Simple Passion

I think that Ernaux shows how self-conscious the act of writing is and draws attention to it. She often presents the difficulty in representing her subjective sense of desire, and herself in general. Ernaux understands that even what she writes about herself, it is incomplete in ways, just like any autobiographical piece is. She tries to detail as much as she can, but she’s not even sure of her purpose sometimes. What she writes is very personal by explaining (or attempting to explain) how she feels about A. It is really a way for her to work through her emotions. Overall, her tone in the narration is uncertain. With this, she, like other writers, is trying break readers of certain ideas they have of writing and reading. This idea shows up on the second page when she writes, “Writing should also aim for that… a feeling of stupefaction, a suspension of moral judgment.” In going on about her obsession with A, she defies conventional modes of storytelling, and readers are thrown off by this. For example, there is no real resolution or plot, and Ernaux’s voice doesn’t seem very authoritative like readers might expect. So, after reading this novel, readers can indeed be “stupefied” to a certain degree.

The novel consistently conveys the image of the narrator as an obsessed lover, and A as an unreliable man who grows tired of her and eventually ditches her. This does seem to be a problem as it reinforces the stereotype of a dependent woman who has nothing to do but dream of a man. Although it seems really extreme, I think this portrayal is also realistic in ways. As we’ve seen in previous readings, love and desire tend to affect their “victims” in strange ways. It is more like an unhealthy obsession sometimes than anything else. Even though Ernaux would probably not think of herself as someone who revolves her life around a man, she shows how deeply desire affects people with “I discovered what people are capable of… sublime or deadly desires, lack of dignity, attitudes and beliefs I had found absurd in others until I myself turned to them” (60). Maybe reason cannot always trump the power of emotion or desire. It might be easy to criticize Ernaux reading this, but maybe if we found ourselves in a similar situation it wouldn’t be. 

Beyond Silence

I see Lara’s home as the place where she feels she can’t develop into a complete person. This is because she is constantly tending to her parents’ needs over her own. She gives so much of her time and her energy to them that there is little left to do things for herself. Clearly, she and her parents had a loving relationship, but her parents depend on her a lot. Since they depend on her, it almost seemed like she was parenting them. At the same time, her parents were pretty protective of her. So while she is at home, she is caught in this duty of taking care of her parents, while also being sheltered by them. However, once she goes to Berlin, she is easily able to focus on her needs and decide what she really wants. She builds a relationship outside of the family when she meets Tom. Before, it seemed like her life was centered on her family, and the film didn’t really show her spending time with friends.

I think that if Lara were a male, things would have been different in this film. I think that the relationship she had with her parents would not have been the same, especially with her father. Since the parents deaf, they rely on her completely to help them. This is clear in the film by the way Lara had to speak for her parents at the bank, and in other public places. She is tied to her parents and their house until she becomes an adult. When she turns 18 (the typical age to go to college), it seemed that her father was really upset not only that she was going to learn music with his sister, but that she was leaving home. As a female, Lara was under more pressure to remain at home and help her parents, than she might have been as a male. Maybe if she had been a man, her parents would not have expected her to do so much for them. They might have allowed her more freedom to do what she wanted, instead of trying to control her (as her father often did). Her parents might have understood the need for a son to leave the house and provincial life more than they did for their daughter. 

Music is a very important theme in this film. Even though the film shows how music is something that is physically heard, it also shows how it can be more of a feeling (internal) than a sound. A good example of this is when Lara visits Tom at the school he teaches at. The children in the class are deaf, yet when they play the game in which they put their ears to the floor, they all sense the music, and Lara doesn’t. Another scene I thought showed internal music was when Lara spoke to her aunt about the pieces she was planning on playing for her audition. Her aunt told her that she was choosing music that was too sad, and that happier tunes would be better. Lara responds by saying that the music she hears on the surface is not all that she hears. She says that she hears something hopeful in this music on a deeper, internal level. This deeper level involves how she perceives the music emotionally, rather than how she physically hears it.  

Like Water For Chocolate, Section 3

“Growing up, one realizes how many things one cannot wish for, the things that are forbidden, sinful. Indecent. But what is decent? To deny everything that you really want?”(171). I think this passage is interesting because it addresses how we are all socialized to adopt certain morals. And the older we get, the more these morals are impressed upon us. As Tita explains right before these lines, it was easy for her to ask for things she wanted because as a child because she was not yet completely indoctrinated into this moral system. But now that she is a woman, she feels especially oppressed by what she is told is right and wrong. She is more conscientious of how she is expected to act in society and in her family. She is told that what she is doing with Pedro is wrong, yet since they both love each other, she wonders how it could be. In this excerpt, Tita questions why what is “decent” should deny people the right to fulfill their desires. If what is “decent” opposes a person’s right to be happy, then the word actually seems to take on the opposite meaning. There isn’t really a point in trying to fit some predetermined idea of decent if it is arbitrary and oppressive.

