The Shrouded Woman : When in death is when one becomes the wisest
The Shrouded Woman by Maria Luisa Bombal is such an interesting read because the main character is a woman named Ana Maria who is dead. It centers around how she’s lying down at the funeral wake and people from all walks of her life come to visit her. The beginning of the novel, “(a)s night was beginning to fall, slowly her eyes opened” alludes to how death was creeping closer for Ana Maria and how she was in the transitory moment between life and death. “For she was seeing, she was feeling” alludes to how she’s able to experience out of body experience even though she’s dead. The tactile imagery of seeing “herself lying motionless face upward in the spacious bed” reiterates the notion that she is able to see that she’s dead. The repetition of the “falling” of the rain could point to how she is more attune with her senses once she is dead. In some cultures, people say you have to be delicate with the dead, especially during the transitory phase from life to death because that’s when they feel the most. Maria Luisa Bombal also utilizes the central theme of memory in this novel. This is evident when chapter 4 starts off with “(i)t is he, he.” The repetition of “he” indicates how important Ricardo was to Ana Maria. Ana Maria’s description of Ricardo in his youth in the line, “I remember your clear eyes, your ruddy complexion tanned by the sun of the hacienda, your body then wiry and nervous indicates that she hadn’t forgotten her first love. Evidently, he hadn’t forgotten her either because even though years had passed, he still came to see her at her funeral. This made me think about how people say that you never forget your first love. Although I haven’t been in love before (in a romantic sense), it made me think about the different people in my life and how they made up different chapters and moments of my life. Even though I’m not in touch with everyone anymore. It made me think about how much a person could impact your life. In Ana Maria’s case, even though she had been married and in multiple romantic relationships, Ricardo wasn’t someone she could never forget in her life. My discussion question : Since so many people come in and out of our lives, how does one know who means the most to them? In Ana Maria’s case, who did she think were the ones who played important roles in her life? Themes : Memory
"people from all walks of her life come to visit her."
ReplyDeleteAre they really from all walks of life? Who *doesn't* feature at the wake? Or in Ana María's recollections?
Otherwise, you focus on the first few pages... Can you say anything about Ana María's other relationships? E.g. with Fernando or Antonio?
Meanwhile, you should use "labels" for themes or concepts, as well as one for the book's author (Bombal). Then these will also show up on our course website.
Someone else mentioned the recurring cycles in this novel on their blog, but also commented on the lack of synchronicity between the characters. You've also identified another important compositional element: repetition. Thank you for pointing it out.
ReplyDeleteHi Hasfariza,
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the repetition of "he" when referring to Ricardo in The Shrowded Woman. It felt as though he was a devil from the depths of hell and Ana Maria was in shock with her repetition of "he's" following Ricardo's entrance to her wake. I like your discussion questions by the way! It's interesting to think about who means the most to us, in my case I like to understand it that certain people like family are very high on the priority list Lol. After that it's the people who show up for you (as you do for them) but not limited to just that, that's my opinion. In the terms of Ana Maria, I feel she held on to certain people like Ricardo for far too long, which affected her future relationships far after her relationship with him.