Wow. This was definitely a refreshing change from Breton and his not-so-nice narrator last week. Although both touched on misogyny in one way or another, at least this time it was from the experience of a real woman. To some, that may be more upsetting, but to me, it’s moving. Whether fictional or not, the author of ‘The Shrouded Woman,’ María Luisa Bombal, was still, in fact, a woman who experienced such things and who is able to construct realistic examples of it for her novel. To read about the societal effects of the oppression of women as a woman is an experience in itself, but to read of the individual effects of constant objectification and marginalization from the point of view of a woman on her literal death bed provides new insight and creates an incredibly moving message. ‘The Shrouded Woman,’ also known as ‘La amortajada,’ follows a woman, Ana María, the mentioned “woman on her death bed”, as she recounts the events of her life and the memorable people within it. It begins as she lay there unable to move or speak, but able to hear and see the people who gathered there just for her; past lovers, friends, and her husband and her children. impactful memories pertaining to each person, both good and bad, come flooding back to Ana María, invoking deep reflection and reliving of those memories and the impact they had on her and her life. Overarching themes of Ana María’s life often have to do with the limitations brought on her by society at that point in time and by some of the men in her life, as they both confine her within the rigid and close-minded expectations of women. A clear example of this would be the disregard and little care shown to her by both Ricardo, her past lover, and her husband Antonio, who both would often not make time for her or treat her with respect. Her reflection and reliving of these moments add to the already intimate and extremely personal atmosphere of the book, only making it more of a powerful, let alone interesting, read.
An important notion I drew from this book, and what I am sure many others picked up on as well was the overall gratitude for life it sparked within me. When one is faced with a very clear example or experience surrounding death, it can often have the effect of making them grateful for the opportunity of life and all the beauty that comes along with it which is exactly what happened to me. Although fictitious, the action of her recounting all the things and experiences that built up her life until her death is such a unique perspective to take and had a very moving effect for me, especially with her being a female voice.
To conclude, my question for this week is: Seeing as most of the book is on her memory, how reliable is Ana María as her own narrator and how would her biases affect the memories recounted?
“Although fictitious…” The setting of this phrase catches my attention. Fiction is a space of speculation that many of us consider essential to understanding reality. I think this novel shows that there are possibilities of empathy that can be built within literature. And yes, Bombal is very refreshing!
Hi Giaan! I too had a lot of fun reading this book compared to the other books we have had to read so far, I find the woman perspective written by a woman was quite refreshing from the male centric perspectives of the other novels. I really like your excerpt on how people become grateful in their last moments of life, the idea that people review their life story with rose tinted glasses felt very real with the studies I have read. In terms of Ana-Maria as a narrator, I felt like I had to read with a grain of salt. As there was a sense of unpacked trauma and yet with contraction, a sense of nostalgia when she recounts her history. I’m excited to read more of your analyses on the texts in the future 🙂
Immaculate title choice. I agree with your notion of deathly experiences making all the little things in life, even the bad ones a lot sweeter. I don’t think this necessarily has to come from death, but can come from hardships or just the passing of time as well. For example, everytime I am sick, once I recover I feel as if I should get on my knees and praise god for the design of healthy functioning nose air pathways (and i’m not even religious). Or on another note, many things that feel like the end of the world turn into something we can appreciate for providing a lesson, or development of some sort. What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger!
As to you question, I see where you’re going with it, but judging from the fact that this is a fictitious book, I’m guess her memory/bias has a relatively low bearing on the accuracy of what she describes. However, I would find it extremely amusing, if they made a second version. The Shrouded Woman: The Director’s Cut, and it’s just the memories and moments she describes from a 3rd person perspective and the events are just completely different from what she describes per her own recollection.
Hi! I think the narrator was actually accurate. Although there might be some hints of delusions and exaggeration I think for the most part it was true. The reason why is because I think she just is good at explaining and painting the picture