The silent persuasion
The unspoken has a strength that of which no voice can crumble.
So we’ve been tasked to write a cross text analysis of The Virgin by Kerima Polotan-Tuvera, Magnificence by Estrella Alfon and Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio using the Feminist Theory. I was, at first, hesitant by the task with which we were given. At a glance the stories show an array of heroines in different situations, but none that scream of neither feminism nor equality; most of which, for me, even displayed a sense of weakness, desperation and submission. This in turn led me to question my own views on feminism. What is feminism for me? I always thought of a feminist as a woman who fought for equality, for the rights of women. Though this definition isn’t wrong it is two-dimensional, it’s flat. I realized quickly thereafter my fault: I was looking at this challenge as a man, and not as a woman. I viewed this as a typical girl who’s lived in a patriarchal society: survival of the fittest, strength over emotion, bark over bite and how women should be more like men; I felt quite disappointed by this realization, but nonetheless happy to have found the fault of my theory.
As I reread the stories assigned several tenets of feminism arise from the text. In the Virgin Ms. Mijares showed strength in the office and, in her quiet confidence and guarded state, showed her sexuality in more than one occasion. She displayed that women have a right to express their sexual tendencies may it be overt or subtle, but of course not to the point of exploitation.
In the Wedding Dance Lumnay shows her strength through emotion, through passion, through love. As she had the strength to fight for a love lost, she also had the strength to let go. As she questions her role in society she discovers how women are being exploited as a sex and as a class; how they are measured and confined by reproduction. As her mind is opened she runs free, her fingers moving amongst the growing bean pods.
In Magnificence the mother illuminated a light seen in most mothers. She exuded feminism in her fight for justice; against that of sexual violence and the exploitation of women. She sought to end a violence in which her daughter was a victim. She took control and took matters into her own hands.
Though I think the feministic quality common in all three texts is that of freedom. In all three stories the women showed the power of choice, from choosing to accept her sexuality towards another, to choosing to let go of someone out of love, or even the choice to stand up against an evil. These women, though in drastically different environments and situations stressed the importance of choice. They showed that a woman can control their lives even amidst such a patriarchal society.
Each of them showed a silent force, a persuasion that need not shout. Even in the confines of their minds they showed a spirit that is woman.
The fact that they acknowledge their freedom, their right to choose they ultimately put themselves on equal grounds with the men of society. Though they established this in different ways, they, in one way or the other, showed that they are the masters of their own destiny. That at the end of the day they hold their lives. From a simple choice of diction ("you will wait for me"), to the excruciating sacrifice of letting him dance with her, to choosing to be one step higher; they all displayed the power of choice: a blessing given by God Himself to those He looks upon with favor.
Putting aside the characteristics of feminism that the heroines of these stories displayed, I then put in a slight twist: my opinion. Though all women undoubtedly put a certain amount of feminine mystique I still feel short on what could’ve been an inspirational amount of girl power.
For the Virgin I thought Ms. Mijares to be a very naïve woman; desperate and trying to ‘grow up’ too fast. I feel as if she just jumped at the possibility of having sex with this boy who had the ‘economy of movement, graceful and light, a man who knew his body and used it well.’ I thought it wasn’t very smart of her to be so submissive in such a short amount of time. She acted like a 13 year old girl who’s getting her first bra. I must say I was quite disappointed. I felt like she was a closeted flirt, just waiting for the moment her ruffles get drenched in front of a man with passion in their veins.
In the Magnificence the star of the story I think is undoubtedly the mother. I think of the three heroines presented she was the strongest and most independent from beginning to end. She was like a lioness, brave, collected and protective over her cubs. Plus I love the fact that she (excuse the term) b*tch slapped a man, something you rarely see in a very patriarchal society. She took control of a situation that could’ve been easily kept. She fought for what was right and wasn’t afraid to step up to the plate. How could you not love a woman who knows what is right and fights for what she believes in?
As for the Wedding Dance I couldn’t quite determine my side on the text. I have mixed feelings when it comes to Lumnay. At first she was very fragile and dependent on her husband. She seemed weak, submissive, a typical ‘wife’: someone whose only role is to serve her husband. Lumnay was like Bella in twilight, that without HIM she’d rather die, e.g. ‘But, Awiyao, I am useless. I must die.’ I didn’t like that very much. I thought she didn’t have much of a spine that she couldn’t stand with her own two feet. She gave that notion that Awiyao completed her, and that without him she would crumble. But then things started to turn ever so slightly. She questioned, she doubted. She saw her worth as a woman when he left to dance. She questioned, she doubted, she fought with the realities that clouded her society. By the end of the story she had the strength to stand up. So though I do hate the submissiveness she displayed in the beginning and the middle of the story by the end I learned to love her quiet rebellion against the norms of her society.
As I come to the end of my cross text analysis of The Virgin by Kerima Polotan-Tuvera, Magnificence by Estrella Alfon and Wedding Dance by Amador Daguio I noticed that all of the women possessed a certain poise and grace in their moments of empowerment.
They all proved that a woman is a force to be reckoned with; that a woman possesses an air of mysticism and strength; a silent persuasion that of which is woman.
Labels: silent persuasion
