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Moravia’s ‘Agostino’
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Moravia's Agostino was definitely a unique read. The novella managed to pack a rich amount of detail and plot into a hundred pages, and I ever once felt that the writing was rushed. Honestly, it was quite difficult to read some portions of the book, especially when the narrator was discussing Agostino's newfound perspective of viewing his mother. According to the lecture, Moravia's work draws largely from realism. I found this evident in his descriptions of the town and the stereotypes associated with the social classes but was unsure how it applied to Agostino's view of his mother.
The transformation of Agostino's relationship with his mother throughout the book was jarring. It was unsettling to read how he, a thirteen-year-old boy, viewed his mother. It was quite similar to how a grown man would view his lover as his property, as an object that would invoke envy in other men. The depiction of women throughout the book is quite sketchy, and I am not sure how intentional that is. Throughout the book, women mainly serve as objects of desire and do not have any other layers to their identity as the boys do. This influences Agostino's view of his mother and her womanhood. His descriptions of his mother and her wardrobe and body felt highly intrusive and inappropriate, definitely alluding to the Freudian Oedipal complex theory.
Moreover, we can see how this discomfort (initiated by the boys he meets) fuels his desire to break away from his mother to create his distinct identity from her. He is desperate to hide his naivety from the street-smart boys, but his pampered upbringing doesn't allow him to do so. He allowed them to take advantage of him just so that he could be included. When this starts happening, Moravia points out how "he found that he had lost his original identity without acquiring through his loss another." I found this quote to be quite poignant because of how it relates to the experiences of adolescents in their teen years.
Overall, I found Agostino's character to be intriguing but unsettling. The realism in the book is definitely one of its winning points, as the descriptions did seem very realistic. The visual imagery made the settings easy to imagine. My question to the class would be: Do you think that the Oedipal complex factor added to the realism Moravia wanted to portray in the book?
read full post >>Agostino – Coming of Age
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While reading Moravia's Agostino, the raw sexuality of the novella, and in particular, Agostino's relationship with his mother stood out. Even when Agostino is confronted with his new friends, and the altered worldview which he learns and takes from them, it seems as if it is the mother who is still most important in his coming-of-age arc. The book begins and ends with sexualized descriptions and encounters with his mother, where he begins a boy, and leaves a "man", or at least understands that he is beginning to become one.
While the boys he meets on the vacation further this newfound "manhood", it's catalyst is his mothers romantic "young man" who takes them out to sea on his boat daily. The jealousy, and unexpressed sexual tension between the three of them is characteristic of puberty and the sexual transformation Agostino is embarking upon.
The choice that Moravia makes to centre this around his mother is interesting, but not altogether novel. I knew of the Oedipus myth (where the son is prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother), and Freud’s “Oedipus Complex” (which follows a son’s rejection of his father over his mother), which is interesting, with no father in the story. Carl Jung took this further, writing on “Don Juanism”, where the son sees his mother in other women (as Agostino does in his encounter with the tempting women in it’s final scenes).
It is interesting, as the nurturing mother-son bonds which develop in childhood must be addressed and altered in puberty. Moravia attacks this head on, and Agostino attempts to navigate these changes as he grows. In this innocent relationship, it becomes clear that sexuality, lust, jealousy, and anxiety also blossom during Agostino’s coming-of-age, especially as the “real world” is opened up to him throughout his vacation.
Finally, to link it back to other American coming-of-age novels, I find this extremely interesting as American novels, such as Catcher In the Rye, or The Perks of Being a Wallflower, concentrate heavily on the friends and self dynamic, whereas this novel combines the three of Agostino, his friends and his mother. This creates a more complex growing period, and ultimately more complex and confusing themes of self and maturation, which I found to be more dynamic and interesting.
Questions:
Did you feel like the novel differed from "classic American" coming-of-age stories, and in what way?
read full post >>Agostino – Coming of Age
Posted by: feedwordpress
While reading Moravia's Agostino, the raw sexuality of the novella, and in particular, Agostino's relationship with his mother stood out. Even when Agostino is confronted with his new friends, and the altered worldview which he learns and takes from them, it seems as if it is the mother who is still most important in his coming-of-age arc. The book begins and ends with sexualized descriptions and encounters with his mother, where he begins a boy, and leaves a "man", or at least understands that he is beginning to become one.
While the boys he meets on the vacation further this newfound "manhood", it's catalyst is his mothers romantic "young man" who takes them out to sea on his boat daily. The jealousy, and unexpressed sexual tension between the three of them is characteristic of puberty and the sexual transformation Agostino is embarking upon.
The choice that Moravia makes to centre this around his mother is interesting, but not altogether novel. I knew of the Oedipus myth (where the son is prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother), and Freud’s “Oedipus Complex” (which follows a son’s rejection of his father over his mother), which is interesting, with no father in the story. Carl Jung took this further, writing on “Don Juanism”, where the son sees his mother in other women (as Agostino does in his encounter with the tempting women in it’s final scenes).