“The truth! The truth! Look, Tita, the simple truth is that the truth does not exist; it all depends on a person’s point of view”(184). I find that what Gertrudis claims here about truth relates very well to the passage above about morals, or what is considered decent and indecent. At this point, she and Tita are speaking of the dilemma Tita is in: that Tita might be pregnant with Pedro’s child. Tita is very distraught about her situation because she is afraid that Rosaura will find out and think that she is terrible sister. As we see, Gertrudis tells Tita that it is not true that she is betraying Rosaura because truth is not determined by one person or in one way. So, thinking of morals in the same way, it seems that the truth of what is right and what is wrong doesn’t necessarily exist either. What Gertrudis says makes a lot of sense when she reminds Tita that the truth could be that Rosaura betrayed Tita in a sense by marrying Pedro when she knew he and Tita loved each other. In other words, the truth of the matter looks different to Rosaura than it does to Tita. All in all, this passage argues that each person can see his or her own truth in any situation.  

“She would have to find some way, even if it was an artificial one, of striking a fire that would light the way back to her origin and to Pedro” (239). I feel that this passage relates to what we’ve discussed in class about how one cannot fulfill his or her desire while still alive. It seems that the only way to satisfy such overwhelming desire is to die. Tita’s desire for Pedro is so strong that she burns up all the matches she has inside of her, which almost kills her. Somehow, she manages to temper her desire enough so that she doesn’t completely succumb to it. Though she remains alive, she says that she is incapable of feeling anything because she has just burnt out all of her desire. Therefore, we see how even though desire is deadly to fulfill, at least some of it (some matches) is necessary to feel and to be alive. Because Pedro died satisfying his desire, Tita is compelled to try to relive hers so that she can be with him in eternity. Since she used up her matches, she eats candles and, thinking of Pedro, is able to relight them and experience that burning desire again that will kill her. 

Like Water For Chocolate, Section 2

“Tita grabbed it so tightly that there was no choice but to let it drag behind the carriage like the huge train of a wedding gown that stretched for a full kilometer” (97). In this bit, Tita is finally able to escape the ranch and Mama Elena. And as she goes away, she drags the bedspread she had been knitting behind her, which, as the passage demonstrates, evokes the image of a train on a wedding dress. This is important in linking the idea of Tita's freedom to marriage. Tita is basically doomed to spend the rest of her life trapped on the ranch with Mama Elena because she can’t get married. Of course, she is not supposed to be leaving the ranch at this point, but she rebels against Mama Elena. Although she finally challenges Mama Elena directly and does not want to live with her, she does not leave the ranch on her own. In fact, John Brown (the doctor) has to rescue her. It is as if she could not have left without him, which seems to show that Tita is dependant on the man. I think that this is related to the belief that women must wait for men to save them and help them fulfill their lives by marrying them.

“He was convinced that only there would he find the most advanced medicine—if he could scientifically prove all the miracle cures Morning Light had accomplished” (110). I think that this passage could be read in at least a few different ways. One is that John (the white man) depends on the work of his grandmother (the Native American) to understand medicine. It seems that he might respect traditional, native forms of medicine because they are more effective than anything he learned in medical school. In this case, it would be a little ironic to compare John embracing tradition to Tita who wants desperately to escape it. The other way to read this is to see John as trying to make his grandmother’s work more valid with his medical school knowledge. This would mean that, as a white man, he couldn’t simply accept the work of his native grandmother, even though it was obviously effective. In order for it to become credible, it has to pass the tests of a white man. If the latter is true, than John might be putting his grandmother’s work to the test unconsciously, and not because he thought she was actually incapable.   

“Without words, they made their mutual reproaches and thereby severed the strong tie of blood and obedience that had always bound them together, but could never be reestablished” (126). It was apparent from the beginning of the book that Mama Elena did not show Tita any love or affection. And Tita not only resented her mother not allowing her to marry, but actually hated her for her unnecessary cruelty. So, it is interesting to consider how two people who feel nothing positive toward each other are tied together because they share blood. Of course, sharing blood is an idea rather than a truth, so really, the only relationship that exists between Mama Elena and Tita is imagined. The only other factor that contributed to their relationship was that Tita obeyed Mama Elena. Once she finally rejected being in this subservient position, nothing could exist between them anymore. In a way, this calls some family relationships into question. Do some relationships between parents and their children only work when the children obey and serve their parents? If so, can that be a loving relationship? Esquivel seems to suggest that this type of relationship results in unhappiness on both ends (but mostly on the child's).  

Like Water For Chocolate, Section 1

FYI: My copy of this novel might be different than everybody else's, so the page numbers could also be different.  

