Hi, everyone.
Just finished reading the novel The Time
of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda. I actually like this book a lot! It is not abstract
at all. I like it because it feels real. This is Natalia’s life experiences.
There is no big drama or like, betrayal, but a day-to-day life.
I want to talk about Quimet, this
character. Natalia told him already, her name is Natalia, instead of "Colometa".
But Quimet did not listen to her, and kept calling her "Colometa".
Well, maybe this is cute way because he likes her. But also, at the same time,
I think it is a little bit disrespectful because he is not listening to her,
also not caring about what she says. And naming her something else, it is like
he somehow gets the power of naming her, which is also like the power being
above her.
Also, Quimet always just said “poor Maria”.
At first, he did not even explain who is Maria, which just made me so confused.
After their wedding, Natalia’s life gets
harder and harder. Quimet let Natalia to do many things for him, for example,
she has to press his pants every week but she never pressed pants before. And
Quimet’s legs always hurt but he will let Natalia rub the whole body with
alcohol. I just feel like their relationship is not equal to each other. It is
always Natalia who is the busy one, who is the one that “serving” the other.
And as for doves, Quimet and Cintet cleaned
out her storage shed, threw out her things to build that dovecote. It is also
her home but it feels like she does not have the right to speak for herself. It
also shows that Quimet is actually careless towards her.
And when Antoni was born, he hardly sucks,
his weight kept dropping. Then Quimet went to the war, then Natalia, as a
single mother, trade things for food to survive. She even sold her brass bed.
And end up, she lived with another man not because of love, but the surviving
needs.
I feel really sad to see a woman, like
Natalia, under that background, suffering because of the marriage and the war.
It is not like obvious or severe violence but the life already can make someone
numb. And what I feel the most is Quimet and Natalia’s after marriage life.
Gender stereotype made Natalia become the one who serve the husband and listen
to him. That kind of gender power problem is so real that maybe to most of couples
today, it still exists.
My question is: Do you think Quimet is a
bad husband?
I also agree that the name Colometa was just disrespectful all around and very constricting and just really marked how he put his dominance over her and how women were treated with no say over anything back then.
ReplyDeleteHi, Olivia. Yesss, the dominance over Natalia is so real!
DeleteI also agree with your comment on the idea that the book feels very 'real', because it is as if we are diving into ther narrator's memories. The inequality in their relationship I believe stems from women back then being confined to domestic servitude and patriarchy.
ReplyDeleteHi, Melissa. I do agree with you saying the historical background - patriarchal structure influenced Natalia and Quimet's relationship!
Deleteagree with you and the 2 comments. It's set almost a hundred years ago so things sucked for women. Today we would call Quimet a bad husband but in those days that's how society told men to act. The saddest thing is it still continues today.
ReplyDeletenot sure why they said anonymous
DeleteHi, Dave. I like how u understand Quimet by saying because of the past culture. Well, now the inequality still exist, but I do believe it will get better! :)
DeleteThe writing style was definitely much easier to follow than some of the previous books! Yes Quimet was a pretty bad husband, especially compared to Antoni sr. But I do agree with the other comments that unfortunately, that was how society ran at the time this book was set.
ReplyDeleteOops I forgot to add my name! - Matteya
DeleteHi! I totally agree with you. This book was super enjoyable for me and one of the reasons why was because the narration felt so raw and intimate. It kind of made me feel close with Natalia in a way. I also mentioned Quimet calling her "Colometa" in my post - it annoyed me because he showed so little consideration for her and her feelings.
ReplyDelete"It is not abstract at all."
ReplyDeleteI would go further than this... it is remarkably concrete, not least as it is full (as I think I say in my lecture) of *things*, objects, material reality from the dolls and teddy bear in a shop window, to beds that are described in much detail, to an attention to clothes and home décor. At times, it's almost as though Natalia prefers to talk/think about such things than to consider (more abstractly?) her situation in life.