It is interesting, as the nurturing mother-son bonds which develop in childhood must be addressed and altered in puberty. Moravia attacks this head on, and Agostino attempts to navigate these changes as he grows. In this innocent relationship, it becomes clear that sexuality, lust, jealousy, and anxiety also blossom during Agostino’s coming-of-age, especially as the “real world” is opened up to him throughout his vacation.
Finally, to link it back to other American coming-of-age novels, I find this extremely interesting as American novels, such as Catcher In the Rye, or The Perks of Being a Wallflower, concentrate heavily on the friends and self dynamic, whereas this novel combines the three of Agostino, his friends and his mother. This creates a more complex growing period, and ultimately more complex and confusing themes of self and maturation, which I found to be more dynamic and interesting.
Questions:
Did you feel like the novel differed from "classic American" coming-of-age stories, and in what way?
read full post >>Moravia’s Agostino blog post
Posted by: feedwordpress
I found this read very interesting. Unlike some of the other novels we read, I had a much more difficult time putting this one down. This is different for me as I typically really enjoy reading if I can somehow relate to the characters or storyline in some way. This was definitely not the case for this particular read.
As mentioned in some of the other blog posts, there was certainly a unique relationship between Agostino and his mother, at least in Agostino’s mind. It definitely made me feel a bit uncomfortable at times and could maybe be described as a bit intimate. I definitely sensed that they had a very close relationship, perhaps not with many other people around them in their lives.
They seem to stick to a relatively similar day to day life. That is until a young man catches the eye of Agostino's mom. Suddenly, he is no longer alone on his daily boat excursions with his mom and has to watch this young man take his mom's attention. This is frustrating for him as he's always been the one to receive all of his mom's attention, with his father having died when he was young.
The relationship Agostino's mom forms with this young man forces their mother/son relationship to be distanced. This in turn pushes agostino towards a group of boys who are not the most kind and come from a ‘rougher’ way of life. However it seems as though Agostino craves approval from this group, even if that means being treated unfairly. I got the feeling that he hadn't experienced hanging around these types of guys and lifestyle before. Knowing that Agostino's family comes from some money, this was probably a first for him. I think this made him a lot more vulnerable to the group.
Moreover, these guys happened to know a bit about Agostino’s mother, things that he should have been made aware of sooner. After spending time with them on their adventure for the day, it is almost as if when Agostino comes back, he has some in regards to his mother. When he’s back home in her presence, “He realized quickly that although she was now a woman in his eyes, she remained more a mother than ever” (69). His view had changed completely and he maybe even resented her for the way she had been behaving around him for so long (things like displaying her naked body inappropriately).
I feel like I have a lot of questions but one I have for the class is wondering what would've happened if the group of guys hadn't come into Agostino’s life? Would the inappropriate thoughts continue until some sort of male figure shakes him into some realization, or would this simply lessen with age/maturity?
Moravia’s Agostino blog post
Posted by: feedwordpress
I found this read very interesting. Unlike some of the other novels we read, I had a much more difficult time putting this one down. This is different for me as I typically really enjoy reading if I can somehow relate to the characters or storyline in some way. This was definitely not the case for this particular read.
As mentioned in some of the other blog posts, there was certainly a unique relationship between Agostino and his mother, at least in Agostino’s mind. It definitely made me feel a bit uncomfortable at times and could maybe be described as a bit intimate. I definitely sensed that they had a very close relationship, perhaps not with many other people around them in their lives.
They seem to stick to a relatively similar day to day life. That is until a young man catches the eye of Agostino's mom. Suddenly, he is no longer alone on his daily boat excursions with his mom and has to watch this young man take his mom's attention. This is frustrating for him as he's always been the one to receive all of his mom's attention, with his father having died when he was young.
The relationship Agostino's mom forms with this young man forces their mother/son relationship to be distanced. This in turn pushes agostino towards a group of boys who are not the most kind and come from a ‘rougher’ way of life. However it seems as though Agostino craves approval from this group, even if that means being treated unfairly. I got the feeling that he hadn't experienced hanging around these types of guys and lifestyle before. Knowing that Agostino's family comes from some money, this was probably a first for him. I think this made him a lot more vulnerable to the group.
Moreover, these guys happened to know a bit about Agostino’s mother, things that he should have been made aware of sooner. After spending time with them on their adventure for the day, it is almost as if when Agostino comes back, he has some in regards to his mother. When he’s back home in her presence, “He realized quickly that although she was now a woman in his eyes, she remained more a mother than ever” (69). His view had changed completely and he maybe even resented her for the way she had been behaving around him for so long (things like displaying her naked body inappropriately).
I feel like I have a lot of questions but one I have for the class is wondering what would've happened if the group of guys hadn't come into Agostino’s life? Would the inappropriate thoughts continue until some sort of male figure shakes him into some realization, or would this simply lessen with age/maturity?
Week 5, Moravia, “Agostino”
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Thoughts on Carmen Laforet’s “Nada”
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Week 5: Agostino by Alberto Maravia
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Agostino
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Week 5: Agostino By Alberto Moravia
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