RM: Remembering Memories

I got this photo at the framed picture atop of his coffin some years ago. He was our dear friend, Reymill "RM" Ballan. He died of heart complications thus leaving us at young age of 18.

We knew each other since grade school and until high school, we attended the same institution, Notre Dame of Kiamba. The mementos started back in Kiamba Central Elementary School where us, friends, first knew each other. RM then was a lean; we never saw him plump due to the hole in his heart. [unfinished]

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Existentialism through Psychological Approach in A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka

[The Trend, Expressionism in “A Hunger Artist”]
Expressionism is a term used to denote the use of distortion and exaggeration for emotional effect, which first surfaced in the art literature of the early twentieth century. When applied in a stylistic sense, with reference in particular to the use of intense colour, agitated brushstrokes, and disjointed space. Rather than a single style, it was a climate that affected not only the fine arts but also dance, cinema, literature and the theatre (www.wikipedia.com). Moreover, expressionism is an artistic style in which the artist attempts to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in him. He accomplishes his aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy and through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal elements.
In literature, expressionism is a movement or writing technique in which a writer depicts a character’s feelings about a subject (or the writer’s own feelings about it) rather than the objective, surface reality of the subject. A writer, in effect, presents his interpretation of what he sees. Often, the depiction is a grotesque distortion or phantasmagoric representation of reality. However, there is logic to this approach for these reasons: (1) Not everybody perceives the world in the same way. What one person may see as beautiful or good another person may see as ugly or bad. Sometimes a writer or his character suffers from a mental debility, such as depression or paranoia, which alters his perception of reality. Expressionism enables the writer to present this altered perception. Expressionist writers often present the real world as bizarre, fantastic, and nightmarish because that is how they, or the characters in their works, see the world. Their distortions are the real world (Cummings, 1999).
In a broader sense Expressionism is one of the main currents of art in the later 19th and the 20th centuries, and its qualities of highly subjective, personal, spontaneous self-expression are typical of a wide range of modern artists and art movements. The hunger artist, the protagonist of the story, is seen by those around as being strange, bizarre, because they do not see him as fully human. After all, he refuses to do something basic to life--to eat food. Watching this artist fast in his cage transports the people to some peculiar consciousness beyond their familiar everyday world, although it is unlikely they could articulate that consciousness. The hunger artist's art in that sense can be compared to the work of abstract artists whose painting, or performance works, fascinate and sometimes threaten or frighten the mundane lives of the people in any society.
The Hunger Artist frightens the people of his looks and appearance. Some are sympathetic to what he is struggling but the Hunger Artists perceives their words as a ridicule. He appreciates his job as an art which other people reflects as castigation for the artist.
“And if a good-natured man who felt sorry for him ever wanted to explain to him that his sadness probably came from his fasting, then it could happen, especially at an advanced stage of the fasting, that the hunger artist responded with an outburst of rage and began to shake the cage like an animal, frightening everyone.”
“…when she couldn’t manage this and her more fortunate companion didn’t come to her assistance but trembled and remained content to hold in front of her the hunger artist’s hand, that small bundle of knuckles, she broke into tears…”
During May 1924, Kafka was editing one of his best short stories: A Hunger Artist. In fitting irony, Kafka himself was starving as a result of his tuberculosis, which had made it nearly impossible to eat solid foods. Kafka was editing the final proofs of A Hunger Artist when he died in Wiener Wald Sanatorium on 3 June 1924 (Brod, 1995). So much of early expressionism was used in a negative way due to artists own emotional/mental problems, for example, fear of death, fear of being alone, or exclusion from society. To which this brought on work that represented pain, destruction, dark drama and doom and gloom.
The story describes the act — and predicament — of a hunger artist, a professional faster. The hunger artist would fast for days at a time, attracting large crowds at carnivals with his ability to do without nourishment. In many ways he was admired for an apparent sacrifice. But with time the crowds dwindled and the hunger artist no longer attracted carnival guests. This was due to the emerging industrialized life in the early tweinth century.
“During these last decades the interest in professional fasting has markedly diminished. It used to pay very well to stage such great performances under one’s own management, but today that is quite impossible. We live in a different world now. At one time the whole town took a lively interest in the hunger artist….”
Kafka attempted to portray the inner workings of a person's mind by, effectively, turning them ‘inside out’ and allowing mental states to shape their face, body, and even the world in which they live. This proves the physical distortion of the protagonist. Cited below are the physical appearances of the Hunger Artist:
”While for grown-ups the hunger artist was often merely a joke, something they participated in because it was fashionable, the children looked on amazed, their mouths open, holding each other’s hands for safety, as he sat there on scattered straw—spurning a chair—in black tights, looking pale, with his ribs sticking out prominently, sometimes nodding politely, answering questions with a forced smile, even sticking his arm out through the bars to let people feel how emaciated he was, but then completely sinking back into himself, so that he paid no attention to anything, not even to what was so important to him, the striking of the clock, which was the single furnishing in the cage, but merely looking out in front of him with his eyes almost shut and now and then sipping from a tiny glass of water to moisten his lips.”
“Of course, he still freely laid his bony arms in the helpful outstretched hands of the ladies bending over him, but he did not want to stand up.”
The physical consequences of a distorted situation are followed through as if it were completely real. Expressionist writers divide over the final consequences of this. Personal tragedies usually end in the destruction of the character. This notion is proven as the Hunger Artist died in the end of the story due to his “profession”.
“All right, tidy this up now,” said the supervisor. And they buried the hunger artist along with the straw.”
The obvious comparison is between Kafka and the hunger artist. Kafka, like many writers, believed he was driven to write — not necessarily enjoying the act of creation. In fact, writing was a troubling and almost painful process for Kafka. The hunger artist did not so much choose to be a professional faster as he simply was inclined to fast.
"I always wanted you to admire my fasting," said the hunger artist.
"We do admire it," said the overseer, affably.
"But you shouldn't admire it," said the hunger artist.
"Well then we don't admire it," said the hunger artist, "but why shouldn't we admire it?"
"Because I have to fast, I can't help it," said the hunger artist.
The remainder of the story is quite amazing. The artist dies as one expects, only to be replaced by a panther — kept in the same cage the artist once occupied. The death of the Hunger artist shows an expressionist feature when a protagonist of such stories mainly die at the end because of the “principle” he lives.

