Roman, that he’s still the angel she loved when he was a child. Gloria also agrees with the grandmother and mentions that he used to comfort her when she was afraid. However, she also mentions that “Roman’s very nice when he wants to be, but at heart he’s bad.” (36), which was a line I found memorable, as it implies that one can never truly know another individual.

Ena’s situation surprised me the most, where she had a boyfriend that she loves, as she claims, “[she] couldn’t bear it if [her] life were separate from his” (218) but she broke up with him to be involved with Roman. However, it was later revealed Ena was with Roman for the purpose of getting revenge for her mother. As Ena was aware of the love her mother had for Roman, “nobody loved Roman the way [her mother] did” (193) but was mistreated by him. Juan’s grief for his brother’s death also surprised me, as it seemed their relationship became complex as both brothers loved Gloria. Earlier in the novel, Roman mentioned that “Juan belonged to him” (232), and I didn’t really believe that statement due to their tense interactions. However, when Roman died, “Juan’s grief was unashamed, maddening, like that of a woman for her lover… [or] a young mother at the death of her first child.” (232). Andrea had clearly witnessed many unpleasant situations in the house, however, she believed Juan’s cries for his brother was the worst situation. On the outside, it seemed as if Juan disliked Roman. However, in the end, it turns out he loved him the most (besides their mother).

A question I have for my classmates is do you agree with the other aunts that the grandmother’s unconditional love, spoiling Juan and Roman as much as she could, caused Roman’s ending in a way?

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