I am mixed. On the one hand, I feel guilty about asking that question of whether it is real “literature.” Of all the readings this has been by far the easiest, and the cheapest, going for shock value and chaos. THE CHAOS! THE DRAMA! EVERY SECOND! almost every second.
Amongst all this cheap drama, the quiet moments hit SO HARD. It was almost as if you were sucked into this very separate world from the shrouded woman when she reflects on those vibrant episodes of her life as the living Ana Maria. This makes that return to the world of the dead, introspective, shrouded woman feel so so so QUIET. In contrast to all the chaos, you can sense the extreme quiet in this dead natural place in the earth and the universe. I could hear the silence in death, and at the end, the silence was loudest and I cried.
I also cried around 3/4 of the way through when she describes moving in with her husband and the immense sad loneliness there. I don’t know why, maybe it’s a fear of my own to lose a part of myself through my love for someone else, but that section where she told him she needed to return home was really beautiful to me.
I really liked it, even the cheapness of it, I don’t think it would have been the same without the INDULGENCE in DRAMA and the reassertion of Ana Marias’ suffering in her relations to other people.
Honestly, I didn’t see it as a story of gender inequality at first. When I started watching the lecture I realized the interpretation that Jon took was very different than I had thought it would be. I picked up on her loneliness and isolation from the rest of the world, but for some reason, I didn’t see it as a result of a gender standard. At first, I saw it as her fault, just that she was a toxic and confused person who was unable to accept love into her life (this judgement in itself says something about how women are isolated?), but overall I agree with the lecture. Perhaps the tragedy of womanhood expressed is what unconsciously made me cry? I’m not sure.
Anyways, I liked the book. I thought it was beautifully written at moments but that it was not trying nearly as hard as the other two books we have read to be poetic or profound. I question if it is a great work of literature, perhaps because I enjoyed it, and literature usually bores me, but lovely read!
My question is whether any of you noticed a sense of loud vs quiet and chaotic vs still in the moments of reflection on her life vs moments when she is just in death?
*** Attached photo of me standing in a river like Maria Griselda
I definitely noticed the loud vs. quiet moments. It was in the quiet where all the beautiful reflection happened and where I felt the most connected with the story. I also didn’t get the interpretation of the gender inequality at the beginning, I just thought it was due to Ana Maria being very passionate and maybe a bit naive. But at the end of the reading, I felt so close and connected to Ana Maria because we went through so much together! Great blog post!
Dalia, I am interested to know why you classify it as “cheap.” It is great that it made you feel! I think that, even though it looks like you struggled to see it as real literature or speaking on gender disparity, in the end, you could see its value and the aspects of womanhood and emotion that she struggles with stayed with you.
Thanks for your comment
Tesi
I also saw the ‘cheapness’ in the book… something about it was too dramatic and chaotic for me. I just can’t deal with the multiple storylines. Plus, going in and out of the dead woman’s perspective and then into the past of Ana- Marie. I’m glad though that you enjoyed it. I for sure saw this as a tele-novella, as well.
The loud v. chaotic and chaotic v. still moments were quite palpable, especially when the narration details the contrast between Ana Maria’s feelings about certain situations before and after her passing (like her marriage, for instance). But I suppose it does help accentuate the sense of peace that Ana Maria feels at her funeral, which I do agree with you was beautifully written!
Yes, I felt it too. The noise and clutter is brought on by a destiny that is beyond her control, and if I were to look at her alone as an individual, I would be more tempted to describe her as silent.
I really found your blog post super insightful and entertaining to read. I also found the novel very soap opera/reality show with all the drama and twists. I personally didn’t notice the loud and quiet moments, so reading you’re blog helped me notice those moments