Hi again, everyone! This week, I chose to read the book Agostino by Alberto Moravia. This novel was interesting, and I was weirded out at the start of the book. I found myself interested in the narrative and the character devel…
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Agostino, desire, expectations, identity, mother, New, Odd
In Alberto Moravia’s “Agostino,” the sun-drenched beaches of a seaside town in Italy set the stage for a captivating exploration of a mother and son’s relationship. Against the backdrop of a summer spent in their pattino and swimming in the sea, Moravia delves into the psyche of a young thirteen-year-old boy named Agostino as he grapples with […]
Posted in Blogs, Moravia | Tagged with adolescence, desire, Envy, Internal Conflict, oedipus
Hey everyone! I’m really excited to talk about this week’s reading, “The Shrouded Woman” by Maria Luisa Bombal. Firstly, the themes that were covered in general were super intriguing to me. I love thinking about life, love and the afterlife on my own time and am generally a fairly existential thinker so I personally really […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with desire, Dreams, family, life, memory, perspective, reality, temporality
“And now she desires nothing more than to remain there crucified to the earth, suffering and enjoying in her flesh the ebb and flow of distant, far distant tides; feeling the grass grow, new islands emerge, and on some other continent, the unknown flower bursting open that blooms only on a day of eclipse. And […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with death, desire, limbo, love
María Luisa Bombal’s novel, “The Shrouded Woman,” explores deep-seated themes surrounding desire, fulfillment, and the inescapable reality of death. The novel intricately intertwines the life of its protagonist, Ana María, with layers of unresolved yearning and profound existential contemplation. Throughout “The Shrouded Woman,” Bombal navigates the complexities of human emotions, with a particular focus on […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with death, desire, Fulfillment, gender, patriarchy, perspective
Nadja, by André Breton, begins with a diary-entry-like format depicting the daily life living in France. The narrator talks about his favourite movies, places he’s visited, people he sees, plays he’s attending, and so on. However, suddenly the focus changes, becoming all about a newfound obsession. A girl named Nadja. I found the relationship between […]
Posted in Blogs, Breton | Tagged with autobiography, desire, life, narrative/narration, trauma
I surprised myself this week; I found myself actually excited to read “Nadja” by André Breton and I can confidently say it was nothing short of an experience. Perhaps it was the little description left by Prof. Beasley-Murray depicting the book as one with themes of love, desire, and madness that piqued my interest, I […]
Posted in Blogs, Breton | Tagged with blog, desire, madness, nadja, Surrealism
“I shall discuss these things without pre-established order, and according to the mood of the moment which lets whatever survives survive” (23) [Nadja] was never an easy book to understand fully in one reading. In fact, the first impression of the book was pure confusion — it never goes as time passes generally, and it […]
This week’s novel by Vargas Llosa, Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, was a really fun read! I will say, even though Jon informed us it was a comedy, the book was not at all what I was expecting – but in a good way! The idea of having a “special service” comprised of prostitutes […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with desire, formality, Llosa, regulations, span312
Reading Proust’s stories from Swann’s Way gave me a lot of feelings. I’m not sure that I understood either story completely – or that I ever could – but I certainly felt connected to them on a deeper level than I would have expected. Of the two stories, I would like to discuss aspects of “Overture” […]
