Time of the Doves - Mercè Rodoreda

 Hey everyone, I hope you all had a good reading break! This week we read Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda. I had a bit of difficulty starting this novel and was a bit confused at first but ended up really enjoying it. I also think that I found it harder because of the content of the reading because it can get upsetting to read things like this. 


The novel is about a young woman in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, who falls in love with a man that is extremely abusive and toxic. This is why it can be hard to read because it is upsetting that she has to be in a relationship like this but it’s also easy to be blinded by love or remain in a situation that is comfortable because it can be scary to leave this type of relationship. I liked that this novel was narrated by the protagonist and we got to read the thoughts in her head because it gave us a better perspective and understanding of the situations she was experiencing. One part that stuck out to me in the beginning was when she was having a conversation with Quimet and asked “what if I can’t bring myself to like something?” (page 22) To which he replied “you’ve got to like it, because that means it’s something you don’t understand” (page 22) and I think that this exchange shows the type of relationship they have and I think that for Natalia this should have been seen as warning for what was to come in their relationship.

 

Although it was pretty shocking to read the thoughts that she had about killing her children, I think it came from a place of love and not hate because she knew that she they were not happy and she wanted to do something to save them from that feeling. I think we all may have moments where we think about something that we know is not good and we wouldn't do but in that time we are desperate and want to protect ourselves or our loved ones. I honestly really liked how the author used the doves; which are typically symbols of peace and freedom, to connect to the life of Natalia. They are trapped in the same way she is trapped in her relationship and they are fighting for freedom just as she is fighting this within her mind.

 

My question for my classmates is how did you react when you read about Natalia thinking of killing her children?

 

Comments

  1. Jon Beasley-MurrayFebruary 28, 2024 at 1:45 AM

    Lauren, this is very short (you are contracted to write 400-500 words) and doesn't engage much with the novel, certainly not beyond the first half of it at most. (Quimet effectively disappears from the narrative before long, and then dies in the war.)

    Please expand with some more details and thoughts about the rest of the book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniel OrizagaFebruary 28, 2024 at 1:51 AM

    This blog post fell a bit short! We would have liked to read a comprehensive comment on a specific passage that you found significant in the novel :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sofia AlmerlingFebruary 29, 2024 at 1:38 PM

    Hi Lauren, to answer your question, I was shocked to read that she had the impulse to kill her children and to go buy acid. I am glad she never went through with the decision and I believe she was going through many hardships during this time so that possibly concluded to her thinking about killing her children.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jonathan XuFebruary 29, 2024 at 9:00 PM

    Hi Sofia,

    To me her decision to kill her children was striking yet you could also understand it in a way. Despite the action being extreme, all the experiences and struggles Natalia went through to take care of her kids were falling short, and this was the last thing she could do as a mother for them, rather than to let them suffer and die of starvation. In many ways this was one of the few moments that Natalia had control over her family and her life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yiwen GuoFebruary 29, 2024 at 11:56 PM

    I can totally resonate with your reference to page 22, and I think her husband is a controlling man who doesn't see his wife as a person with an independent personality, but rather wants to mold into the image of his wife in his mind.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ryan TsangMarch 15, 2024 at 6:56 PM

    I was shocked by the thought of killing her children but I could see where she was coming from.

    ReplyDelete

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