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RMST 202 Literatures and Cultures of the Romance World II: Modern to Post-Modern
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Black Shack Alley

This definitely wasn’t my favourite book that we’ve read probably do to the constant theme of cruelty and punishment that carries out during the novel. However with that being said I do think that this is a very important read because it further educates its readers about the tough and brutal realities of slavery and […]

Posted in Blogs | Tagged with cruelty, Joseph Zobel, life, trauma

Week 6: Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse”

The novel, “Bonjour Tristesse” by Françoise Sagan was quite a rollercoaster of a story. Just from a brief description of the novel, I expected drama similar to “The Shrouded Woman”, focusing on family and relationships. However, after reading the text (and thanks to a warning from last week), I found it was also quite similar … Continue reading Week 6: Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse” →

Posted in Blogs, Sagan | Tagged with family, life, manipulation, perspective, relationships, revenge, Romance Studies, story, thought, tragedy, translation

Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan

    I found this week’s reading of Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse really easy to hold my interest. I quickly became entertained by the main character Cécile. Although I did find her relationship with her father unhealthy and her actions destructive. Right away I connected this back to last week’s Agostino where the child is jealous of a parent’s new relationship. 

    I think Cecile would have benefited greatly from the positive influence Anne brought with her. It was hard to see her destroy Anne and her father’s relationship especially once she began to bond with Anne. The environment Céline was raised in blinded her to what Anne’s intentions were, even after the time they spent together after her mother’s death and how “embarrassingly fond of her” (7) she was. Her actions came from fear and selfishness to keep her way of life from changing. Without giving praise to the main character I will say I found her scheming and frivolous lifestyle to be quite entertaining. On page 18, Cécile declared that she tried to base her life on Oscar Wilde’s quote “Sin is the only note of vivid colour that persists in the modern world” and Anne came in as a representation of everything Cécile hated. With the best intentions, Anne wanted to marry her father, but Cécile’s lifestyle and fundamental identity were immediately threatened. First with Anne’s involvement in her studies and then her interference in  Cécile’s relationship with Cyril. I thought after the conversation Anne and Cécile had about the future on pages 104-5 along with some other bonding moments between the two, Cécile would put an end to her plans. Even though it was in her nature, I was disappointed that Cécile could not grow from the idea of how she was supposed to live and make room for Anne and her preparations for the future.

    Overall I like how this reading depicted Cécie and her father’s inability and unwillingness to change. The ending was sad, but it left me wondering if the three of them would work as a family or if Cécile would continue to find new ways to get rid of Anne? Cécile was heartbroken losing Anne, but if she never felt the loss, she would have probably never fully realized the consequences of her actions. 

    My question for the class is Would Cécile be better adjusted to cope with the changes Anne brought to her life if her father raised her to be more disciplined?


Posted in Blogs, Sagan | Tagged with family, life, relationships

Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan

    I found this week’s reading of Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse really easy to hold my interest. I quickly became entertained by the main character Cécile. Although I did find her relationship with her father unhealthy and her actions destructive. Right away I connected this back to last week’s Agostino where the child is jealous of a parent’s new relationship. 

    I think Cecile would have benefited greatly from the positive influence Anne brought with her. It was hard to see her destroy Anne and her father’s relationship especially once she began to bond with Anne. The environment Céline was raised in blinded her to what Anne’s intentions were, even after the time they spent together after her mother’s death and how “embarrassingly fond of her” (7) she was. Her actions came from fear and selfishness to keep her way of life from changing. Without giving praise to the main character I will say I found her scheming and frivolous lifestyle to be quite entertaining. On page 18, Cécile declared that she tried to base her life on Oscar Wilde’s quote “Sin is the only note of vivid colour that persists in the modern world” and Anne came in as a representation of everything Cécile hated. With the best intentions, Anne wanted to marry her father, but Cécile’s lifestyle and fundamental identity were immediately threatened. First with Anne’s involvement in her studies and then her interference in  Cécile’s relationship with Cyril. I thought after the conversation Anne and Cécile had about the future on pages 104-5 along with some other bonding moments between the two, Cécile would put an end to her plans. Even though it was in her nature, I was disappointed that Cécile could not grow from the idea of how she was supposed to live and make room for Anne and her preparations for the future.

    Overall I like how this reading depicted Cécie and her father’s inability and unwillingness to change. The ending was sad, but it left me wondering if the three of them would work as a family or if Cécile would continue to find new ways to get rid of Anne? Cécile was heartbroken losing Anne, but if she never felt the loss, she would have probably never fully realized the consequences of her actions. 

    My question for the class is Would Cécile be better adjusted to cope with the changes Anne brought to her life if her father raised her to be more disciplined?


Posted in Blogs, Sagan | Tagged with family, life, relationships

Week Four: Killing Convention in Bombal’s “The Shrouded Woman”

    “The Shrouded Woman,” for all its experiments in structure and style, is perhaps most notable for its show of just how far perspective can go by providing the most unorthodox viewpoint: that of a body in a coffin, briefly suspended between life and death. The piece is comprised of social commentary, including but not limited […]

Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with convention, death, Entries, life, modernism

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