My thoughts on "The Shrouded Woman" by María Luisa Bombal

 I enjoyed reading "The Shrouded Woman" by María Luisa Bombal. I found that in this novel it was a lot easier to follow the storyline or text versus in the other novels I had read. I found it interesting how the narrator was dead. It was interesting because she was narrating important moments in her life as well as focusing on peak memories that she experienced during her lifetime.i found this interesting because I have not read a book that has been narrated or told in this format. It surprised me when the narrator described many of these moments in her life in an almost glamourized or positively descriptive way. But, while these moments seem great, the narrator was saying that she wanted to die. This was confusing to me. But, what I picture it as is the narrator speaking from regret of not living out the life she once had. The narrator seems to be feeling as though she did not appreciate the moments she had experienced in her life. In the way she states that she had wished she was dead at a point where it seemed as though she was saying it in a way of disbelief or that she had could not believe that she had wished that. It seems to show that the narrator feels a though she had not appreciated her life experiences or that she was missing or grieving her own memories, life and specific people in the narrator's life that had a significant impact on her. The text seems to reminisce on the narrator's past life which I found to be very interesting. My question for this novel is what was the narrator's original reason for wanting to die? What I found really interesting in the text was the relationship between the narrator and Roberto. It felt as though Roberto had abandoned the narrator and that she really cherished having him in her life. I think this relates a lot to times now, and is something that is still a relevant factor in today's society or life. The narrators want and craving for Roberto's presence seemed to be a relevant memory that had stood out for her and created a lot of the emotion involved in to the storyline of the novel. I feel as though the emotion and the feelings that were involved in this novel made it an easy and beautiful read.

Comments

  1. Jennifer NagtegaalFebruary 2, 2022 at 1:11 PM

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  2. Jennifer NagtegaalFebruary 2, 2022 at 1:11 PM

    Hi Taia! I am intrigued by what you have to say about Ana María “glamourizing” her memories! I wonder if you have any specific passages or quotes to share on this…

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  3. Abi FranceschettiFebruary 2, 2022 at 10:32 PM

    Hey Taia! I agree with a lot of what you had to say about The Shrouded Woman. I thought it was really cool to read a book from a females perspective, especially since the narrator wasn't alive! You don't get that in many novels, especially in ones during the 20th century. I want to bring up what you had to say about the narrator glamorously describing her life, but also wanting to die. I think thats a really interesting point that I noticed, but never really unpacked. I found a lot of the confusion that she created almost telling of her character in a deeper sense. What I mean by this is through her actions of what she described and how although she described being both happy and sad, we learned way more about her than the words on the pages tell us. To try and answer the question you pose, I interpret her original reason for wanting to die was loss of the love she had and wanted to foster. I suppose that can be a painful thing to endure, and clearly was something she did not want to foster. I'll definitely be thinking about this question in preparation for tomorrows class:)

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  4. AshviFebruary 2, 2022 at 10:42 PM

    Hi! you brought up some interesting points about the contradiction of her occasional wishes to die during her life and her lack of want for death after her death. I think originally the departure of Ricardo made her lose her passion and emotion which is associated with life. If I remember correctly after his departure she is described as just moving through life. This could be why she wanted to kill herself. Upon death however she is able to revisit her emotions and she wants to live by holding onto her emotions which were slowly departing her.

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  5. AsthaFebruary 3, 2022 at 11:49 AM

    Taia, I enjoyed reading you work. I especially loved your commentary, especially the part about longing towards the end.
    Astha

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  6. Alyssa AlmerlingFebruary 3, 2022 at 12:23 PM

    Hi Taia! I loved your blog post! To think about your question, I definitely think that losing Ricardo was a big event in her life that just shifted her perspective for the rest of her life. She had lost all her hope because she was very dependent on this man, and she saw no choice but to not live anymore because she had nothing to live for. This I believe highlights the gender norms at the time, showing women as very emotional, complex and always needing a man.

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