The dish prepared in each chapter plays a pivotal role in the story. It always seems that the most important events that occur are connected to eating or preparing food, and these events are important because they allow repressed desire to be fulfilled. A few examples of this are when those attending the wedding vomit uncontrollably, and when Gertrudis runs off with a man. What happens in both of these moments reflect Tita’s desires or emotions, which are infused into the food she prepares. Tita was very upset that her sister was going to marry Pedro, so she cried and her tears went into the cake’s icing. The icing then took on Tita’s state of despair, and when people ate the cake, they reflected this overwhelming despair by being physically sick (vomiting). Also, when Tita makes the quail, the rose petals she puts in it have soaked up some of her blood. So again, a part of her goes into the dish, but this time, it represents her sexual desire. So when Gertrudis eats some of this, she burns with uncontrollable passion and runs away with some man. It appears that in a way, food allows a freedom of expression for Tita that she otherwise can’t have because her mother is always watching and ready to punish for her disobedience. Her safe haven becomes the kitchen because it is the only place where she can exercise any control.  

From the moment Tita is born, we sense that her life will contain a great element of sadness because she was “washed into this world on a great tide of tears…” (4). When she grows older, this sadness comes from the fact that the man she loves (Pedro) is going to marry her sister (Rosaura). This comes about because Mama Elena claims that Tita is bound (as the youngest daughter) to care for her until she (Mama Elena) dies. Of course, Tita strongly resists the idea that she can’t marry. Therefore, we find that Tita is the character that questions and defies tradition in this story. She cannot accept the role that Mama Elena tries to force her into because it makes no sense. So, in a way, Tita displays some characteristics of a feminist. She is constantly struggling to gain a sort of independence and suffers at the hands of Mama Elena for this. She has no outlet for her intense emotions besides the kitchen, which is the traditional realm of women. But we see that she uses this traditional setting to express herself and challenge her limited status.

Mama Elena comes off as very authoritarian and not very loving. She is the antagonist in this story because she constantly prevents Tita from leading the life she wants to lead. The reason behind her repressing Tita is tradition, which is hardly logical. Nonetheless, Mama Elena embodies the conservative attitude of sticking to tradition because it’s been around for so long. She represents women that oppress other women by upholding patriarchal tradition. The ironic thing about this is that Mama Elena claims that she has never needed men in her life even though they have determined the tradition she abides by (79). Like the stereotypical male who runs the household, she treats her daughters like objects. This is especially evident when Pedro comes to ask to marry Tita, and instead gets permission to marry Rosaura. Mama Elena clearly doesn’t consider how Tita and Rosaura feel, but substitutes one for the other to be a wife for Pedro.      

Volver

I think that in this film, Raimunda’s character shows how the role of women is not limited to being a mother or wife, even though she is both. She is a hardworking, decisive, practical, and intelligent individual who deftly handles the horrendous situations that occur throughout the course of the film. For example, when she comes home from working all day she is bombarded by the fact that her daughter murdered her husband because he was trying to rape her. It is an extremely traumatizing situation, but she deals with it unimaginably well. She decides to take full responsibility should the incident be discovered because she loves her daughter. She cleans up all the blood around the body, and later, puts it in a freezer so it doesn’t rot. Raimunda also works really well with others, and displays qualities of interdependency, rather than either the stereotypical dependence of women or the independence of men. We see that she is a skilled businesswoman in the way she negotiates with her friends to get food to make meals in the restaurant. She manages to borrow food from them, but doesn’t take advantage of them in any way.

The main theme of the “return” in this film is apparent when Irene comes back. I think the purpose of her return is to bring all the women (Sole, Raimunda, Paula, and Agustina) together and help them heal their wounds. We don’t realize all of their problems right away, but each one’s issues are serious. Sole’s husband left her; Agustina has cancer, doesn’t know whether or not her mother is dead; Paula kills her father who is not really her father; and Raimunda is not only widowed, but was abused and impregnated by her own father. It seems that all of these women function well enough on a daily basis, but on a deeper level, are very distressed. They all support and comfort each other, but none of them seem to completely resolve their issues until Irene returns. This is especially evident in Agustina’s and Raimunda’s cases. Irene fills the role of Agustina’s lost mother and cares for her when the cancer overcomes her. Also, after she talks to Raimunda about how her father abused her, we get the sense that Raimunda will be able to address and move past the psychological issues she has repressed for years. 

One scene I found interesting was when Sole attended her Aunt Paula’s funeral. After she came into the house, she was in an empty hallway. Suddenly, her late mother (Irene) appears and says, “I have to talk to you.” Because Sole is terrified of her mother’s ghost, she shrieks and runs in the other direction. She runs through a doorway and stops, only to find that a whole crowd is staring at her. The strange thing about this crowd was that it was made up of all men. As the camera pans over all these men, it shows that they are scrutinizing Sole without any real expressions on their faces. I thought the men were acting abnormally in this situation because Sole is running, screaming, and is obviously distressed (at her aunt’s funeral), yet instead of asking her what’s wrong, they silently stare at her. This made is seem like the men were unsympathetic, and with their staring, also seem to be judging Sole. Agustina shows up to “rescue” Sole from the situation, and right after, we see her among a large group of women. In contrast to the men, the women seem more concerned, and far more personal. Sole is far more comfortable in the latter situation, is treated less like an object, and more like a subject.