Maria Luisa Bombal’s The Shrouded Woman is the story of a woman who was once a wife and loving mother who is looking beyond the grave at how her loved ones cope with her passing. Personally, I find the use of an already dead protagonist to be really interesting, as it allows the use of story elements that would not work otherwise in a setting, fictional or otherwise. The title Bombal uses is also very clever, as it forms an almost satirical play on words, one would think that the woman narrator protagonist is the one who is alive mourning someone that she lost, given that wearing a ‘shroud’ is a common physical expression of grief for a married woman. In a way she has lost her ability to interact with her still living family and she must come to terms and understand that her family and friends can move on and live their lives without her, even if she can not.

The World that Ana, the narrator in The Shrouded Woman, inhabits seems almost fantastical, in the sense that instead of taking place in an industrial setting devoid of anything natural or coming from the natural world, instead Bombal sets The Shrouded Woman in a world brimming with animals, flowers, semi-exotic foods and other fauna. The way that Ricardo and Zoila interact in this world is very strikingly similar to the way that they interact with Ana after her death, they both acknowledge that the natural world and Ana exists but they do not try to understand the significance of Ana or the natural world, in this sense Ana has become a part of the natural order as she no longer belongs to humanity. Ricardo’s relationship with Ana prior to her departure is also quite interesting, as he shows genuine care and affection for Ana, however he does not feel, or perhaps he does not feel it necessary to show, the same deep love that Ana has for him. The tension that occurs  between Ana and Zoila because of Ana’s affection with Ricardo, seems reminiscent of a coming of age or a young adult novel but in is subverted in a way by Ana’s deceased status.

In direct contrast to Ricardo, Rodolfo seems perfectly content with forgetting who Ana was or the way that Ana cared about him, he quickly moves on with another relationship and is judged for this by his peers, not really out of concern about the former Ana, but more in a jealous rivalry, since Ana already had three possible suitors. All the living characters in the novel, deal with the grief of Ana’s passing with different ways, some choose to forget Ana and move on with more people, while others express their grief with anger and regret at not having spent more time with her. To me the shrouded woman is a perfect example of how our experiences with the past can affect how we interact with the future.