The Shrouded Woman

I am not going to lie I was not expecting for the book to take the turn that it did. I have never read a book or even seen a movie or show where the main character is introduced to be dead. It’s not very common because the main character usually drives the plot and we understand the story through their perspective. What I find interesting about this book is that even though our main character dies, we don’t lose their perspective. I feel like I was almost reading the story differently because I knew the main character was dead and recalling on her past. I shared the feeling of reminiscing on old memories and past conversations.

There was a lot of interesting themes but I want to focus in on the relationship between Ana María and Ricardo.

The depiction of Ana María’s deep love and desire for Ricardo was really interesting. I immediately has the sense that Ana María’s love for him was a lot stronger than his love for her back. I really could see how her love was based off the dependency she had for Ricardo. When Ricardo tells Ana María that he is going to Europe for his studies, Ana María responds with “And I, what am I going to do” (p.165)? Clearly, her life revolved around him and with him gone she felt like she had no purpose. Present Ana María, who is now dead, reflect backs on this moment and thinks “But now, now that I am dead, it occurs to me that possibly all men once in their lifetime long to make some great renunciation; to sacrifice regretfully something vital; to tear to pieces a butterfly; in order to feel themselves masters of their own destiny” (p.166). Ana María obviously resents Ricardo a bit for his decision to leave for school and views it as him tearing apart her life so that he can live his own. This perspective reminds me how some people feel as though they are tied down in their relationship.

Ana María’s love for him was all consuming to the point where she came very close to killing herself because she couldn’t bare to live without him. She describes how all she did was “lived in wait of tears” (p.172). I think Ana María regrets, now that she is dead, the time and emotion wasted being so intertwined with Ricardo. She talks about how she was very young at the time and put up with the torment that he put her through in hopes for a chance that he makes it up to her. Many of us may relate to the feeling of young love, desire, and maybe even obsession with someone. We also might empathize with Ana María over the feeling of anguish or anxiety when we hold on to a love that isn’t good for us. Sometimes you can get “blinded” by love and not realize that it is unhealthy. As time passes we gain perspective to the point where we might regret or even resent ourselves for hanging on to something that wasn’t worth it.

Question: Why do you think that Ana María’s perspective on her relationship with Ricardo has changed now that she is dead and looking back on her past?