The Time Of The Doves By Mercè Rodoreda

The Time of the Doves is a Spanish novel written by Mercè Rodoreda. It illustrates the life of a young woman, Natalia, and is set in the turbulent years during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. The novel traces the somewhat ordinary and harsh life of a Natalia, also nicknamed “Colometa”, through the difficult years of famine and depression, as a young mother and unskilled laborer in Catalonia. Natalia faces many hardships throughout the book that range from martial issues to the problems caused by the war. Rodoreda’s novel shows the impact the war had on civilians and in particular, women. She shows that women can survive without a man even under intense circumstances.

The Time of the Doves is not overly political; it is the story of human condition, and the suffering any person endures as some point of their lives. The war indeed still serves as a backdrop in this novel. The readers get the see the passive yet resilient female who fights for survival in the brutal environment the war caused.

Natalia is a young innocent girl who before the Spanish Civil War works as a pastry shop worker. During this time, she meets Quimet and after a short period of time they marry and have two children. While they may struggle, they still maintain a nice life in Barcelona. Quimet has a whimsical idea to raise doves on the roof of their home. Natalia is not so fond of this idea. Quimet started with one injured bird he found and it led to many more. Natalia couldn’t handle the noise they made and their strong smell. Natalia absolutely hates these doves and at one point she gets so upset she goes to the roof and takes the eggs. She would shake the eggs hard enough to kill the doves. Rodoreda writes, “So instead of bothering ...

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...ve the epigraph at the beginning of the novel, which says, “My dear, these things are life.” I think that is kind of what Rodoreda’s view on the world is like. That the things we face everyday whether they be good or bad is a part of life. It’s to say that anything is possible. She shows in this novel that ordinary women are capable of surviving hard times even with the odds are against them. That’s how my view relates to hers.

This is a not a heroic story of any sort. The readers get to see the ugliness of war through Natalia’s eyes. Even when her world echoes with the adversities of war, she tries her best to deal with the blows without any hints of immense bravery. Natalia shows that women during this time in the war can survive without the help of a man. It’s shows how the ordinary and tough lives that live away from the frontlines of the Spanish Civil War.