Duras Day II

"If I were you I'd let it go on growing, let its shadow grow a little every year on the walls of the room that is called--wrongly, I believe--yours." (pg87)

Chauvin says this to Anne when they are discussing the tree outside of her bedroom. With this sentence he shows that he understands Anne's feelings of displacement and restlessness. He knows what she is feeling, whether she has admitted it to herself yet or not. He knows that she does not feel at home in the house with her husband and that she doesn't truly want to be there. That's why he says the tree doesn't matter because it's not really where she's meant to be.

"I don't know any more than you do. Talk to me." (pg 87)

Chauvin repeats this phrase or something along the lines of it several times during their conversation. It is usually right after Anne has asked him a question about the couple involved in the murder. He says he doesn't know anymore than she does yet he creates answers which are completely made up, merely conjecture. Anne is interested in the circumstances of the murder and the emotions the couple experienced to bring them to that point. But Chauvin is more interested in hearing Anne talk about herself and her house, which he is very familiar with. At times it seems like the conversation about the murder is just an excuse for them to meet and talk.

"The night, fatigue, and childhood made him cling to her, his mother, and they walked on together." (pg 91)

This quote shows the boy as a child, reliant on his mother. However throughout the story, Anne does not assume a very maternal position. She undoubtedly loves her son, but she treats him more as a companion than a son. She also says that she wishes he were grown up already, and I think that is because of how she already treats him like an adult at times. In fact, there are several instances where the boy seems to assume the role of parent more than Anne does. When she is in the bar, the boy returns several times to check that she is still there and she doesn't pay any attention to him. The boy is more protective of her than she seems to be of him.

Duras Day I

The dynamic between Anne and her son is odd because it seems to change drastically from the first chapter at the piano lesson to the second chapter at the bar.
During the piano lesson, the boy is treated more like an object that needs to be molded into the form his mother wants him to be. She wants him to learn piano because she thinks the music is beautiful, not because he enjoys it. And instead of defending him when the piano teacher is cruel to him, she agrees and says how difficult he is, when really he isn't being difficult so much as unresponsive. He doesn't throw fits or argue, he just refrains from giving the adults what they want, which is ultimately to treat him like something other than a child.
Later the next day at the bar, Anne suddenly seems like a loving, protective mother. She talks about how she always brings her son for a walk. However her real motivation for coming is her curiosity about the murder and she lets him wander away from her.
Her fascination with the murder is somewhat strange to me and it seems that there is something more to the story that we as readers don't know yet. When she is talking to the man it says that she "lies" about knowing about the murder. This may be a further attempt to conceal her curiosity which she may think is indecent, or there may be something more to it.

Sous le Sable

Web Therapy is hilarious.

I saw the traumatic event in the movie as being somewhat displaced. One would think that it would be at the beginning when Jean goes missing and it is implied that he is dead. While Marie is clearly stricken by this we do not see her grieve or really react in any way. She goes home and goes back to her life. She is in denial and won't accept that he is dead because that makes it easier for her to deal with the pain. As long as there was no solid evidence that he was dead, she was able to pretend that everything was fine and he was still around.

The truly traumatic event, for Marie, comes when she asks to see the distorted body they find in the fisherman's net. The visual effect traumatizes Marie, partially because of it's horrific nature but also because it is evidence that Jean is truly dead. Although she cannot recognize his face, it is more than likely that by looking at the body she had to realize that it was him. The body destroys her defense mechanism because she can't deny it anymore. And yet she does. When she sees the swimming trunks and watch, she claims that the watch is not his so this cannot possibly be her husbands body. In all likelihood it is his watch and now she is blatantly lying to herself about the situation. Whether or not she admits it, she knows now that he is really dead and this is when she finally breaks down.

Sor Juana Day III

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Sor Juana's poetry. In a way I find it much more clear than her letters. It is ironic because generally poetry is viewed as being a more difficult style of writing to interpret, but I found hers to be very articulate and almost blunt.

In Poem 145 she explains the satirical tone in her letters to the bishop. Sor Juana is brilliant and her writing reflects this. She is very much aware of her intelligence but also of her cleverness and points this out to the reader in her poem. Yet it does not come across as self praise. It also does not read as a simple statement of facts. It is almost as if she is critiquing another writers work and praising it justly. She refers to the letters as “a painted snare exhibiting the subtleties of art with clever arguments of tone and hue-” which is completely accurate. She could not word it better, explaining that she uses flattery as a way to “overlook the horrors of the years”. When reading her letters, one is not depressed at the thought of how women have been and are oppressed though this is part of what she addresses. She writes of these things with such sharp wit that though they are in fact depressing, the reader is enthused by her intellect into feeling hopeful for the fate of women.

