RMST 202 Blogs

  At the start of this semester, I was unsure of what to expect from the texts. I was excited at the prospect of reading new books every week by authors that I would not have explored otherwise. This course allowed me to become acquainted with more cultures, literary movements, and geographical regions. Moreover, it allowed me to explore new themes such as betrayal, family, and death in unique ways.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the discussions in class because of the varying opinions that we got to explore. More than anything, I appreciated the fact that we were able to express all of our opinions, both negative and positive. I believe that allowed us to really understand the various layers of the text and analyze the texts in the best way possible. I also enjoyed writing the blog posts and how they allowed us to explore whichever part of the text we felt the strongest about.  The text that stood out to me from this course would be  The Shrouded Woman  by María Lu...

The Society of Reluctant Dreamers  was a unique read - but not for the reason that I expected. What fascinated me about this book is the setting, the Portuguese-speaking regions of Africa. This is an area that I am not very familiar with, so I do admit that it was difficult for me to follow the plot in certain parts.                                                                                                                                                                                                 ...

  " This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it won't appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller." Bolaño's  Amulet  is a powerful read, to say the least. The introduction (as quoted above) is poignant enough to captivate a reader and make them ponder about perspective. Personally, those lines developed a stream of consciousness in my mind that began to wonder about how war and revolution always have multiple sides to them, whether it may be the perspective of a civilian, an activist, a politician, or a child.  Auxilio Lacouture played more than one role in her life - she was a poet and a mother to many. Moreover, she symbolically resisted the army's invasion of her university by hiding in the bathroom for around two weeks. As she began to recount her story, the introduction of the book became clearer than ever. I forgot about her situation and the horrors that she would have experienced. This was kind of unset...

  I found Fuentes' novel,  The Old Gringo , a little bit hard to read. The plot was convoluted, and I didn't quite understand the nature of the relationship that most of the characters shared. However, reading the lecture notes definitely made me feel better because I realized that that was done intentionally.  Personally, I found the whole plot of the book kind of odd because of how the idea of the Mexican Revolution was romanticized in the old American's mind. For example, when the narrator likens being a gringo in Mexico and dying there to euthanasia, I felt like the old man was undermining the ramifications of the Mexican Revolution. This is somewhat reminiscent of how people tend to treat wars that do not concern them directly as something that could serve their pleasure. Moreover, he chose to insert himself into the situation at his age just to die in a blaze of glory.  Additionally, I was kind of uncomfortable with Harriet Winslow's role throughout the book. S...

  Perec's W is a fascinating read for a multitude of reasons. The book starts with a disclaimer warning readers about the dual nature of the upcoming story - an unusual thing to begin a story with!  I found the idea of calling the book 'W' because of the double 'V' incredibly smart. I came across another interpretation of how the choice of the double 'V' was creative because of how 'vie' in French translates to life in English. This is pertinent to the book because of the two parallel stories and how they influence each other.  Perec's description of pictures in the somewhat autobiographical portion of the book is what stood out to me the most. I would like to think that he went the extra mile with his descriptions of the images because of how desperately he wanted to remember his childhood and his parents. The idea of placing importance in memory is a very interesting concept for many reasons. The desperation to cling to one's childhood is u...

  The Time of the Doves  by Mercè Rodoreda is a captivating story with a unique protagonist. Initially, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Natalia, the narrator. My emotions swung from sympathy to shock to frustration while reading about her. However, as the book progressed, her character developed as she learned to adapt to her circumstances. Oddly enough, this made me enjoy the book even more. It was interesting to see how she navigated life in a begrudging marriage and during a war.  I found the dynamic that Rodoreda created between Natalia and Quimet symbolic of the traditional 'submissive woman/dominating man' dynamic. Quimet was a controlling man who more or less declared that Natalia would be his wife after one encounter in the town square. Additionally, he finds ways to measure up the pain that she has felt with himself to prove that she cannot outdo him in any way. This was evident when he compared having a tapeworm to childbirth, claiming that they had been th...

