Literature/Discussion db13

The Other Wife

Sidonie Gabrielle Colette (France)

Pronounce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELI8TG_uzA

A prolific write, known simply as Colette (which certainly is star power for the time), uses dramatic irony, symbolic detail, and metaphor to trace a man’s failed relationship with his first wife and the initiation of failure with his second The writer offers innuendo and highly focused dialogue. She is economic with her words, and yet that brevity and sharpness energizes the plot. The story falls within the experimental writing category.

Her descriptions are targeted and clear. Notice how the women are described. Which wife is the more classic?

Collette had a view of male:female relationships that such could never operate satisfactorily.

The title obviously states that there is yet a second wife. Notice how light creates ambiguity in the story.

Why is devoting so much space to food vital to the unfolding of the story?

Is happiness attainable?

If eyes are the mirror of the soul, how does that image work in the story?

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A personal note: I am such a fan of this story, which definitely means that you do not have to be. There are so many subtleties that are carefully crafted for maximum impact, I think. A really good story operates at more than one level and yet the whole needs all parts.

Consider the time (1873-1954) and this picture could sum up the character and flash of Colette.

She wrote the book, Gigi, that became the movie of the same name in 1958. It has held up as comedy with a serious undercurrent of certain male:gemale role expectations.

. This delightful, multi-Oscar winner (including Best Picture) features a turn-of-the-century Parisian tomboy (Leslie Caron) who falls for her guardian, Louis Jordan, while being groomed as a courtesan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHrwjbDNNus