thoughts on The Shrouded Woman

 Hi everyone!

 This weeks reading was “The Shrouded Woman” by Maria Luisa Bombal. I found this reading to be more enjoyable compared to other books we have read so it has definitely become one of my favourite books I have had as an assigned reading, it was also much easier to follow and understand. Throughout the book, I learned about the multiple complex relationships she had with all of the people who are introduced to us. From her children to her husband, there are unique circumstances that have shaped their relationship and how they feel about one another. It also amplifies how maneuvering relationships with both family members and romantic partners can be difficult because you may never truly know how one another feel until it is too late. 

This leads me to a couple of quotes from the book that I wanted to mention that stuck out to me while I was reading this book that I think both resonated with me on a more personal level while at the same time, highlighted some themes in the book. The first one is from page 176, and it is “must we die in order to know certain things?” I think that this one really stuck out to me as a common theme throughout the book as she is reliving past experiences as well as seeing how people have been reacting to her death. I personally think that the answer to this is that the loved ones and friends of the person who has died will realize certain things about the individual they may have not thought of before or have been trying to conceal. An example of this would be when Ana-Maria’s daughter breaks down after seeing her dead mother, even though she was typically cold with her.


Another quote that I thought was relevant throughout the book was “one must be wise in matters of love” (page 227). As I previously mentioned, this book highlights how you must be cautious in navigating certain relationships, specifically with those you love. In this quote she is specifically referencing how she has the desire to be affectionate with her husband however she has realized she often has to restrain herself. It is then explained that she must restrict it to match the love of others in order to keep her relationship with specific people. 

Since I focused on specific quoted from the book, my question to my classmates is if there were any quotes that resonated with you or you found important while you were reading?

                                       

Comments

  1. Daniel OrizagaJanuary 30, 2024 at 11:36 PM

    "This book highlights how you must be cautious in navigating certain relationships..."Despite its brevity, this novel is more complex than it seems. In that sense, it is rather a poetry where each word, what is said and what is not said has a particular weight. I think that the care you mention must also be taken in our way of reading, to detect what is shrouded.

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  2. MaryemJanuary 31, 2024 at 11:47 PM

    Hey Lauren! I really resonate with the quotes you pointed out, these are I think crucial in the understanding of the book, and how Bombal is trying to provoke thoughts within the reader that we don't often think about. The second quote, specifically, really had me evaluating my relationships with loved ones. This ties in with the idea that is invoked throughout the story of not dwelling on minute inconveniences, but instead focusing on the fulfilling and loving relationships.

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