The Other One (Twentieth Century Classics)

by Colette | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0140093788 Global Overview for this book
Registered by stephjb of Torquay, Devon United Kingdom on 9/25/2014
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by stephjb from Torquay, Devon United Kingdom on Thursday, September 25, 2014
Swapped for in the Bibliotheque at Camping La Grainetiere, Ile de Re, France.

Journal Entry 2 by stephjb at La Flotte, Poitou-Charentes France on Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Despite being set several decades and a few thousand miles apart, I saw similarities between Kate Chopin's The Awakening and this read, Colette's The Other One. Colette's heroine, Fanny Farou, is trapped within the same societal structure of well-to-do wives being expected to have no other function than that of an accessory to their husbands. In this novella, Fanny's husband, known solely as Farou, is a playwright whose fashionable fame keeps him away from his family for weeks at a time, periods Fanny bemoans as 'we are so dull without him'. Most shocking, for me, is Fanny's complete acceptance that Farou will be unfaithful to her while he is away. She reassures herself that her position as favourite is secure and as long as Farou's liaisons remain casual and distant, she can live with them. Conflicting emotions arise however when Fanny realises that Farou is also sleeping with his secretary, Jane, a woman who considers herself Fanny's friend although, interestingly, Fanny does not think of Jane in the same light. Colette cleverly illustrates the relationship between the two women through brief conversations and observations of their behaviour. Jane, assuaging guilt perhaps, is always busy, running errands for Fanny and Farou and attempting to establish an indispensable position in the household. Fanny on the other hand is lethargic and lazy, reminding me a little of Caroline in Andrea Levy's The Long Song. I was intrigued by her indecision, whether she would choose her husband and her companion and how the drama would unfold. The Other One is a small book, both in actual size and in its mostly domestic setting, but powerful emotions are examined and understood through the triangles that Colette establishes.

Journal Entry 3 by stephjb at Camping El Naranjal in Xàbia, Alacant/Alicante Spain on Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Released 9 yrs ago (11/18/2014 UTC) at Camping El Naranjal in Xàbia, Alacant/Alicante Spain

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