The Time of the Doves, Rodoreda

 Hello everyone! This weeks book is The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda, a book originally written in the romance language of Catalan, set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. It follows Natalia and her life married to Quimet and Antoni. 

Firstly, I already feel like I have so much to say about the translators note. I have been enjoying the inclusion of these at the beginning of these translated texts because I feel like it closes the gap a bit of what we miss from reading the text in its original language. I think it is a little ironic that we are reading the translated text yet the translator highlights the significance of the civil war forbidding Catalan, and the importance of it being used and taught in schools now. The inclusion of the historical context was important to this translated text because it highlights how this book stood the test of an attempted cultural genocide of Catalan. 

I found Natalia's husband Quimet insufferable for many obvious reasons but there were a few specific moments that I made connections with things I see today which I thought was interesting. There are numerous examples but one that stuck out to me that was when Natalia was made fun of for her purchase of useless items such as hot chocolate cups, and then Quimet turned around and bought a motorcycle. While its not exactly the same, I think this demonstrates parallels between how things that are female dominated or liked (pop music artists, careers) are discredited whereas things that are male dominated or liked (rap/rock music artists, sports) are held to a higher regard. Another example that I found infuriating was when Quimet would only complain about his leg when Natalia was pregnant, and definitely in much more discomfort and pain than he would have been in. Quintet having his doves, and continuing to have more, and build more places for them is another example. He seemed to love having the doves in his house because he did not have to deal with cleaning up after them, but Natalia had to deal with all of the mess, and I think this is a prevalent theme. I felt like most things Natalia faced in the story could be connected to many other stories as it illustrated a women's experience which I think is somewhat universal. 

My question for this week is: Can you think of any more examples where a universal occurrence that women experience was depicted? 

Comments

  1. Jon Beasley-Murray28 February 2024 at 02:28

    "during the Spanish Civil War"

    It's actually not so much *during* the Spanish Civil War as it spans the entire period from before the war to after it.

    But I'm interested in what you thought of the second half of the book. After all, Quimet mostly disappears from the narrative relatively early on, and is killed not long thereafter. He's only one of Natalia's husbands. What did you think of the second? What are the gender relations there?

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  2. indra29 February 2024 at 21:40

    Hello! I enjoyed reading your blog for this week. The way Quimet treated Natalia was something that stuck with me too, especially considering the fact that she missed him after his death, despite his actions. A lot of his actions seemed hypocritical to me as well, including how he became very jealous and possessive towards her, but he basically stole her from Pere at the first place.

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  3. Anonymous29 February 2024 at 21:50

    Hi! A very specific moment or quote I found that was a great summary of many women’s experiences was “no one cared how I felt and everyone kept asking me to do more like I was superhuman.” Us humans are always expected to be doing something and this can pressure us but women have typically been subjected to much harsher, very specific, and sometimes unattainable expectations in life. As the quote said, it’s as if we’re supposed to be superhuman without faults and are only on Earth to constantly provide. On top of this, we’re usually not allowed to be open regarding how we feel about the circumstances we’re put in — sometimes it feels like we never win.

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