A Hunger Artist through Psychological Approach
Critics, rhetoricians, and philosophers since Aristotle have examined the psychological dimensions of literature, ranging from an author’s motivation and intentions to the effect of texts and performances on an audience (Habib, 2005).
Franz Kafka was well primed to write a novel about an isolated individual. Many things from Kafka’s life experiences motivated him to write such stories. Moreover, throughout his life, he was never close to his parents, Hermann Kafka and Julie Löwy Kafka. His father, a successful merchant, was a tyrant who bullied Franz psychologically. Although Kafka had relationships with several women, one to whom he was engaged, he never married. Those mentioned above are some of the biographical facts that caused his writing style. He wrote a large number of short stories about the impotence of individuals swept up into governmental, legal or bureaucratic madness. He also covered fear, paranoia and impotence in many forms, as well as the outsider syndrome. As a result, Kafkaesque has come to mean having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality.
The positing of an unconscious as the ultimate source and explanation of human thought and behaviour represented a radical disruption of the main streams of Western thought which, since Aristotle, had held that man was essentially a rational being, capable of making free choices in the spheres of intellection and morality (Habib, 2005). The Hunger Artist, in the context of the story, earns fame and glory but is dissatisfied because his manager limits his fasting to forty days. He sees himself as a part of the society because of such reasons. But in a deeper sense, indeed, he is a part of the society but he is tormented because of his “profession”. He is unconscious of what his job’s effect on him. He even blames the society of not understanding them, the hunger artists. He got unreasonable knowing that his job is a noble profession but in clarity, fasting is a form of craziness for a person like the Hunger Artist who taught it as a living but in the end, he suffers and unfortunately, dies.
According to Freud, human beings are not conscious of all their feelings, urges and desires because most of mental life is unconscious. He compared the mind to an iceberg: only a small portion is visible; the rest is below the waves of the sea. Thus, the mind consists of a small conscious portion and a vast unconscious portion (Lund, 1996). The hunger artist was unconscious of what other people see of/in him. He is not human for some people, for some a priceless beggar; but for him, he is a star, glittering with fame and money.
For a time, the hunger artist lives in visible glory, honoured by the world.
With the kind of art, the Hunger artist have, he was being repressed by himself along. The desires he have has unconsciously sublimate his gathered identity. His id, removed from reality, and it has accompanied by his ego. There was no balance to his psyche therefore it determined his death.
Not only was the artist clearly insane for starving himself to the point of death, but the neglect by the circus supervisor is just disgusting. The impresario was a money hawk, but at least he kept the Hunger Artist alive.
The revelation of the story is an artist must surrender their existence and engrave what they have lived, learned, and experienced for the sake of their art. This story is written about the life and career of an actual hunger artist, and this story is metaphorically dedicated to "the great suffering" a writer or artist must undergo to be successful. This is essential for an artist to grasp the splendor or malice of life with a fervor and be sufficiently resilient to capture the state of affairs of the moment.
The life and perspectives of a writer can be clearly represented in the Hunger Artist, which is applied to correspond to the life of "the starving artist". The elders in the community regarded the artist to be "just a joke". This is often comparable with the life of any artist who are fortunate if they are measured a success to the entertainment or public eye before their deaths. These writers or artist are often described as "starving artists" themselves in our society.
"The honor of his profession forbade it." depicts the hunger artists' zeal obligatory to execute his art. Moreover, the artists' declares he was starving himself "because I couldn't find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I should have made no fuss and stuffed myself like you or anyone else (803)." These quotes signify the ardor and perseverance any artist must encompass to maintain engaging the masses notwithstanding being under the supervision of the public interest.

With the use of the psychological approach and the integration of the trend of Expressionism, there is betterment in the understanding of the short story and the deeper facts lingering in the story. The bizarre, primordial stuffs that comprise the story are horrendous. This story is disturbing from front to back, but it’s like a train wreck or a really good house fire. But still, it’s a good read.



Bibliography:
Brod, Max trans. G. Humphreys Roberts and Richard Winston; Franz Kafka: A Biography (New York: Da Capo Press, 1937. 1995)
Cummings, Michael J. A Hunger Artist (Ein Hungerkünstler). 1999.
Habib, M.A.K. A History of Literary Criticism. From Plato to the present. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing House, 2005.
Kafka, Franz. trans. Johnston, Ian; Franz Kafka: A Hunger Artist. (Nanaimo, BC: University of Malaspina, 1924, 2011)
Lund, Mark. Literary Criticism. Baltimore County Public Schools, 1996.

[unclean, not edited post]

Regine Phoelea Mae F. del Carmen

As Donya Teodora

“No one left behind”, these words started my career as a stage actress portraying Donya Teodora, a loving old mother of Jose Rizal. As I uttered those words, Sir Larry assigned me to an exigent task in which I should be memorizing long lines and internalizing a character which was very odd to me.

When Sir Larry started to cast the characters for the plays, I wished to be one of the Chorus of Women in Electra but it turned a way around, I was to perform in a play entitled Parting at Calamba as a mother of the national hero of my own country. I was shocked. The first thing I did was to see the script for me to know the length of my lines, and it was quite long; I even got three entrances.

After the roles were designated, we started to throw lines. At first it was so simple, we just read it aloud but it the long run, the character’s attitudes must be slowly got into our spines. For me, internalizing Donya Teodora was a tough job. She is a loving mother and she is also firm and authoritative, above all, I needed to imitate the voice of her which was the hardest part of all. I needed to download videos and self-help stuffs on how to make my voice sound older but firm.

Play dates were fast approaching and all were serious in practicing, memorizing lines and producing what was needed for the stage to look like one of the Mercado-Rizal family. That time, I already memorized most of the lines but I sometimes forget some of it due to nervousness. Stage fright and anxiety affects me when I utter my lines.

Naturalism through Sociological Approach in Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton

[Naturalism, the Trend]

Naturalism is a theory in literature which emphasizes the role of environment upon human characters. It is an extreme form of realism which arose in the early 20th century. Rather than focusing on the internal qualities of their characters, authors called out the effects of heredity and environment, outside forces, on humanity (Flanagan, 2011). Furthermore, the term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Unlike realism, which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since human beings are, in Emile Zola's phrase, "human beasts," characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings (Campbell, 2010). One of these naturalistic writers is Edith Wharton who wrote the Bunner Sisters. The trend, the naturalism is depicted on the story of these two siblings, Ann Eliza and Evelina, on how they pursue life and strive to betterment as they sacrifice due to inevitable reality.

The story was set on 1890’s when Wharton's success at depicting New York society led some readers to believe that she was simply a society novelist. This following citation proves her hit in illustrating what New York was as written by Wharton;

“These three houses fairly exemplified the general character of the

street, which, as it stretched eastward, rapidly fell from shabbiness to

squalor, with an increasing frequency of projecting sign-boards, and of

swinging doors that softly shut or opened at the touch of red-nosed men

and pale little girls with broken jugs. The middle of the street was

full of irregular depressions, well adapted to retain the long swirls of

dust and straw and twisted paper that the wind drove up and down its sad

untended length; and toward the end of the day, when traffic had been

active, the fissured pavement formed a mosaic of coloured hand-bills,

lids of tomato-cans, old shoes, cigar-stumps and banana skins, cemented

together by a layer of mud, or veiled in a powdering of dust, as the

state of the weather determined.” Page 270

Moreover, Wharton's New York novels are often called novels of manners, a term that describes works depicting a particular social class and way of life, the action of which revolves around social situations and their resolution (Flanagan, 2011). As the story is related to the reality happening in a time when diversified women crowded a definite locale (New York City), economic and social matter also focus on a changing mode. Innovations in financial affairs greatly influence the response of the people on how they act in the society. The Bunner sisters are of the lower class society, all the more is their struggle to be stable but it was sacrificed even more because of the will to marry Mr. Ramy.

