First of all, the concept of a deceased person just summarizing her life is an amazing concept. Makes you really wonder what life after death really is like. This book was a wild ride. but every moment of it was special and so vivid. It may be fiction, but the world that was created felt like everyday reality.
Ana Maria experienced all sorts of things throughout her life like love, heartbreak, fidelity, friendship, family, and ultimately she felt more at peace after she passed away. It was ironic, but as the end of the book mentioned, her life on earth was painful and felt like death. But even with her hardships she never threw away her moral compass. Especially with her situation with her husband Antonio. He blatantly cheats on Ana with Sofia and other mistresses all because she thought Ana was cheating on him with Ricardo. Ana had thoughts about committing a sin, but she never did as she did it for the sake of her children and family. She even forgave her alleged friend Sofia and Antonio near the end. She even admitted that she wished to be alive so that she could hate Antonio still but his grieving at her death changed that. This brings me to my next point about the theme of Gender in this one. A lot of the women portrayed here were without their own freedom. Some cases include Zoila not allowing Maria to marry Ricardo, and Maria G not being allowed to be outside or anywhere due to the jealousy of his husband Alberto. They suffer from all of this but never get a say in their own way. Women were also portrayed as “trophies” especially Maria G as everyone was falling for her. The men in the story never really suffered any consequences from their actions as they were just able to do anything they wanted without the care of their lovers or partners. You could count the death of Sylvia as a consequence because of her husband falling in love with Maria G. However, the husband still walks free and I wonder if he did actually mourn her.
The theme of family and friendship was portrayed in a very negative way. There were all sorts of betrayals and spite within all the different families. However, even with the tough love and backstabbing that occurred, on many occasions, they still expressed their love for one another like family. The relationship between Zoila and Ana Maria stood out. Even tho Zoila would not allow her daughter to marry Ricardo, Ana Maria still loved her and they still took care of one another. Another one that stands out is the mother-daughter relationship between Ana Maria and Alberto. Even though Ana became somewhat like her mother and refused to meet Alberto’s wife, they eventually reconciled. No matter how many conflicts were sewn in Ana Maria’s relationships, the bridge never burned with her. She may have been portrayed as with hardships and oppressed values, but her tenacity and moral character never wavered. And in some screwed-up kind of way, she was rewarded by finally having a piece in her life. Just as she longed for it the moment she was born.
My question for this week is what do you think life after death is really like? Is this story an accurate portrayal of what happens as we fade away?
3 Comments
I beleive this work is a luxurious fantasy in the sense of evaluating life after death. Being afforded the ability to realize and conclude our relationships is not one which everyone gets. I do think it is indiciative of how the dying feel however, looking back at their life as they make sense of their relationships.
Thank you for this great read!
As for your question, who really knows what life after death is like. If we look at it from a biological point of view, it wouldn’t be too accurate as death would simply be the end of all thought. With a more spiritual point of view, this could definitely represent that belief, as Ana Maria’s narrative is kind of like her soul floating through the earth before she passes on to the afterlife/reincarnation.
Just an added note, I think your background quote for your blog page is quite relatable for this week’s reading!
Hi John! I definitely noticed the negative consequences of love that you mentioned, although I don’t know if the portrayal is always explicitly negative. To answer your question, I like to think that I can come to terms with regrets and mistakes during death or relive vivid memories, and I think that this book might accurately capture that feeling, but like Coltrane mentioned, being able to do so in such reflective detail or length is probably unrealistic.