Over the course, we have read many texts that have overarching themes of war, violence, and memories. We have even reflected on our own and focused on discussions of motherhood, growing up, betrayal, and context differences. My favourite conversation this far was when we talked about Amulet and connected mothers from the other texts like the Shrouded Woman or Time of the Doves. Some of the books I hadn’t read but diving deep into motherhood, the different types of mothers, and values they held, and what it truly means to be a mother was very eye-opening. For example, one book that I didn’t read had a mother who wanted to kill her children for their benefit, which seems very wrong in our definitions of motherhood. I loved all the books we read over this term, and connecting them was a great way to understand further what romance studies is and how you can connect themes and language styles to send a message.
Childhood was a big theme in many of the texts and growing up to adapting to be an adult, especially in Proust, W or Memory of Childhood, and Agostino. Many new experiences changed them to be more mature and develop their identity. Even though each story was set in a different time and place, the process is still somewhat the same. There are things to learn, achieve respect and maturity, and go through cultural events to shape you to become an adult. However, these stories are not neat; they are messy and come with betrayal, confusion, lost memories from trauma, and childhood experiences that hinder one from maturing. Children’s voices show us a new perspective that adults lack. The innocent curiosity and gratefulness to the world are essential childlike values that adults stray away from. Children are dreamers, and constantly focussing on reality takes us away from life, and we don’t take time to enjoy the little things children notice because they are seeing things and experiencing things for the first time. Children will ask questions, adults are too scared to, and they miss the true truths of life.
Unlike childhood, some texts focus on the present time being more important than memories, like the Society of Reluctant Dreamers, Bonjour Tristesse and the Shrouded Woman. In these texts, children take power and betray their parents/guardians. It doesn’t focus on the childhood memories but on the child’s ambitions, which most of the time end up hurting people because they are immature. It challenges the theme of ordinary parents always being in power over their children. In Bonjour Tristesse, Cecile plans to betray Anne, her guardian and does not care about any wisdom Anne has given her; instead lets her ambitions get the best of her and end in a sad betrayal.
All these texts challenge our world traditions and challenge language by revealing things that are not natural. They use words that uncover themes that the real world does not fully understand. Romance studies is not a representation of the real world. It represents the uncovered, unconscious, not natural world, as these texts travel around and are read in different contexts. Romance studies opens up this world and challenges the perspective of the real world. Romance studies is not separate; it fits into the world’s history and movements.
I loved the quote from the concluding lecture, “A minor literature doesn’t come from a minor language; it is rather that which a minority constructs within a major language” (Deleuze & Guattari)
Romance studies may be a minor language, not seen by the naked eye. Still, it is that minority that emerges itself into a majority language (ex. French) that all can understand so that Romance studies is shared throughout the world. Romance studies is ever-changing and growing, fighting its way to stay in the world, especially as a minor language, because everything today is read in English. Romance studies is connected and unconnected to this world; it is full of memories, dreams, hidden feelings, thoughts, revolutions, and betrayal. Most of all, Romance studies is hidden in everything.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with childhood, context, dreamers, hidden, language, memories, perspective, reality, relationships, theme, war
Over the course, we have read many texts that have overarching themes of war, violence, and memories. We have even reflected on our own and focused on discussions of motherhood, growing up, betrayal, and context differences. My favourite conversation this far was when we talked about Amulet and connected mothers from the other texts like the Shrouded Woman or Time of the Doves. Some of the books I hadn’t read but diving deep into motherhood, the different types of mothers, and values they held, and what it truly means to be a mother was very eye-opening. For example, one book that I didn’t read had a mother who wanted to kill her children for their benefit, which seems very wrong in our definitions of motherhood. I loved all the books we read over this term, and connecting them was a great way to understand further what romance studies is and how you can connect themes and language styles to send a message.
Childhood was a big theme in many of the texts and growing up to adapting to be an adult, especially in Proust, W or Memory of Childhood, and Agostino. Many new experiences changed them to be more mature and develop their identity. Even though each story was set in a different time and place, the process is still somewhat the same. There are things to learn, achieve respect and maturity, and go through cultural events to shape you to become an adult. However, these stories are not neat; they are messy and come with betrayal, confusion, lost memories from trauma, and childhood experiences that hinder one from maturing. Children’s voices show us a new perspective that adults lack. The innocent curiosity and gratefulness to the world are essential childlike values that adults stray away from. Children are dreamers, and constantly focussing on reality takes us away from life, and we don’t take time to enjoy the little things children notice because they are seeing things and experiencing things for the first time. Children will ask questions, adults are too scared to, and they miss the true truths of life.
Unlike childhood, some texts focus on the present time being more important than memories, like the Society of Reluctant Dreamers, Bonjour Tristesse and the Shrouded Woman. In these texts, children take power and betray their parents/guardians. It doesn’t focus on the childhood memories but on the child’s ambitions, which most of the time end up hurting people because they are immature. It challenges the theme of ordinary parents always being in power over their children. In Bonjour Tristesse, Cecile plans to betray Anne, her guardian and does not care about any wisdom Anne has given her; instead lets her ambitions get the best of her and end in a sad betrayal.
All these texts challenge our world traditions and challenge language by revealing things that are not natural. They use words that uncover themes that the real world does not fully understand. Romance studies is not a representation of the real world. It represents the uncovered, unconscious, not natural world, as these texts travel around and are read in different contexts. Romance studies opens up this world and challenges the perspective of the real world. Romance studies is not separate; it fits into the world’s history and movements.