Furthermore, Edith Wharton’s critics have often disregard the significance of her twenty-three-year resolve to see published her earliest long work of fiction, Bunner Sisters (1892). Recently, however, Donna M. Campbell has suggested a valid cause for Wharton associated this novella with an emerging image of herself as a professional novelist. According to Campbell, in writing Bunner Sisters Wharton aligned herself with the professionalism of literary naturalism in order to make a statement against amateuristic late nineteenth-century local-color fiction often written by women (Kornasky, 1997). In this day and age, Bunner Sisters established its place in the world of literature as one of the outstanding works portraying women as essential part of the society. Naturalistic features of the said novel emphasize a glance of a significant part of the history of the developing nation of the United States of America during the Progressive Era.

Bunner Sisters

[Naturalism through Sociological Approach]

Wharton’s work, Bunner Sisters, portrays pressures that are uniquely destructive to her characters, especially the sort of characters commonly found in the local color fiction. The story provides, as Campbell explains, “a chilling commentary upon the limitations of local color fiction in a naturalistic world that encroaches upon and threatens its ideals.” The radicals that are shown in the story of the Bunner Sisters elaborate the veracity of events in that certain time which Edith Wharton subjected as the setting of the story. As her first long piece of serious fiction, Wharton weaved the luckless history of the Bunners with emerging society.

Sociological criticism focuses on the relationship between literature and society. Literature is always produced in a social context. Writers may affirm or criticize the values of the society in which they live, but they write for an audience and that audience is society. Through the ages the writer has performed the functions of priest, prophet and entertainer: all of these are important social roles. The social function of literature is the domain of the sociological critic (Lund, 1996). Integration of this approach to the naturalism trend can help readers to comprehend best to the story of sisters Ann Eliza and Evelina Bunner.

The writing style of Wharton is unlike others, as she uses words that not only describe a scene in an era or condition, but with descriptive phrases that depict feelings, moods, attitudes, and mystery. She has given the reader just enough information about the man to carry the story forward without revealing too much. The air of mystery is always around as we learn about the man, his relationship with the sisters and the confidence they have in him. This is a wonderful read on the socio-economic hard times during the era, the smaller run dressmaking industry, and mostly, relationships between three people (Rizzuto, 2011). With the help of the dialogues presented in the story, the story smoothly flows until the end, the flow is smooth but the story alone is dramatic.

The story happened in a time when immigrants go to New York. There were a total of about 2,000 ship voyages per year recorded in the 1890-1891 rolls of microfilms. Of those 4,000 voyages, 1,375 voyages had at least one passenger on board who was listed as a citizen of Austria, Poland, or Galicia. There were 136 unique ships with that characteristic. This fact manifests a diversified culture existing in New York and in America. This also promotes a socio-economic growth as the immigrants believe to have a brighter future in the United States. In the case of the Bunner Sisters, they have a stable income letting them to live properly as cited below;

“The Bunner sisters were proud of the neatness of their shop and content

with its humble prosperity. It was not what they had once imagined it

would be, but though it presented but a shrunken image of their earlier

ambitions it enabled them to pay their rent and keep themselves alive

and out of debt; and it was long since their hopes had soared higher.” Page 270

The Progressive Era was a time period in American history lasting from the 1890s through the 1920s. At the turn of the century, America was experiencing rapid urbanization and industrialization. Waves of immigrants were arriving, many from southeastern Europe. As a result of these processes, countless city dwellers were crowded into tenement slums, with high rates of disease and infant mortality. In urban areas, party bosses controlled power through political machines. In addition, corporations were consolidating into “trusts” and a few companies controlled the majority of the nation’s finances (National Women's Museum, 2007). In this era revolves the story of the Bunner Sisters, from their stable and simple life to the hopeful future of Ann Eliza. Such realities as tenement slums, high rates of disease and infant mortality are vivid in the story. It is exemplified with the use of exact words to describe such truths of that time. In the story, two characters died, Evelina and her baby. Here’s a citation of the death of Evelina’s baby;

“"The baby?" Ann Eliza faltered.

"It's dead--it only lived a day. When he found out about it, he got mad,

and said he hadn't any money to pay doctors' bills, and I'd better

write to you to help us. He had an idea you had money hidden away that

I didn't know about." She turned to her sister with remorseful eyes. "It

was him that made me get that hundred dollars out of you."” Page 331

The status of women was changing rapidly in the Progressive Era. For the most part, middle-class white married women still did not work outside the home. Women workers were primarily young and single, or widows, divorcees, poor married women, and/or women of color. In addition, most women continued to work in agriculture, in factories, and as domestic servants. African American women, in particular, worked as domestic servants in large numbers. It is vivid in the story the social status of the sisters; they are of the middle-class as they are permitted to have a husband. They are also women workers, they work for themselves in the Bunner Sisters (same name for their shop).

However, new jobs were opening up for some women as well. Many women began to find employment in department stores. Middle-class women were able to find jobs as clerical workers (typists, clerks, and telephone operators). Finally, more middle- and upper class women were graduating from college and entering white-collar professions. A few women excelled as lawyers, doctors, journalists, and scientists. At the time, however, professional women often chose or were forced to remain single. After the inutility of the self-sacrifice of Ann Eliza for Evelina who had died, she pursued for a job in department store but failed in her attempt and remained single to the end of the story. Here’s a citation;

“"Saleslady? Yes, we do want one. Have you any one to recommend?" the

young woman asked, not unkindly.

Ann Eliza hesitated, disconcerted by the unexpected question; and the

other, cocking her head on one side to study the effect of the bow she

had just sewed on the basket, continued: "We can't afford more than

thirty dollars a month, but the work is light. She would be expected to

do a little fancy sewing between times. We want a bright girl: stylish,

and pleasant manners. You know what I mean. Not over thirty, anyhow; and

nice-looking. Will you write down the name?"” Page 342

Recognizing the changes that were occurring in the lives of some women, the public and the press coined a phrase for these women, the “New Woman.” The “New Woman” was supposedly young, college educated, active in sports, interested in pursuing a career, and looking for a marriage based on equality (National Women's Museum, 2007). When Ann Eliza applied for a job, the trait of a “New Woman” did not exist on her and eventually she failed to have the job or might have failed to have any job because of the trait demand of the market.

Conclusion

Comprehension and discernment to the story of the Bunner Sisters are best undertaken with the integration of the Sociological approach to the theory of literature, Naturalism. The society in which the said masterpiece of Edith Wharton is plotted creates a deep impression of what is the social order of the men especially the women in that period. It reflects what are the people and what are they living and struggling for. Moreover, the identification and description of the society and the era of New York City back to the years of progression helped to dissect the intent of the novel.

