I really enjoyed this week’s novel of The Shrouded Woman. I was looking forward to this week’s novel since it is the first one with a female author and I was intrigued if there was a noticeable difference between the previous books. One thing I noticed was a difference through the characters as the women were portrayed as more than just an object for the male gaze and actually showcased female characters with personalities.
I was really intrigued with the choice of the narrator being dead. It reminded me of a diary as it was a reflection of Ana María’s life. It revealed moments in her life that were happy, lonely, and regretful through a detailed perspective of each relationship which made it easy to engage with. A quote that really stood out to me was, “must we die in order to know certain things”? (pg. 176). It made me wonder about deeper aspects of death. Especially as Ana María had her siblings, her father, her first love, her husband, and her children visit her as she is deceased. I couldn’t imagine the feeling if she wanted to say something to them. It made me curious about the afterlife and the possibilities of what we may think or reflect. It also made me realize how short our connections can be and how we may fail to notice until it’s too late.
I found it interesting how the author captured Ana María’s relationships, especially her first love Ricardo. This quote also stood out to me, “I never knew. I only know that period following your departure was the most disordered and tragic in my entire life. Oh, the torture of first love, of the first disillusion! When one struggles with the past instead of forgetting it”! (pg. 167). This showcases how this first relationship truly affected her from ever moving on to having a successful relationship. Ricardo left her because he chose to pursue his career but she offered to move with him to remain together. This left me wondering was it a one-sided love and she was blinded by love to recognize it.
This was the type of novel I was expecting for this course and it went beyond my expectations. I am looking forward to this week’s discussion after skimming and noticing most of my classmate’s enjoyment of this read too! The question I pose to my classmates is since this is the first female author we’ve read so far, did you notice any differences in comparison to our last reads? Or do you think there was a purpose to make the main character a female?
Hi Arielle, nice commentary! I was also excited to read a book written by a woman! I found it was easier for me to empathize with Ana Maria, which therefore made the read more enjoyable! I agree that it was nice to see women with their own agency and stories rather than just characters in the background of the men, as we saw in our previous books. It seems as if you were able to reflect well with the content in the book!
I like that you pointed out that quote. I wrote a lot about this idea of finality of dying, and it’s use gain realization and closure to the relationships and memories she had. Really neat way of summing my thoughts up.
I was also glad to see more developed female characters in this text! I don’t think there was a specific reason for making the main character female other than that the author was female and she wanted to capture life from a woman’s perspective – something that we all have found lacking in the literature in general.
Something that this text reminded me of, and specifically the quote you mentioned, is this interesting question in philosophy: why do we respect the dead more than the living? For those from marginalized groups, must they die to be respected at all?
Hi Arielle, I also enjoyed the novel! It was really cool to have a female lead this time, especially since the main character led a quite interesting life. I did notice this text was pretty different compared to the other two texts in terms of the story and characters, but that may also be due to different writing styles and goals. I also feel like Bombal made the main character a female to bring awareness to women’s lives in the 1900s, or perhaps to express herself and her experiences through a novel.
Hi Arielle!
I really enjoyed reading your input on the narrator being dead in The Shrouded Woman. It felt as if we were reading over her most important life experiences and feeling a sense of closure with it.
Hey Arielle!
I agree with what you said about the role of women in the novel. I also think that Ana María and Ricardo’s failed relationship is a way for the author to show how trapped the main character is in the misogynistic society she lives in. Instead of pursuing her young love, she is forced to marry for money and choose a life that doesn’t make her happy. I think the choice to portray a female main character was so the author could convey her message. Bombal wants to show how repressive a patriarchal society can be and she does so by telling the story of Ana María.