I was especially moved by Poem 174 in which she addresses the subject of jealousy. I have never read anything which so succinctly describes the effect of such intangible forces as Fate and Love. The idea that love is not eternal is key. That what pleasure we gain from these experiences are not to be expected to last forever. That to attempt to hold onto such gifts is “abuse”. The idea is that we must enjoy them as they come, and allow them to go when it is time. Often the best experiences are short lived and it is the memory of them which drives us forward to further attempts. The difference between ownership and use is very important. The concept of ownership is what leads to jealousy, a useless emotion. Jealousy is base and petty and shows insecurity rather than love. In the last verse I misread the first line “Your ignorance or your error I accuse” as “Your ignorance OF your error I accuse” which I think also works in the context of the poem. Alcino must recognize the error of his jealousy as making the mistake of attempting to gain “ownership” of love.

Sor Juana Day II

"But in truth, my Lady, what can we women know, save philosophies of the kitchen? It was well put by Lupercio Leonardo that one can philosophize quite well while preparing supper... Had Aristotle cooked, he would have written a great deal more."75

Above are a combination of quotations concerning whether women should study or not. I found this to be a very interesting way of showing that women should have the same opportunity to study as men. Sor Juana says that she had a mother superior who forbade them from studying, but she points out that reading books is not the only way to study. Whenever she observes anything around her and draws conclusions from her observations she is studying. She gives us some insight into the way her mind works when she notes all of these things like the way the human eye sees things curved or how a spinning top does not go in circles but spirals as it looses momentum. She is clearly always thinking and learning from her surroundings even when she is forbidden to read. THis shows ignorance on the part of those who would teach women not to read because they cannot study.

"And so just is this distinction that not only women, who are held to be so incompetent, but also men, who simply because they are men think themselves wise, are to be prohibited from the interpretation of the Sacred World, save when they are most learned, virtous, of amenable intellect and inclined to the good."

This quote essentially argues Sor Juana's entire point, that she should not be persecuted for studying and interpreting the Bible because she is a woman. She does not argue that all women should be allowed to because some do not have the proper skill etc. But this holds true for men as well. She makes an excellent point by saying that men assume they are wise simply because they are men. This is obviously not the case because there are stupid people everywhere, men and women alike.

Sor Juana Day I

Sor Juana uses flattery to appeal to “the most illustrious lady”. She sings her praises and thanks her endlessly for having her work published. But perhaps the greatest compliment she gives her is to compare her to God Himself. She uses examples of characters in the Bible such as Moses speaking to God because God favored him which made him worthy. The fact that the lady favors Sor Juana validates her in writing this letter and approaching her. “O venerable Lady, whence comes such a favor to me? By chance, am I something more than a poor nun, the slightest creature on earth and the least worthy of drawing your attention?” She also uses this fact to indicate to the readers that she is a credible source as she is favored by the Lady. She is intensely modest while at the same time showing her talent as a writer and scholar.

I found her discourse on education very interesting. She claims, “I do not study in order to write, nor far less in order to teach (which would be boundless arrogance in me), but simply to see whether by studying I may become less ignorant.” In theory, this is the real reason to study anything, to enlighten oneself. As Sor Juana points out however, usually people study things so that they can enlighten others about what they study either through writing or teaching (or both). She humbles herself by saying she is not so “arrogant” to do either of these.

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Break Down

I enjoyed Women on the Verge of a Nervous Break Down and found it very funny. I thought that the comedic effect was necessary because all the characters have issues which women deal with on a more or less constant basis. Granted, most women don't get involved with Shiite terrorists unknowingly but the basic idea that you don't really know the person you think you are in love with is relatable. All of these women show extreme versions of what average women are like. Pepa is sort of like what most women would like to be like if they could stop restraining themselves. She has reached a tipping point and refuses to be stopped by anyone. The comedic effect makes the movie bearable because otherwise it would be terribly depressing.

The telephone in the movie represents the lack of communication between the characters. It is largely due to the lack of communication or misunderstood communication that most disagreements arise. If Pepa had been able to tell Ivan that she was pregnant at the beginning maybe things would have turned out differently, but probably not considering Ivan's character.

Many of the female characters make the same mistake of allowing men to manipulate them and have such a crippling effect on their lives. It's one thing to be in love with someone but if you can't live with out them then you are hopeless. Pepa finally realizes this on some level at the end. She does not need Ivan in her life to be happy or to raise a baby. She is a strong and independent woman who can run her own life. Candela is quite the opposite. She complains of always being tricked by men but in fact she allows herself to be tricked. She is dependent on the men she gets involved with and unable to live by her own agency.