In conclusion, Bunner Sisters, a novel of Edith Wharton pours a high value of social context in the mind of its readers.

Works Cited

Campbell, D. m. (2010, July 28). Naturalism in American Literature. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from Donna M. Campbell: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/natural.htm

Flanagan, M. (2011). About.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from Contemporary Literature: http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/naturalism.htm

Flower, Dean S. (1967). Eight Short Novels. Toronto, Canada: Ballantine Books.

Kornasky, L. (1997). On "Listening to Spectres too": Wharton's Bunner Sisters and Ideologies of Sexual Selection. Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press.

Lund, M. (1996). Literary Criticism. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from http://www.teachrobb.com/documents/Criticism.htm#Contents

National Women's Museum. (2007). Retrieved September 12, 2011, from Reforming their World: Women in the Progressive Era: http://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/home.html

Rizzuto, M. (2011). The Bunner Sisters. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from The Literature Network: http://www.online-literature.com/wharton/bunner/

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Cultural Approach to Waywaya by F. Sionil Jose

About the Author

Though a college dropped out, F. Sionil Jose, in real life called Francisco Sionil Jose is one of the living legends of Philippine literature. He has contributed lots of masterpieces, some hailed in other countries in Asia including countries in the west such as United States of America.

F. Sionil José is one of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language. F. Sionil José was born on December 3, 1924 in Rosales, Pangasinan, the setting of many of his stories. He was introduced to literature in public school and later attended the University of Santo Tomas after World War II, but dropped out and plunged into writing and journalism in Manila. He started journalism in the forties and was for ten years a staff of the old Manila Times ‘til 1960. His essays on agrarian reform and on social issues won him numerous awards.

His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in Filipino society. José's works - written in English - have been translated into 22 languages, including Korean, Indonesian, Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian and Dutch (Jose, Sense of the City: Manila, 2003).

He has been awarded numerous fellowships and awards, most notable being the 1980 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts, the most prestigious award of its kind in Asia, and most recently, and the 2004 Pablo Neruda Centennial Award from Chile.

Jose lives and works in Manila where with his wife Teresita and a faithful staff he still runs the Solidardad Publishing House and the Solidarity Bookstore, still considered the best little bookstore in Asia. On occassion he leaves Manila for Japan, US, or Europe, where he finds the peace to write or teach (www.arts-interests.com).

