The time of doves blog post

 The time of doves blog post


This week I chose to read the time of the doves. When I first began to read this novel, it was definitely a bit more difficult for me to engage myself. I found it more challenging and less of a page turner in comparison to Agostino or Bonjour Tristesse. Thankfully it was ‘reading’ week, because it ended up taking me the whole week on/off with splitting up the text. But overall, I found the storyline to be a bit more depressing for sure, which could partially explain why it took me longer than normal. 


What stood out the most to me was the relationship between the characters Quimet and Natalia. It was definitely frustrating to read their relationship and to see the type of power he held over her. From the start, he was following his own agenda and would not be considerate for the time she spent waiting for him, his schedule and orders,. Not only that, but he was disrespectful towards his mother which in turn makes sense in regards to his aggressive nature towards Natalia as well if he was somehow able to get away with it towards her. This is an unfortunate dynamic in relationships when one individual is overly apologetic and forgiving, while the partner remains strictly focused on themselves. Moreover, when someone in Natalia’s life comes along who is genuinely more positive for her, she is so emotionally wrapped up with Quimet that she chooses to stay. I think this really stood out to me because I think that Quimet is an excellent example of many types of men in this world that are often in relationships with women similar to Natalia. (but definitely a bit more extreme). This unhealthy and abusive dynamic between the two keeps one another attached, but thankfully not forever. Additionally, I find it very unfortunate that Natalia is unable to find the strength within herself to leave a man this toxic for her. This is something that now that I have gotten older, I have watched others around me experience and it is simply awful, with either Quimet or Natalia’s role in it. 


Overall, it was not my favourite read in comparison to the previous two novels, but I am excited to discuss and listen further in class. My question for this novel is whether Natalia should've taken it upon herself to remove herself sooner from her relationship with Quimet? 

Comments

  1. Jon Beasley-MurrayFebruary 28, 2022 at 7:25 PM

    I think you guys are hard on Quimet! But in any case, he more or less disappears from the narrative about half-way through (and dies shortly thereafter). Is Natalia better without him? Should Quimet have stayed and not gone to war?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jon Beasley-MurrayFebruary 28, 2022 at 7:35 PM

    Oh, and a reminder: please use categories ("Rodoreda") and tags (gender? relationships?) on your post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Megan CurrieMarch 1, 2022 at 4:04 PM

    Hi Daisy, I enjoyed reading your post this week and agree with your ideas on Natalia's relationship with Quimet. To answer your question, I think once they were married, Natalia had no way of leaving Quimet because she would not have anywhere else to or anyone else to depend on.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Norman Manea’s The Trenchcoat

My thoughts on the Trench coat… Although I was definitely feeling lost a lot of the time reading this novel, I did enjoy it. I think I quickly understood that the point of this story was not to fully understand every little conversation that was being exchanged, or what these characters were up to. Rather, it was to understand that these conversations had to be secret and discrete, given the country and time they were living in.  This story was unfolding in a time where the government seemed to have a lot of control of its citizens. For example, gas was limited to 30 litres a month (and could sometimes be bribed with a tip, sometimes not and if you had extra money, of course). There was also extreme censorship on information released to the people, and if something abnormal popped up there was a question in regards to “how did that slip past the censor?”.  One quote that stood out to me as well and was a bit disturbing to read was “I'll be tall, healthy, clean and neat, withou...
Read more

Roberto Bolaño, Amulet

I was initially very intrigued by this story. I was excited that it was under the category or ‘horror’ as this is not really a genre we've read yet in this class.  The scene in the first section of the book where the soldiers are taking over the university reminded me a lot of memories from lockdown drills in school and more specifically what to do if you happen to be stuck in a stall at the time of entry of whoever (danger). I think the author did an excellent job of illustrating that scene and the position she held to avoid being seen.  After that, the story began to head in the direction of explaining short stories and memories she had accumulated over her life. There were many! Some of the time I would get a little lost in the details of these stories, but for the most part they were very entertaining. It is safe to say that her life was interesting and deviated a fair bit from any sort of norm. She came off as a free spirit. Auxillio did not seem to have any sort of oblig...
Read more

Week 3 / Paris Peasant

  While reading Paris Peasant, I was constantly trying to make sense of what was really going on. Prior to starting the novel, I thought that my ability to speak french and the title being “paris peasant” would provide me a leg up, but that was not the case. Although I am not sure of the original language this text was written in, it did not feel french. But, that may also be due to the advanced vocabulary… There is mention in this week's video that the incomplete thoughts create suspension, however for me, it only created frustration.   At some points, small trains of thought would progress from the narrator and I would begin to think I ‘sorta’ understand what's going on…. Then flip to the next page and I would feel completely lost again, but I think that was the point. As a psychology major where my textbooks consist of clear topics which flow nicely from page to  page, this style of writing is totally new and challenging for me. It is frustrating when reading to f...
Read more