That Obscure Object of Desire

1. The film is titled "That Obscure Object of Desire," due to the fact that it deals with something that is can be frustrating, and is the least talked about aspect of a relationship - sex. However, not just sex.  Matthieu and Conchita parallel the characters of Calisto and Melibea, being sexually attracted to one another. As with most men, Matthieu is filled with desire at the prospect of sleeping Conchita. However, like all men, desire is instantly lost upon climax. To be frank, it's like losing your virginity - it only happens one and it's never the same. This is the basis of the thought the parades through Matthieu's head, and causes him to lose his sexual deviance in relation to Conchita.

2. Terrorism is used as a background to the film, due to the fact that terrorism does indeed parallel sexual attraction, sexual intercourse, and orgasm all at once. Sexual attraction is the build-up between two opposing forces in whatever context before the strike. Meanwhile, sexual intercourse is the movement which leads up to the point at which an act of terrorism is carried out. Finally, orgasm is the happening of the event, and thus, its lasting results, which parallel orgasm in the fact that whatever motive a person had going into it is gone, and their head, devoid of any sort of longing, desire, and arousal. Once clarity refills a person's head after intercourse, they are able to really think and concentrate on how they feel about their partner, or what they just did, much like the effects of a terrorist attack are felt and thought about by everyone, primarily the involved party, being the government.

Celestina (Day 5)

Act 19 - Since Calisto died in accident, as opposed to being murdered, there will be no one suspected of killing him, and he will have died in the most guilt-free way possible. Melibea's reaction to the aforementioned death seems quite normal, as most people in her situation would have grieved, although not to the point at which they would have liked to kill themselves.

Act 20 - Melibea's death is not a surprise after reading about Calisto's death and the dealings which occur post-Calisto between Melibea and her father. Despite trying to be persuaded to use a substance or other form of medication to help mend her emotionally and physically, Melibea's father's efforts are in vain, as Melibea continues to want to kill herself, regardless of the help she is offered, all due to the fact that she cannot bear to live without Calisto. Thus, she believes that if she is to die, she will be with Calisto in the afterlife. This seems like a fairytale idea to me, because the others who have died would also be in the "afterlife," resulting in the two never being peacefully together. At least, I believe their peers would be in the afterlife with them.

Celestina (Day 3)

In chapter seven, there is a large emphasis on the gap between age and youth, because it is not necessary for one ti be young in order to be youthful. A person, no matter what age, can still act like they're a child if they so please to. This is the rule of maturity, and there is no proper place for it to be applicable throughout a person's lifetime. The gap between age and youth says that wisdom can be suppressed no matter how old you are; in some cases, a person never mature and always remains with the same ideologies that they possessed as a child. The maturity factor helps to determine whether someone is really accepted by their peers as an adult, and thus, decides their labels and interactions with their peers. Like Celestina's role amongst her peers, she is seen in an immature light, as most of her peers become children and call her a "whore."

The quote from chapter eight basically states that nothing is as it actually appears. Despite not appearing a certain way, something can actually exist in a different manner, often misconstrued by the eyes of another. The fact that people cannot think abstractly about what they see and what exists only shows a general lack of intelligence on their part.

Celestina (Day 2)

1. This quote expresses the thought that men think each and every relationship is commonplace, and as so, they believe that they should get all things they want. Not only should men get all things they want, but as impatient creatures, they expect to get what they want when they it. Meanwhile, women are the opposite, taking the time to analyze everything around them for long periods, of time, especially their relationships. Thus, a man's role in a relationship becomes more tolerable to the woman, realizing that the two sexes do not operate with the same method, and as so, one party must be more strict and compromising, while the other must be lenient and stubborn. Without these principles, a relationship of any sort cannot exist. So, all in all, the quote represents that men are the more stubborn group out of the two.

2. Celestina, despite being a dark character in terms of personal background and occupation, is a trustowrthy character, as many people in her village choose to trust and befriend her despite her fault and her status at the bottom of the class system. With her many occupations, Celestina meets and does help those around her, only making it more plausible that she is liked by everyone, and as so, life is much easier for her.

Celestina (Day 1)

A garden, as opposed to any other formal structure, is meant to be untouched, for the most part, and to grow on for some time. Those who desecrate or mess with a garden are often scolded for "destroying it's beauty." A garden may signify the innocence of a person, primarily, the innocence of a woman, as women are said to be wholly pure before their virginity is taken, or before they are given away by the father on the day of their wedding. As opposed to Melibea, Calisto longs to be with a woman, mainly her, while Melibea, much like a gardener, tries everything to stop Calisto from pursuing her, like a gardener would stop the average vandal from destroying their garden. These words cannot be seen as wholly true. All in all, this parallels the Garden of Eden, as Eve tricked Adam into biting the apple that would ultimately lead to their demise.

Celestina is a woman of many traits. First and foremost, she is labeled by many of her peers as a promiscuous woman and influence towards the community, thus effectively causing her to be shunned. Despite this, Celestina stills lives a happy life, disregarding the fact. As stupid as it may be, she satisfies herself in whatever way possible whenever she wants, knowing the consequences of her actions, yet carrying out the actions anyway.

The Decameron (Day 6)

Based upon the happenings of this tale, the image of nuns and the church is made obscure, as several key components are dissolved. By taking the priest's breeches, the abbess cross-dresses, which supports the theme of homosexuality, which is against religious beliefs. Apart from this, the abbess's action are deceptive in nature, something which is against the ten commandments. Slowly, throughout the sotry the abbess changes from being a woman of strong, devout faith to a woman of lying and deception, almost that of an anti-religious figure.
Boccaccio tries to show that women are not subjective to a specific brand of a lifestyle. In fact, the men do not always create the trouble for the women. At times, roles can be reversed, thus leaving the woman as the dominant figures within the context of the stories. The fact the women show domination to an extent, is the exact opposite of the roles they are seen in, in texts such as Erec and Enide or Yvain. For example, the women troubling the men by making them think things such as them being falsely preganant show that they have some role of power, while in other tales, a specific example of the reverse is the sparrow-hawk contest in which Enide is made to be an object and nothing more than some petty aid to help Erec win the contest and claim his prize.

The Decameron (Day 5)

8:7 This story shows that a person can only be intelligent to a certain extent, but when fueled by other emotions, said person's intelligence can drop to the bare minimum, and in doing so, harm the intelligent person. Meanwhile, the intelligence of others can drop to the point at which they cease to take into account the various outside factors which can affect those that they love, or can drop to the point at which they no longer care about what happens at the present time. In both cases, pain can be derived from a lack of intelligence as a result of being overwhelmed. This is evident in the first case (the former description of the lack of intelligence) and the second case (the latter description of the lack of intelligence). However, intelligence is used in part with the second case, as Elena is made to do such acts by way of deception.
8:7  The reader is supposed to take neither side within the context of this story, as both parties cease to be intelligent, and act as fools. Despite this, Rinieri does show more intelligence when it comes to the entire story, even if such intelligence comes at the cost of being stupid. Boccaccio creates empathy by creating vivid situations and emotional disturbances within the characters as they mourn for the disappearance, or rather, lack of appearance for their loved ones, due to the fact that they chose not to be intelligent, and are thus, being combated with intelligence. At the end of the story, however, no one is clearly being intelligent.