Waywaya’s Historical Background

“Daya, after all, was hemmed in to the east by the sea, vast and mysterious, and to the west, this mighty river, for beyond it was forest and mountain, land of the Laga Laud, the ancient and indomitable enemy of his people.” It was during the Pre-Hispanic Era when the Story of Waywaya was set. According to the citation above, there are two rival lands, the west and the east in which the protagonist lives and has a part of what they so called, in the story, the royal family. The west was called the Land of Laga Laud while the east is Daya. The citation below is from the very writing of Jose as he discusses a topic. The article is entitled, “Mayabang, Overacting and Baroque – What are We?”“I wrote a story called Waywaya. In my native Ilokano, waywaya means freedom. The setting is pre-Hispanic. Two scholars read the manuscript; our cultural anthropologist, F. Landa Jocano, told me to remove the flowers on the heroine’s hair – that is Polynesian. The historian, William Henry Scott, told me to change her brass bangles into gold – there was plenty of the metal in the islands then. He added that the Chinese traders bartered iron rims for their chariot wheels, pearls, cotton. Indeed, the Newberry Library in Chicago has the earliest record of my people as drawn by a Chinese artist. It shows our women wearing necklaces, bracelets, fine clothes, even shoes. When the Spaniards came in 1521 in search of gold and spices, they chanced upon a disparate people waging war on each other. The divisiveness continues to this very day. At the time, royal lineages, well ordered bureaucracies and sophisticated cultures already existed in continental Asia, in Japan (Jose, Hindsight, 2004).” Ilocano tribe’s culture is featured in the story of Waywaya. During the pre-Hispanic period, tribal wars were eminent. Invasions by groups with superior weapons and a number of men drove these natives into the mountains wherein they still thrive until today. People from the neighboring provinces as well as from other countries reach the province through business activities or trading. Intermarriage was also a factor for the growing number of Tagalogs, Visayanos, Bicolanos, Pampagueños, Chinese and Bombays. Summary of the Story Dayaw was among the “sovereign family” who governs the land of Daya. This land is situated into the east where the sea is also located. A mighty river divided the entire setting into two lands. The inhabitants of these two lands, Dayas and Lauds, are long-time enemies and a rule is devised that whosoever crosses the river will be killed at once. Dayaw is a man of adventure and fine thoughts. Once, he wandered through the forest and also beyond the river out of curiosity. He lasted there for three nights and in the morning of the fourth day, after he had gone to sleep, he saw “a girl lovely as morning and just as fair”. He captured her and had her as his slave. He paraded her in their land and the tribesmen mock at her because of the fact that she is from Laud. The girl was named Waywaya. She now resides at Daya’s house and does household chores. In the long run, though Daya has a girl named Liwliwa who spent nights with him, he pursues for Waywaya. Because of Waywaya’s radiant beauty and kindness, Daya falls for her and they had a child. Ulo and Pintas, the father and mother of Dayaw, doesn’t like Waywaya because she’s a slave and an enemy (they preferred Liwliwa). But with all of these hindrances, she bore a child and in delivering him, she unfortunately died. With the death of his love, Dayaw decides to bring the body of Waywaya to Laud. He wants her to have a decent burial in her own land. After all the lamentations, Dayaw then crosses the river. He is afraid but he is glad; he knows what will happen to him.Cultural Approach Ilocanos’ culture is the environment where the story of Waywaya has enacted. Dayaw, Parbangon, Waywaya and all of the characters in the short story belong to the Ilocano tribe. The setting also proves that, indeed, the story has the framework of Ilocano tribe.The Ilocano people are indigenous to coastal areas of northern Luzon in the Philippines. Today, the Ilocanos are the dominant ethnic group in northern Luzon, and their language (Ilocano) has become the lingua franca of the region, as Ilocano traders provide highland peoples with their primary link to the commerce of the outside world (Ilocanos, 1999). Ilocandia is the term given to the traditional homeland of the Ilocano people; present-day Ilocandia roughly encompasses regions 1 through 3 of the Philippines (the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and parts of Central Luzon), as well as the Cordillera Administrative Region.The following are the cultural strains found within the story:They practice circumcision. Such practice is done to boys of any age but preferably boys of near puberty or younger. A healer does this kind of process. Here follows a citation from the short story:“There, on the sandy bank, behind the tall reeds that had flowered with plumes of dazzling white, they lined up, squatting while the healer sharpened his knife and prepared a strange mixture of tobacco and weeds with which he treated their wounds after he had circumcised them.” There is also a ritual or practice wherein the boys of the tribe should undergo in order for them to be acknowledged as a man.“He was no weakling, but while the other youths practiced the arts of war and exercised for the great leap that would transform them into men, he played with his kutibeng and took pleasure in composing new songs.”“They lined up the young men who would now be warriors, and one by one, they leaped across the chasm of fire.” When going out to the wild, they have some practice to follow.“He had made the crossing at night after he had blackened his face and body with soot, carrying with him nothing but a coil of maguey twine and his long knife, he had dashed from the cover of reeds near the river's bank…” The tribeswomen have tattoos and wear sack dresses, sandals and bangles of gold. It is apparent at Waywaya when she was first seen by Daya.“A fine, blue tattoo of flower designs ran in a hin line down her arms to her wrists.”“She knelt down before the rim of the pool and gazed at her reflection there, then stood up, untied the knot of her blue sack dress on her shoulder and let it slip down to her feet.”“With her sandals, her bangles of gold, she was no simple peasant; she must come from the upper class of Laud” Those garments and accessories which Waywaya wears prove that she is from the upper class of the Lauds. It also denotes that there are also social class in their tribe. If a tribesman captures an enemy, like what happened to Dayaw and Waywaya, the following customs are to happen and in which the procedure goes:“His first impulse was to do what was customary, to strip her, parade her through the town and humiliate her. The swelling of her jaw was subsided and its place was a dark bruise. Her wrists had bled when the twine was cut. But he did not undress her; he merely tied her wrist again, this time loosely, and then marched her in town.” The duties of a slave are to clean the pots, arrange the firewood rack and etc… here is a citation:“and while the slave girl washed the pots outside, she closed the bamboo door and welcomed him in the way he had expected it. When he woke up, Liwliwa had gone his slave was in the room, fanning with him a small palm leaf. He showed her where she should sleep, a corner of the kitchen, among the fish traps and cooking pots, and told her what her chores would be, from sunup to sundown.” The tribeswoman use coconut oil for their hair. “Her hair was glossy with coconut oil..” Ilocanos cooking is simple and requires minimal preparation time. It is also healthy, making use of lots of vegetables, usually boiled. Some of the more popular dishes are pinakbet, inabraw and dinengdeng. The tribesmen as to the short story eat as what cited next;“Liwliwa came shortly after noon with a bowl of eggplants, and bitter melons cooked with tomatoes, onions and dried fish, and a pot of rice.” A tribe must also have a leader and for the tribe of Daya, the father of Dayaw reigns as their leader. The following citation presents how the tribesmen looks at their leader. “Still, he was the Ulo, the repository of wisdom and strength until that time when someone braver, stronger and wiser would lead them to battle.” They believe in gods. They call them “Apo”.“O Apo Langit, O Apo Daga – all of you who shape the course of time and the destiny of men, what wrong has she done?”““It was Apo Langit that brought me there, that brought you there. It was Apo Langit that made you my slave.””“for while Apo Bufan showed the way, it would also reveal him to whoever watched the river.” Ilocanos are known for their industries, such as tobacco, burnay (jars), bagoong (fish/shrimp sauce), basi and tapuy (rice wine), and weaving. They barter it to the Chinese merchants with knives, gongs, beads and plates.“However, after the Narrow Eye had loaded the tobacco and the rice in exchange for knives, plates and beads, they would leave and he would not even tarry to ask that they take him.” They like to sing and recite poems. They use an instrument called kutibeng to accompany them.“…he played with his kutibeng and took pleasure in composing new songs…” ““I like to sing. I make my own songs. Listen.” He quickly formed the lines and gave a tune to them: “The river is deep But we can ford it. Who will make the bridge? Perhaps love will do it. Perhaps time will prove it…””They practice burial. When Waywaya died, Dayaw left his village and went to Laud together Parbangon to honor her. Even before they entered the village, people of Laud appeared from everywhere. There were wailing and such grief emanated from the household. “All around them the huge pine splinter torches had been ignited and they cast a red glow over the crowd; it was time to do the final ceremony and they rose – just him and her family, and they formed a small procession to the side of the mountain where the hole had already been dug. They let him shove her coffin within the; they pushed a boulder at the entrance to the burial place and covered it with earth. Waywaya’s mother planted before it a few strands of ramos – they would grow, tall and purple.”They are characterized as being hardworking and frugal, and they engage primarily in farming and fishing. The Ilocano culture represents very simple, sometimes Spartan day-to-day living, focusing mostly on work and productivity, spending only on necessities and not on so much on ostentatious material possessions. Ilocanos also exemplify a great degree of respect and humility in their everyday dealings (www.wikipedia.com). The Ilocano culture greatly influenced the short story of F. Sionil Jose, Waywaya, as their culture is well-crafted on it.

Works Cited:(1999). Ilocanos. In Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of World Cultures. The Gale Group, Inc.Jose, F. S. (2004, January 18). Hindsight. The Philippine Star .Jose, F. S. (2003, July 30). Sense of the City: Manila. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from BBC.co.uk.www.arts-interests.comwww.wikipedia.com/fsioniljose

A Reading of Plato’s The Republic in the Work of Christina Rossetti, Who Shall Deliver Me?

Who Shall Deliver Me?
Who shall deliver me?
God strengthen me to bear myself;
That heaviest weight of all to bear,
Inalienable weight of care.

All others are outside myself;
I lock my door and bar them out
The turmoil, tedium, gad-about.
I lock my door upon myself,

And bar them out; but who shall wall
Self from myself, most loathed of all?
If I could once lay down myself,
And start self-purged upon the race

That all must run! Death runs apace.
If I could set aside myself,
And start with lightened heart upon
The road by all men overgone!

God harden me against myself,
This coward with pathetic voice
Who craves for ease and rest and joys
Myself, arch-traitor to myself;

My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,
My clog whatever road I go.
Yet One there is can curb myself,
Can roll the strangling load from me
Break off the yoke and set me free

Christina Georgina Rossetti’s themes were faith and the peace of the eternal spiritual life. Her religion was not theological or doctrinal, however, in the manner of Victorians, for she concentrated on simple faith and pure lyrics to celebration of that faith. In this simple faith, Jesus being the object of much of her devotion: she wrote a number of poems on the incidents in His life and used Good Friday and the Resurrection as a subject for several of her best poems (Magill, 1960). Faith, an attitude of the entire self, including both will and intellect, directed toward a person, an idea, or—as in the case of religious faith—a divine being (Macquarrie, 2008).

Rossetti is a poet which is also referred to as by Plato as the imitator. According to Plato,

“A fine imitator he will surely be in his knowledge of the things he works on.”

As for Rossetti, she imitates what she feels and put it on a poem. By this, it instructs readers what to do if they are having questions about life and the challenges it render. According to Plato,

“I mean that for all such things there are three crafts, those of the user, the maker and the imitator. Then the virtue of beauty and correctness of any implement of life and action is determined by nothing else than the need because of which each one is made or brought forth.”

