This book took me through a whirl wind of emotions. I felt very closely connected to the character that was “the shrouded woman” and felt myself relating each of her past interactions wether it be with her father or with her siblings, I felt what she may have felt through the author’s words. I found it interesting that even in death the woman was conscious of her appeal and/ or attractiveness as a woman. It was a recurring theme throughout the book, where even her daughter (and daughter in law) were comparing themselves to the beauty that was Maria Griselda. What more is that those who envied Maria could not even really be spiteful towards her because it was not Maria’s fault she was beautiful and exposed their partners lack of un-based desire. I really found the anecdote of Elena, (shrouded woman’s son’s old love), and how that her free spirit, which had attracted her son, also was a sort of punishment. That Elena and other women could not truly enjoy being a free woman without facing the shackles of slander following in whispers where ever they may go. I think this was the authors way of noting that courageous women had so many barriers and were brought down and ridiculed for their bravery at the time. I think this is even true now but it’s less apparent and more of a systematic issue that women face when finding their footing in the world. I then found it interesting how there was a paradox throughout the book in which women (Anita and Elena) were berated for being brave but men who were “allowed” to be brave were described to be cowards. The one instance of “cowardliness” that stuck out to me was of Ana Maria’s father who could not admit to his daughter that he too loved his late wife for the “silly” things such as her perfume and that he only grieved her death in the quiet of his room. I wonder if it was in either of their control to be cowardly or to be brave or if this was a reaction to their lived experiences.

My question for the class is do you think it is a choice to be brave or to be a coward and do you agree with the authors way of dividing this in terms of belonging to either a man or woman? And on another note I wonder if anyone else noticed how flawed each of Ana Maria’s children’s love lives were. Do you think that their love lives were a result of learning from their parents?