Concetti Chiave
- The story is set in July 1962, focusing on a newlywed couple spending their honeymoon on the Dorset Coast.
- Florence, an aspiring violinist, and Edward, a history graduate, both come from different social backgrounds and are virgins on their wedding night.
- The novel explores the couple's anxiety and differing attitudes towards sex, with Edward eager and Florence fearful.
- The narrative includes flashbacks revealing the couple's past lives and the circumstances that brought them together.
- The climax occurs with Florence's escape to the beach, leading to a final confrontation and a life of resigned acceptance for both.
On Chesil beach - Ian McEwan
The plot of On Chesil Beach is quite straightforward. In July 1962 two young people have just been married and are about to spend their honeymoon in a small hotel on the Dorest Coast. Florence Poting is an aspiring violinist, the
daughter of a wealthy business man and an Oxford lecturer, Edward Mayhew a history graduate, the son of a country headmaster and a brain-damaged woman with artistic inclinations. They are happy, in love, but extremely nervous:
"They were young, educated, and both virgins on this , their wedding night, and they lived in a time hen conversation about sexual difficulties as plainly impossible. ". The novel tells the story of that awkward night. Edward is full of
expectations . He wants to be a good man and husband - respectable, confident and reliable - and has a positive attitude to sex. Florence fears sex: "Sex with Edward could not be the summation of her joy, but was the price she must
pay for it." She would rather not be touched by anyone - even the man she loves. She longs for a sort of platonic love: " She wanted to linger in this spacious moment , in these fully clothed conditions, with the soft-brown gaze
and the tender caress and the spreading thrill. But she knew that this was impossible, and that , as everyone said, one thing would have to lead to another". Florence and Edward make small talk at dinner table set in their room while eating a horrible dinner served by silent and discrete waiters.
What follows is a disaster culminating in Florence's desperate escape from the hotel to the beach where Edward joins her for a final showdown. The narration of the events of that night is interrupted by flashbacks which details Florence and Edward's chance meeting, their past life and drastically different social backgrounds and upbringing. The last part of the novel sums up the two protagonists' subsequent lives. Neither of them will find happiness, just a sort of resigned acceptance of themselves. They will never meet again after that last moonlit walk on Chesil beach.
Domande da interrogazione
- ¿Cuál es el contexto de la noche de bodas de Florence y Edward en "On Chesil Beach"?
- ¿Cómo se sienten Florence y Edward respecto al sexo y su relación?
- ¿Qué sucede después de la cena en la habitación del hotel?
La novela se desarrolla en julio de 1962, cuando dos jóvenes recién casados, Florence y Edward, pasan su luna de miel en un hotel en la costa de Dorset. Ambos son vírgenes y viven en una época en la que hablar de dificultades sexuales era imposible, lo que genera nerviosismo en su noche de bodas.
Edward tiene expectativas positivas sobre el sexo y desea ser un buen esposo, mientras que Florence teme el sexo y prefiere un amor platónico. Ella siente que el sexo es un precio a pagar por su felicidad, lo que crea una tensión significativa entre ellos.
La noche se convierte en un desastre, culminando con la huida desesperada de Florence al hotel y luego a la playa, donde Edward la sigue para un enfrentamiento final. La novela narra estos eventos intercalados con flashbacks de sus vidas pasadas y diferentes orígenes sociales.
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