Christina Rossetti’s life is undeniably subjected to her religion. Her acts and motives are of her emotions. Example is she can’t express herself freely to her suitors due to her religion. She is the user, maker and the imitator of her poems.

The poem expresses the theme of hope and faith that is found in the hands of God. The persona of the poem is searching for hope as he is humbled of his life. For the persona, there is nothing about him for he is a sinner, but all about God that He is the only one who could help him in his miseries and problems in this world. He offers his problems to God and let Him decide for his life. He seeks for the hope that is found only in God.

In the poem Who Shall Deliver Me? the persona let its readers perceive how heavy the burden he carries and prays to God to lighten it. It is found on the first lines of the poem,

God strengthen me to bear myself;

That heaviest weight of all to bear,

Inalienable weight of care.

And the cause of this weight is her isolation from the others due to her faith. For deeper understanding, Christina Rossetti isolated herself from her suitors because of faith. Her suitors believe in other religion than hers or have no religion. This causes her to break free from them as seen on these lines,

All others are outside myself;

I lock my door and bar them out

The turmoil, tedium, gad-about.

I lock my door upon myself,

And bar them out; but who shall wall

Self from myself, most loathed of all?

The persona thinks of a solution that is undesirable for she is to give up and to end her life. Hence, the solution is death to lighten her burden as she thinks that in life death comes. She will only quicken the process as seen in these citations,

If I could once lay down myself,

And start self-purged upon the race

That all must run! Death runs apace.

If I could set aside myself,

And start with lightened heart upon

The road by all men overgone!

Now, the persona of the poem begs for God’s guidance as she is thinking of ridiculous things as the previous citations say. In life, men are sometimes quitter from the game and thus, end life. Man must think of the reason why they live and not by the mistakes they did or the burdens they carry.

God harden me against myself,

This coward with pathetic voice

Who craves for ease and rest and joys.

Here, the persona says that her greatest traitor, foe and clog is his own self and this is right. In reality, the most dangerous person is not the other persons but the person himself because a man can betray himself by not perceiving it. Thus, man should think of the ways that prohibit this to happen. Think of the beautiful things that God has given you and live in His accordance for there you can find freedom. Yoke here symbolizes the persona, like a person still on his “shell” or comfort zone who needs to be appreciated, elevated and motivated to have confidence and find happiness in the outside world of his shell. The One represents God as the letter “O” is in the uppercase. The word curb is parallel to discipline. The persona states that God can help in disciplining himself.

Myself, arch-traitor to myself ;

My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,

My clog whatever road I go.

Yet One there is can curb myself,

Can roll the strangling load from me

Break off the yoke and set me free

Basically, the poem instructs readers to have faith in God all the time. It persuades people to have faith and hope in God no matter what circumstances a person may be struggling from. Plato said,

“If it is true for poetry, we shouldn’t trust merely to the likeness of poetry with painting, but should also consider that a part of the reason with which the imitation is concerned, and see whether it is bad or excellent.”

At this point, the poem Who Shall Deliver Me? is not sentimental and it gives instructions to the readers to have faith in God at all times. The persona gives this instruction from his viewpoint and understanding as she was undergoing a certain struggle herself. She derives her ideas from her experiences and forms a good imitation of it. There is no exaggeration of the feelings found in the poem because all the ideas that can be extracted from it are may be felt in real life situations, thus, the reader may also be inclined unto it. Plato again said,

“The law says it is a splendid thing to bear the utmost affliction with a calm mind and not to cry out, because one cannot be sure what is good and what is bad in such things, and there is no future advantage in chafing under them, nor is anything human deserving of great eagerness, and grief hinders us from doing what should be done as quickly as possible in the circumstances.”

“..but we should train the soul to seek a remedy as quickly as possible and to raise up what is fallen and sickly and dispel laments by remedies.”

“We agree, then, that the best part of the soul wishes to follow reason.”

These three citations are truthfully said by Plato on his Republic. Being sentimental, as said a while ago, has nothing to do well for a person. What is needed is not to adhere to those sentimentalities but to find answers for the resolution of the problem. In the poem of Rossetti, the first stanza already has the remedy for the struggle and it is the remedy that God will be bringing. Thus, self-control is always needed in all aspects of life.

As to conclude, here is Plato on two citations from his work the Republic,

“At any rate we know we are not to suppose this sort of poetry admirable because it has attained the truth and is of great worth, but when we listen we must be on guard, as though in fear for the city within out souls, and must observe the laws we have laid down for poetry.”

“..between the good and evil, and we must not allow honor or wealth or any kind of authority or even poetry to make us neglect justice and the other virtues.”

Works Cited

Macquarrie, J. (2008). Faith. Redwood, WA: Microsoft Corporation.
Magill, F. N. (1960). Master Piece of World Literature: In Digest Form. 10 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10022: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc.


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A Reading on Horace in the Work of Charlotte Bronte, Life

Life by Charlotte Bronte

LIFE, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,

Life's sunny hours flit by,

Gratefully, cheerily,

Enjoy them as they fly!

What though Death at times steps in

And calls our Best away?

What though sorrow seems to win,

O'er hope, a heavy sway?

Yet hope again elastic springs,

Unconquered, though she fell;

Still buoyant are her golden wings,

Still strong to bear us well.

Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!

Horace said in his work, Ars Poetica,

“It is enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.”

Charlotte Bronte, with a new kind of heroine defiantly virtuous, morally courageous and fiercely independent, brought about change in the style of fiction of the day, presenting an unconventional woman to be admired for her ability to overcome adversity. In her poem entitled, Life, readers can depict what kind of person wrote it and it really manifests the attitude of Bronte. She chose the notion in which she finds herself powerful and enriched and this is what helped her do the poem in placid. Horace said,

“You writers, choose a subject that is within your powers, and ponder long what your shoulders can and cannot bear. He who makes every effort to select his theme aright will be at no loss for choice words or lucid arrangements.” and

“I shall bid a clever imitator look to life and morals for his real model, and draw thence language true to life.”

Thus her poem, Life, stimulates the mind of the readers into an optimistic and charming lift which reflects what of Horace’s idea of an art in poetry.

The poem generally talks about life: its wonders and realities. It is only subjected to what happens within a span of life. Trials, fears, hopes, joys and success are those compose a meaningful life. Bronte, presented her subject as it is and in context of what it in reality. She let it reflect on the simple events in life like the little morning rain and roses bloom. Horace said,

“In short, be your subject what you will, only let it be simple and consistent.”

Her choice of words is direct or straight forward but enticing. Also, some of the words are rejected to find a place for a new, good one. It stimulates the reader’s senses with the help of imageries. These imageries are used to depict life. Here are the imageries present in the poem:

Kinaesthetic: Enjoy them as they fly!

Visual: Sometimes there are clouds of gloom.

Still buoyant are her golden wings.

The use of personification is rampant. Here are examples:

Life's sunny hours flit by,

Can courage quell despair!

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day.

