Apuntes sobre la naturaleza y la muerte en “El árbol” (1939) de María Luisa Bombal

Abstract

Nature and Death, two topics so expensive to the work of María Luisa Bombal, are erected as central pillars in the story “The tree” (1939). There, the author is strategically using both concepts to break with the social commandments of the time in an underhanded, although powerful way. Bombal's heroines need to control the stories they are exposed to and that will be the starting point to enter the depth of their conclusions in this tale. From this perspective, the Chilean writer was able to tell stories that almost no woman dared to tell.