The image of the dove in La Plaça del Diamante

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Romance Studies - Spanish Studies, grade: 1,7 (A-), Bielefeld University, course: Escribir como mujer, language: English, abstract: Thesis: The dove is a symbol for the society at the end of the 19th century. It serves to present the expectations society had in regard to women. In the beginning I thought that the doves reflect the development of Natalia. But later I got the impression that the doves might also be the release for her development. Thinking further I came to realise that it also were not the doves alone which had the impact on her, but that it was Quimet behind them, in the way that he had brought the doves into their home. And then I thought it could not be Quimet alone either, but that it must be society which actually was the responsible power, as Quimet was only a part of it. Therefore I wanted to know how the common opinion was concerning the role of man and women at the time the novel is playing, to be able to understand the reasons Quimet has for imposing the role of 'Colometa' on Natalia 1. I have structured my term paper as follows: the first part is about the society at the end of the 19th century. The second part conc entrates on Quimet by looking at his behaviour and statements in regard to the common patterns of those days. In the third part I connect the expectations of society and Quimet with the metaphorical significance of the doves. In the fourth part I want to show the impact these expectations have on Natalia. Hereby, I want to concentrate on the doves by distinguishing three different levels. The first level is the simple physical presents of the doves in the novel. The second level is the metaphorical meaning of the doves in regard to Natalia, and the third level is about the impact the doves have on Natalia's psyche by their physical existence as well as their metaphorical significance. 1 I will come later to what is meant by this role