This style is what Horace trying to tell in his Ars Poetica, citation follows:

“Careful and nice, too, in his choice of words, the author of the promised poem must reject one word and welcome another: you will have expressed yourself admirably if a clever setting gives a spice of novelty in a familiar word.”

Charlotte Bronte made the poem reflect her personality. She made it as an optimistic progress until the end. In the end of the poem, courage is stressed as a source of power to conquer despair. It ended the poem nicely and still with charm and optimism. It states there that,

“Manfully, fearlessly,

The day of trial bear,

For gloriously, victoriously,

Can courage quell despair!”

Hence, Bronte’s attitude towards her subject of life was contextualized to a life that is full of simplicity, contentment and courage. It fully equipped her poem to mirror what of Horace ideas of a good one. In the end, the author produced an exceptional poem.

Horace said,

“…the man who mingles the useful with the sweet carries the day by charming his reader and at the same time instructing him.”

As conclusion, the author, Charlotte Bronte, weaved with her passion and attitude. Through this, she inculcated in the poem what should be of legal claim about life. The poem manifested such delightful and fascinating things about life yet she did not forget to include the burdens and hurdles such as death to depict the reality as it is. Moreover, the poem not only is charming but also it is didactic for it teaches man that hope and courage are the keys to overcome any causes of sorrow.

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Parting at Calamba by Severino Montano

Cast of Characters:

Adela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a young girl

Alfredo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . her older brother

Saturnina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . their mother and one of Rizal’s sister

Soledad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . another sister

Doña Teodora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rizal’s mother

Padre Dalmacio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a Dominican Friar

Trinidad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . another sister of Rizal

Jose Rizal

Place: The living room of the Rizal-Mercado’s in Calamba, Laguna.

Time: Late afternoon, a few months before Rizal’s martyrdom and execution by the government and the Church, December 30, 1896.

THE SCENE is the living room of the Rizal-Mercado house in Calamba. A big window is at the back facing the Principal street of the town. The main door leading to the street is at the right. Entrances to the dining room and the bedroom are at the left. There are books on high and low shelves. Bottled specimens and the like are around the room. The house is comfortable home belonging to the upper middle class of the time.

As the CURTAIN RISES, ADELA, a young girl of eight, is seated on a bench by the window playing with a rag doll and humming an incoherent tune. ALFREDO, a boy of eleven or so, is seated on a stool at the left poring industriously over a book.

The rice cake vendor is heard calling somewhere along the distant part of the street.

========================================================================

STREET VENDOR: Bibingka! Bibingka! Salabat! . . . . . . Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! . . . ..

Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat!

ADELA: (Coming into the room.) You’re always reading that book,

ALFREDO: I told you to watch the window. And don’t sing.

ADELA: I’m watching it. (Pause). Why are you always reading that book?. . .

And why is everybody afraid of it?

ALFREDO: The civil guards might catch us.

STREET VENDOR: Bibingka! Bibingka! Salabat! . . . . . . Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! . . . .

Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat!

ADELA: Do you remember last Christmas? Father gave me this doll. And mother made bibingka in the house? But I did not like it, because that was when the civil guards came to take father away.

(Parting at Calamba, page 2)

========================================================================

ALFREDO: I said watch the window or the civil guards will come.

ADELA: Would they take you away then?

ALFREDO: Maybe. Or they may take Uncle instead.

ADELA: Why would they do that?

ALFREDO: (Softly) He wrote this book, that’s why.

ADELA: Is it a bad book? (Pause) If Tio Jose wrote that book, Alfredo, how can it be a bad book?

ALFREDO: Of course, it isn’t a bad book, silly! All the same, they don’t like people to read it.

ADELA: Why?

ALFREDO: (Impatiently) Stop asking so many questions! I want to read. Don’t disturb me. Now, go back to the window and watch to see who is coming.

ADELA: (As she turns to the window) Alfredo, he is here! The Civil Guard is there! Across the street!

(Alfredo quickly hides the book by lifting the seat of a big armchair. The street vendor is heard calling nearer.)

ADELA: (As she turns to run) I’ll call mother.

ALFREDO: (Holding her back) You just stay right here.

ADELA: He might get us.

ALFREDO: Mother told you not to be afraid.

ADELA: All right. Where did you hide the book?

ALFREDO: Don’t get excited. Be quite!

(Saturnina comes in from the kitchen.)

ADELA: Mother, it’s the Civil Guard! He is there across the street watching our house.

(Unperturbed, Saturnina goes to the window and looks out.)

SATURNINA: Of course, you may. Remember everything that’s in it. Remember with your heart and mind. (Alfredo resumes reading.) And you, Adela, you should never be scared of a Civil Guard.

(Parting at Calamba, page 3)

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ADELA: (At the window) Here comes Tita Choleng!

SATURNINA: Not so loud or we will wake up your grandmother!

ADELA: She’s carrying a basket with her, mother, and she is in a hurry.

SOLEDAD: (Coming in excitedly) Ate Neneng. I’ve some awful news to tell you.

SATURNINA: Did you see father, Choleng?

SOLEDAD: Somebody has just come to town.

SATURNINA: I said did you see father?

SOLEDAD: No, but on my way home, who do you think called me across the plaza?

SATURNINA: I haven’t any idea.

SOLEDAD: That Padre Dalmacio.

SATURNINA: What in the world is he doing here in Calamba?

SOLEDAD: He said he came all the way from Manila to talk to Kuya Jose about something this afternoon.

SATURNINA: Really? What can it be?

SOLEDAD: I’ve no idea. (Pause, then general bustle) The peasants were glad I brought their medicine the way Kuya told me to. Mang Kiko’s wife is better today. She said they’d never had any doctor to attend to them before in their lives, so I said Kuya Jose was only too glad to help. And look what they’ve given me: eggs, and fish, and a few vegetables.

SATURNINA: You didn’t have to accept anything, Choleng. They are starving most of the time.

SOLEDAD: They insisted, and I didn’t have the heart to offend them. (Picking up a closed bottle) There’s a tree lizard bottled up in this jar which Mang Kiko says Kuya Pepe wants to send to Professor Virchow in Europe. And I am thinking Padre Dalmacio might have come to see Kuya’s collection.

SATURNINA: I hardly think he came all the way from Manila just to do that. (Places bottle among other specimens.) Alfredo, you had better stop reading that book for a while. You stay there at the window, Adela, and watch to see who is coming.

(Adela goes to the window.)

(Parting at Calamba, page 4)

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ALFREDO: The padre won’t be here till later, mother.

SATURNINA: He is likely to rush in any minute. (a call from the bedroom)

Be quite, that’s your grandmother calling.

SOLEDAD: How is mother today, Ate?

STAURNINA: Her eyes are some better.

SOLEDAD: (Picking up her basket) I’ll run to the kitchen now and cook something for Father.

(Doña Teodora comes out from the bedroom.)

DOÑA TEODORA: Is that you Francisco? . . . . . I’m glad you are home at last.

SATURNINA: Mother, you shouldn’t be walking around.