  Sagan's  Bonjour Tristesse  was an interesting read. I enjoyed reading about the privileged Cécile and her problems, more so because her issues seemed both superficial and deep simultaneously. While reading this text, I couldn't help but make parallels to Moravia's  Agostino  because of how the genders have reversed in Sagan's text. Cécile is more mature about her feelings for her father as opposed to Agostino, a boy at the verge of puberty. I found the bond between Cécile and her father quite interesting because of the possessiveness she has over her father and how she views him more as a friend than a father in most situations.  I was quite perplexed about what to feel for Anne, as our narrator herself kept swaying between love and hate for her. Initially, she was excited at the prospect of her joining them, but over time she grew more impatient with her because of Anne's need to 'fix' her. Moreover, it was hard to tell who was being 'dramatic' a...

  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 in...

  "But now, now that I am dead, it occurs to me that possibly all men once in their lifetime long to make some great renunciation; to sacrifice something vital; to tear to pieces a butterfly, in order to feel themselves masters of their own destiny." The above quote stood out the most while reading Bombal's novel,  The Shrouded Woman . Something about the unique narration of this novel made every line that much more poignant, given that our narrator was dead. It was almost as if she refused to pass without imparting whatever wisdom she could to anyone willing to hear her. Bombal's use of visual imagery was balanced and evocative. As I read, I did feel like I was witnessing the scenes as they played out. I enjoyed her descriptions of the characters and their personalities and what they meant to Ana Maria.  Additionally, I found the dramatics of the novel very intriguing. The feuds, infidelity, and familial bonds of the characters were explored very intricately for a re...

  Paris Peasant was an unexpected read, to say the least. The first thing that caught my attention was Aragon's use of descriptive language. I've never particularly enjoyed excessive description, so I did find it kind of challenging to read certain portions of the book.  However, the irregular structure of the text was fascinating to discover. It was interesting to see the paragraphs broken up by newspaper articles, pictures, and municipality warnings. As stated in the video lecture, the retention of the original fonts and motifs in the book adds a layer of authenticity and charm. This makes readers feel as if they are exploring the city of Paris with the narrator.  Additionally, I found the blurring of the lines between reality and imagination intriguing. It would catch me completely off-guard - the sentence would start off as a description of a real place or person and end with a fantastical twist. In this sense, I truly do believe that Aragon was able to craft a wonder...

I dived into Proust's Combray completely unaware of what to expect. The first thing that caught my attention was the language. It was very descriptive, thus allowing me to envision every room and meal as the narrator experienced it. Secondly, I noticed the stream of consciousness that the narrator seemed to be traveling along while narrating. What started in a room with an insight into the intricacies of sleep and wakefulness turned into a formative childhood memory. This form of writing intrigued me immensely because of how naturally it flowed. I almost did not notice the transition until I read about the narrator's next idea! I must confess that I did get a little bit confused when the narrator switched to talking about his childhood experience from his ideologies as an adult. However, once I picked up on the difference I was able to enjoy the innocence with which the child craved to be with his mother. As seen in the scene below, Proust's description of the raw emotion ...

Hi, everyone!  My name is Devanshi, and I am a first-year student intending to major in Psychology. Although I was born in Mumbai, I have lived in Dubai my whole life. I am super excited to be a part of this course this semester and learn something new! I've always enjoyed studying literature and analyzing texts but it has always been limited to English texts. I look forward to broadening my understanding of literature by exploring texts from authors of varying backgrounds and different parts of the world. I am also curious to see how common themes such as society and family are portrayed uniquely in each text.  To be perfectly honest, I have not heard of any of these authors but this makes the idea of this course more interesting! I love having something new to explore in terms of literature and am glad to be discovering works outside of my comfort zone. It's almost like being introduced to a new culture.  I had a very different idea of what Romance studies would entail ...