The Shrouded Woman was a wonderful read. The unorthodox use of perspective, at times adopting the first-person viewpoint of the dead Ana Maria, and at other times taking a third-person viewpoint, makes for an interesting retrospective on the life of the character. By seeing it through Ana Maria’s eyes, we get to experience her life, her suffering, her mistakes and her regrets. Indeed, the story itself was quite saddening as nobody is really happy in this story. Everybody faces misfortune, misunderstandings, hardship, heartbreak, and/or jealousy. And yet, the story ends with catharsis as Ana Maria seems to come to terms with the end of her life; the finality of it is a break from the suffering of living. She is ready for the final end, the “second death”, the “death of the dead”.
I find it interesting how the characters of this story are portrayed. As mentioned before, nobody is ever truly happy. The women are often portrayed as vain, or jealous. The men as cowardly, foolish, or selfish. People envy each other throughout the story: everyone envies or desires Maria Griselda for her impossible beauty; Sofia envies Ana Maria for the happiness of her childhood; Antonio envies Ricardo for possessing the heart of Ana Maria even though she has married Antonio. It is as if living only brings suffering and lost opportunities. Love does not persevere, except only in death.
Death is central to this story. After all, the narrator herself is dead. It seems that only in death can Ana Maria tie up the loose ends in her life. She finally understands the true love between her and Ricardo (“Must we die in order to know?”, 176). In death, she comes to Sofia in a dream, and forgives her (“… that an almost forgotten friend has come to her in death to tell her she was forgiven”, 248). In death, she finally sees her daughter’s full expression of love (“You see, you see how death can also be an act of life.”, 249). And her final goodbye is to the priest, in whose faith (not just in God, but in her) she finds solace in her final transition. As a side note, it is interesting that Silvia takes her own life in the same way that Ana Maria attempted to, and both out of heartbreak. Yet Silvia is the one with the “courage” to follow through, while Ana Maria couldn’t bring herself to do it. Is it courageous to escape, and would Ana Maria have spared herself a lifetime of suffering?
Overall, it was an interesting perspective on life and death. If we could, upon passing, reflect on the entirety of our lives before we finally move on, how would we come to terms with everything we have done? Is death the only liberation from the burdens of life?
There was also something more about the role of women in this. Women are portrayed so vain and jealous, and the strong women like Elena and Anita have their strength seemingly as negative traits. I don’t know what to make of it though. Perhaps it speaks of the role of women of the time?
My question for this blog post is, what is the significance of having the narrator already be dead, rather than, say, dying? Why does the perspective sometimes shift between first and third person?
Some noteworthy quotes I wrote down:
- “That is the price that women like Elena must pay for their liberty” (182);
- “Must we die in order to know?” (176)
- “God, I’m beginning to think that to be so beautiful is a misfortune, like any other” (193);
- “She had let him into the intimacies of her life and she was not strong enough to cast him out” (206)
- “Why, oh, why, must a woman’s nature be such that a man has always to be the pivot of her life?” (226)
- “You see, you see how death can also be an act of life.” (249)
- “Oh Lord, the waters have not yet closed over her head and things are already changing; life is pursuing its course in spite of her, without her.” (250)
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your blog post, and especially the quotes you noted at the bottom. To attempt to answer your question, maybe she was dead as it reinforces the helplessness and frustration certain women feel throughout their lifetime. Women are strong, but their behaviour is closely watched and critiqued. Often when a woman is treated unfairly by a man, what people remember is her reaction. Was she “crazy” for reacting to a situation that had the merit to react about? Or was she quiet and posed? This leads to much frustration for possibly her being dead is a significance of how it sometimes feels to be a woman.
Hi Andrew! Thank you for the noteworthy quotes at the end of your post! “Why, oh, why, must a woman’s nature be such that a man has always to be the pivot of her life?” (226) really stood out to me while reading as well. The book presents every aspect of a woman’s nature to be granted to them or validated by the men in their life. It seems like the only way to be freed from this sort of societal grip is death, which adds much significance to the perspective of our narrator.
Great post!
– Anna V.
Andrew, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on Bombal’s book, especially what you have to say about catharsis. This would make a great tag. In fact, a few of your peers have also mentioned and tagged this concept.
That said, great use of tags overall, and I have added your questions to the list of possible topics for in-class discussion!
Hi Andrew! Thank you for your post. I completely agree with you about the change of viewpoints used by Bombal. These changes make the narrative processes more smooth and thoughtful. I also think that she is dead twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of the narration. In terms of the characters, I believe their traits are often portrayed negatively because few people can remain positive in love due to the emotionality and sensitivity of relationships. To answer your question, I think the posthumous perspective is used to create a more top-down point of view and generate life descriptions more profoundly. In this way, the readers can reflect on their lives as a whole following the narrator as well.
Hi Andrew,
I enjoyed reading your blog post! I as well enjoyed what each character brought to the story. There were a lot of characters and different perspectives, but Bombal did a great job not making it confusing and giving a purpose to each character brought up. I liked how you added some noteworthy quotes!