not entirely sure how i feel about this one folks. valeria is such a rich complex character, while she is much older than me and i do not believe i have the same trajectory towards the lifestyle she has chosen, i still found myself attached and sympathetic to her even though there were moments that frustrated me.

because she has been consumed in domestic housework for most of her life, her diary is a practice of  self-discovery and knowledge that she has given herself as it was previously inaccessible to her. through this practice she has found that her life is not as perfect as she thought it was when given a moment and the tools to reflect, but when given a small choice to liberate herself (in a dubious manner i will admit) she denies it to herself and throughout the story struggles between liberation and reinforcing patriarchy in the private sphere of her home (as symbolically represented through her uneven treatment of her grown children riccardo and mirella).

a lot of tension in the first half of this book is built through her guilty conscience as valeria is desperately afraid of the consequences if her diary, recording her private thoughts, were to be discovered by her family and thus upon discovering that valeria has thoughts and opinions that question the very foundations of her family and her role in it. unfortunately, the second half kind of lulled for me as much of the conflict is very internal, and valeria is not very active in her own narrative until we near the end.

idk idk.