I loved the quote from the concluding lecture, “A minor literature doesn’t come from a minor language; it is rather that which a minority constructs within a major language” (Deleuze & Guattari)
Romance studies may be a minor language, not seen by the naked eye. Still, it is that minority that emerges itself into a majority language (ex. French) that all can understand so that Romance studies is shared throughout the world. Romance studies is ever-changing and growing, fighting its way to stay in the world, especially as a minor language, because everything today is read in English. Romance studies is connected and unconnected to this world; it is full of memories, dreams, hidden feelings, thoughts, revolutions, and betrayal. Most of all, Romance studies is hidden in everything.
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with childhood, context, dreamers, hidden, language, memories, perspective, reality, relationships, theme, war
To conclude my learning journey, there are many aspects I have gained throughout this course. Through examining a series of literary texts with diverse themes, I have become acquainted with key concepts related to romance studies. A notable factor to consider is the arbitrariness and ambiguity in this field of study. At the beginning of […]
Posted in Blogs, Conclusion | Tagged with perspective, postcolonialism, postmodernity, representation, writing
I was not particularly expecting too but I absolutely loved this book. Part one and part three were definitely my favorite to read. It’s always such a thrilling experience to observe a character uncover pieces of a story bit by bit. It reminded me of a show I’m currently watching called ‘Inventing Anna’ where a […]
Posted in Blogs, Cercas | Tagged with journalism, latin america, perspective, politics, truth, war
amulet (noun): a charm (such as an ornament) often inscribed with a magic incantation or symbol to aid the wearer or protect against evil (such as disease or witchcraft) Amulet follows Auxilio Lacouture, a woman trapped in the women’s bathroom of a university while it is being taken over by the military in response to […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with loss, memory, perspective, Roberto Bolaño, sexuality, time, writing
blog#9 – the Object of Anxiety — I’ll admit that I am not very good at remembering character’s names when reading, especially during the part I have to read in dialogue. But in this book, many characters have a kind of tic or catchphrase that they say which I thought was really interesting. Whatever their […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with anxiety, Compulsory Happiness, norman manea, object, perspective, Romania, time
Georges Perec’s novel, “W, or the Memory of Childhood” is an interesting mix of reality and imagination. I found the writing style to be quite similar to Proust’s and Aragon’s as Perec often jumped between different memories and thoughts. Something I found intriguing was how Perec describes the relationship between writing and the people from … Continue reading Week 8: Perec’s “W, or the Memory of Childhood” →
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with autobiography, childhood, family, history, Imagination, memory, narrative, perspective, relationships, Romance Studies
blog#8 – the burden of Names — Georges Perec’s book ‘W, or The Memory of Childhood’ was by far the book with the most interesting formatting. (Out of the books that I’ve read for this class anyway). The two parallel stories and the switching back-and-forth took a lot of getting used to, and admittedly, I […]
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with childhood, family, France, identity, living experience, lost in translation, memory, names, or the Memory of Childhood, perspective, time, vestige
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
The Shrouded Woman by Maria Luisa Bombal has been my favourite of the books we have read so far. I certainly found it the most compelling, and recognised many of the themes that were going on.
I think the theme that most stood out to me was that of realisation. We as people tend to be our most sober around death, and you often hear people talking about their realisations of what really matters in life and how they want to live each passing day only after being confronted with mortality; be it their own or someone dear to them. Bombal manages to take this theme and subvert it by showing that while those who live are faced with hard-hitting realisations, so are the dead.
The regret of wasted time is one that we have all felt (I reckon it’s one of the most universal regrets), including Ana Maria. She is struck by this realisation when she is reunited with her first love, only to realise that they both loved each other despite all the years they’d been apart. Her cry of “Oh God, dear God! Must we die in order to know?” (p176) really hit home for me. At the time of writing, I have been fortunate enough to not have felt the impact of a death close to me. However, I have seen people I love be devastated by grief and the loss of someone dear. Death is a very taboo subject in many societies, which makes it difficult to talk about openly. This often causes it to be an “out of mind, out of sight” situation where people aren’t exposed to it until it happens, and the shock of it all can be very disorientating.
Beside death, a theme that is worth talking about is that of beauty. In this book, beauty can be lumped in with jealousy, insecurity, and the male gaze. Maria Griselda, the character known for being astonishingly beautiful. She reminds me a bit of Remedios the Beauty in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude in that her beauty supposedly causes men to make bad decisions, and then she’s held accountable for things that she has no control over.
Maria Griselda’s beauty is also a source of suffering for the women in the novel, with Silvia eventually resorting to suicide because she was so jealous of this woman for sTeaLiNg hEr HusBanD; “I thought I was lovely until I met Maria Griselda. Maria Griselda is a hundred times more beautiful than I!” (p193). However, her beauty can never be held in isolation from other perspectives. All the suffering and emotions that are felt as a result of her appearance come from the male gaze. Be it men’s disloyalty to their wives, or women’s jealousy as a result of their inherent value as women being threatened, it all comes down to what men think. It is what it is I guess. Bombal puts it more eloquently than I do: “Why oh why must a woman’s nature be such that a man has always to be the pivot of her life?” (p226).
There’s so much more to discuss about this novel, since there are many rich themes. However, the question I pose is: Are emotions a good “reason to be”? If so, is hatred a bad one?
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with beauty, death, gender, jealousy, male gaze, perspective, realisation, regret, taboo
