Bombal's Shrouded Woman Reflection
The Shrouded Woman was one of the more enjoyable texts I have read so far in this course. I loved the concept of Ana María being dead and describing her connections to those surrounding her. I thought the point of view of a woman's contemplations of her experiences was a unique perspective that I have never come across but was pleased with how it was carried out. Us readers got to take a trip with Ana María as she reflected on life through her different relationships and the way she lived her life. It was refreshing to see a novella depict women in a positive light with their individuality intact. Still, they revolve their lives around a man's and were always comparing themselves with the other women.
It was hard to see the protagonist’s relationships fail over and over. Ana María never got over her first love Ricardo and we saw the ways it affected her life from that point forward. All the men in her life were a cause of pain. In each relationship she had, she was forced to change a bit about herself to fit better with men, no matter what negative effect it had in her life. “Are all those born to love compelled to drift toward self-destruction, to smother minute after minute within themselves all that is most vital in their own wellbeing? Because of you I suffer from a wound continually reopening” (pg 227). I found this part to be really impactful as it remains a true experience for many women. Also on this page, she mentions having to behave a certain way around the men she loved and suppress her affection towards them if she wanted to continue to receive the “restricted love of others.” Throughout her life, Ana María had to change pieces of herself to gain the love of men but was never fully satisfied from that affection which led her to be stuck in a cycle of unhappiness. In terms of this passage, my question to the class is: Can one ever be happy in a relationship where they have to change who they are to receive love? Or will it end in misery every time?
Overall I thought the novella was an interesting read. I loved how we were able to see Ana María's after-life reflections on her life and how it was affected by the men she loved.
Hi Megan! I really enjoyed your post. To answer you question, I don't think that it is possible to genuinely feel enjoyment out of a relationship when you are hiding certain aspects of yourself. I think that this would completely prevent you from feeling fully connected to each-other. I do think it might be possible for someone to live somewhat blindly and think that what they have is great. Yet with time, this won't be sustainable for relationship.
ReplyDeleteMegan, I appreciate how instead of finding the differences that one might feel between their own life and love experiences and those of our narrator given the way that society has progressed, you have chosen to focus on one aspect that makes her relatable across time (and perhaps even across genders if we consider that the phrase, and Bombal's phrase, "those born to love" can be all encompassing!).
ReplyDeleteHello! I think you're very right about the "cycle of unhappiness" that Ana Maria ends up in; I feel like she makes herself smaller to accommodate the possibility of love, and then never gets anything meaningful out of the experience. I would say that it is not usually possible to be happy in a relationship like that.
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