A Beginner’s Take on “The Shrouded Woman” by María Luisa Bombal

For me, “The Shrouded Woman” by María Luisa Bombal was an unexpected and intriguing journey. The speaker’s position of this book makes it very fascinating– it’s narrated by a woman on her deathbed.

A Unique Narrative Style

Bombal’s choice of narrator is striking. The protagonist, Ana María, is caught in a sort of limbo – the space between life and death. Although she senses what’s happening around her she can’t interact with the world. This was super eerie, but made the reading experience very reflective and introspective . For me, this narrative style was unique. I’ve ever read something from this perspective. It made think about life and death like no other novel has done before, despite death being a theme not uncommon to my literary journeys in the past.

Exploring a Woman’s Inner World

“The Shrouded Woman” is essentially a journey through Ana María’s past. She revisits her childhood, her first love, her marriage, and her role as a mother. Each chapter is imbued with a sense of longing and an introspective tone. My past reading has been explored along more straightforward lines of storytelling, and I always try to take something away that is not necessarily outright stated form each book I read. The storytelling style made this pretty challenging because of the lack of a continuous linear style. Moreover, I am a male and am not truly familiar with how the world feels through the experiences of a female.

Themes of Love and Loneliness

Something that was particularly clear despite by sense of unfamiliarity was the heavy presence of the themes of love and loneliness within the text. I think a lot of people can resonate with these themes pretty easily. Ana María’s reflections on her passionate affair and her unfulfilling marriage drew out my resonance with the text (not that I have experience either, lol). As a reader, her internal struggle drew me in . I could relate to feeling both her deep longing for a connection and her sense of loneliness.

A Reflection on Life and Death

What piqued my interest the most in “The Shrouded Woman” is how it confronts life and death. Ana María’s gradual acceptance of her mortality, of life and death, towards the novel’s end is both peaceful and poignant. Bombal intertwines life’s end with a sense of reconciliation and peace. It’s beautiful. As someone who struggles with the concept of dying (like seriously, I shudder when I’m forced to think of it), this book gave me a sort of new perspective. It made me think the way we view our lives and how important it is that we find meaning in our experiences, no matter how big or how small.

Now that you’ve gotten a taste of my novel experience reading this book, I’ll leave you with this:

How does Ana María’s unique position between life and death influence your understanding of her character and the story? Do you feel like the novel would convey more or less of the same depth of emotion and introspection if it were narrated from a traditional, living perspective?