Although it may be premature since we’re not even half way through the reading list, I personally really enjoyed reading María Luisa Bombal’s The Shrouded Woman and can see it being a text that I’ll remember this course by. With the combination of having a faster pace and being a short read, I was able to finish the book in just one sitting, in about two hours or so.

With every page read, I was excited to move on to the next to learn about the different relationships that the narrator, Ana María, had with the individuals present at her funeral. In addition, as the narrator takes on different roles (ie. as a mother, wife or lover) in each of her relationships, it was interesting to see how those positions affected how she interacted with the people around her. This gave a lot of depth to Ana María as a character which was refreshing to read (especially since the last reading had a protagonist who would objectify women)!

On the course site, the songs listed for this week are “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads and “It’s the End of the World” by REM. However, while reading this text, I also couldn’t help but think about the song, “My Tears Ricochet” by Taylor Swift instead.

There are many parallels between the story that the novel and the lyrics of the song are telling with the most obvious similarity being that they both feature a deceased woman who’s looking around at attendees to her funeral and recalling memories that she’s had with them. In particular, many lyrics of the song draw comparisons to the relationship that Ana María had with her husband, Antonio. For instance, I found that the lyrics in the chorus,  “And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?/Cursing my name, wishing I stayed/Look at how my tears ricochet” really similar to passage about how Antonio “buries his face in his hands” and is “crying at last” when he is near his deceased wife’s bed (229)(230). This undoubtedly  comes to a surprise to Ana María as Antonio had a “lack of love” for his wife when she was alive (227).

I had this song stuck in the back of my mind the whole time I was reading this text so I’m wondering if anyone else in the class can relate to associating certain readings with songs! If you do, do you find yourself finding similarities that the story has with the lyrics or the overall “vibe” of the song instead?