DOÑA TEODORA: I thought I heard your father’s voice, Saturnina.

SOLEDAD: I had no time to pass by the jail, mother. I’m taking his supper as soon it is ready. (She goes to the kitchen.)

DOÑA TEODORA: Let me sit down for a while. I’m old and sometimes I don’t remember. (sits) Yes, they are all rotting in jail. There’s Manuel. Your husband was taken one day to the far south, and your brother Paciano exiled in some prison far away. There’s Marianito, wasn’t given a decent burial, and me in jail that time, and Choleng hardly up to my knee. Yes, there’s bitterness in my heart and may Lord forgive me for it.

SATURNINA: It might be better for you to forget these misfortunes.

DOÑA TEODORA: You are young and you don’t have to remember.

SATURNINA: I am not likely to forget either.

DOÑA TEODORA: I was thinking last night there was a bit of laughter left anymore in this house.

SATURNINA: How can there be laughter after all the evil things they’ve done to us? No, I am not likely to forget, mother, even if the crows were to turn white and the big stone at Laguna Bay were to leap against the moon.

DOÑA TEODORA: Wasn’t it on Christmas day that your husband, Manuel, was taken to the far South?

SATURNINA: It was dinner time, and he, the children and I were eating. We were all very happy. Soon the Civil Guards broke in and placed handcuffs on Manuel. He wanted to fight but they had guns with them. They said they were taking Manuel to Bohol, to that little island so far away.

(Parting at Calamba, page 5)

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To this day, I’ve never yet found out why they took him, save that I, his wife am a sister of Jose. Jose Rizal is too dangerous they say. He knows too much, they say. Yes, he wrote a book called “The Reign of Greed”, and now it is disturbing the people.

ADELA: (From the window) The Padre! The Padre! Here comes the Padre!

DOÑA TEODORA: What Padre!

ADELA: The book, Alfredo, you hide it! (Alfredo hides the book under the chair)

DOÑA TEODORA: What’s this, Saturnina? Where is your brother?

SATURNINA: It’s Padre Dalmacio, mother.

DOÑA TEODORA: Well, then. Where is Pepito?

SATURNINA: He had a call to see Mang Terio’s little boy.

DOÑA TEODORA: Was Trinidad with him?

SATURNINA: Sister Trining and he went out together, mother. And, of course that Captain Andrade went along to spy on them as usual.

STREET VENDOR: Bibingka! Bibingka! Salabat! . . . . . . Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat! . . . ..

Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat!

(Padre Dalmacio enters, stands at the door.)

PADRE: (Making the sign of the cross) AVE MARIA PURISMA!

SATURNINA: Do come right in, Father Dalmacio.

PADRE: (Going to Saturnina, who turns away from blessing) May the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost . . . .

SATURNINA: Sit down please, Father.

PADRE: Saturnina, you are not as reverent as you ought to be.

DONA TEODORA: We are honored by this visit, Padre Dalmacio.

PADRE: (Not quite recovered from Saturnina’s irreverence) God Bless You, Teodora. May the Lord shower on you His special kindness.

DOÑA TEODORA: How can a bitter old woman like me be granted special dispensation, Padre?

PADRE: (Shocked) My sister in Christ, Teodora, have you too, turned heretic? Isn’t one enough in this house?

(Parting at Calamba, page 6)

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SATURNINA: You can hardly expect the RIZAL-MERCADOS to be in a reverent mood these days, Father.

PADRE: Mood? Caramba! So now one has to be in the mood for religion.

DOÑA TEODORA: I’m thankful that my son Jose is out attending to the sick, Padre.

PADRE: Hm! Very noble. I’m sure very noble.

SATURNINA: Which is more than can be said of some people! And if you must know, you elegant stooge, Captain Andrade, went with him.

PADRE: I won’t tolerate your impertinence, Saturnina. I did not come here to discuss the Captain. What time is Jose coming back? Or is he up to something as usual?

SATURNINA: Indeed, you may say so, if attending to the sick is something the friar would count against him.

PADRE: I won’t stoop to waste time arguing with an irreverent girl like you. No, I won’t stoop.

DOÑA TEODORA: We will tell Jose that you called, Padre.

PADRE: I wish Teodora, that you’d put some respect into your children. But no matter. Tell your son I’m coming back, even if it has to hurt me to do so. I want him to wait. (Looks around the room) Caramba! Books and more books! All from Europe, no doubt. No wonder he loves to write them. (Catching sight of specimen) And what on earth are these? Snake for Virchow? Very appropriate. I must say, very appropriate. And a turtle for Jagor! Well, why doesn’t Rizal send a monkey to Blumentritt? (He goes out hurriedly.)

SATURNINA: The nerve of him! Oh. The nerve to come here as if he owned this house!

SOLEDAD: (As she comes in from the kitchen with a bundle) Is the padre gone!

DOÑA TEODORA: I hope he won’t set foot against in this house. The Lord only knew what next they’ll do after the way you spoke to him,

SATURNINA: I don’t care. I’d speak the way again. I would! I would!

SOLEDAD: Is there any word I should bring to father this evening? His supper is ready.

SATURNINA: Tell him Padre Dalmacio came here to insult us. Tell him our rent will go up another couple of pesos tomorrow. Tell him the church and government officials and the soldiers are ganging up against. Tell him we are blind …blind…blind…Tell him this our land, but there is a reign of greed carried on by the rulers and for the rulers,

(Parting at Calamba, page 7)

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but that he ought to be glad because his son JOSE RIZAL is waking up the people.

DONA TEODORA: No, Soledad, tell your father nothing.

SOLEDAD: Shall I say nothing about your eyes?

DONA TEODORA: You may tell about that. Tell him I can see things a little better now. Thanks to Pepe’s knowledge.

SOLEDAD: I can hear him coming up the brick steps in front, Mother. (Going to the door) Yes, it’s he, I’ll go down to meet him.

(A long silence. Trinidad comes in.)

TRINIDAD: He did it again, Mother. Kuya Jose did it again.

DONA TEODORA: Is the little fellow able to see now?

TRINIDAD: He is able to read his letters again. Mang Terio couldn’t believe his eyes. Really, he couldn’t.

DONA TEODORA: Isn’t your brother coming at all?

TRINIDAD: He is coming mother. Here he is.

(They all looked expectantly towards the door. Jose Rizal enters.)

ADELA: (Running to meet him.) Tio Jose, are you alright? I’m glad the Civil Guards didn’t get you?

JOSE RIZAL: Of course, I’m alright, little one. Hello, mother, how are your eyes this evening?

ADELA: I’ve been watching the window.

JOSE RIZAL: We are all in this town forever watching from our windows.

DONA TEODORA: It’s a very bad sign, Pepito.

JOSE RIZAL: It’s very funny, mother.

DONA TEODORA: Not to me, son. Not to your sisters.

JOSE RIZAL: Oh didn’t mean it that way. (Pause) Let me look at your eyes. (Examines her eyes carefully) Good! In a few days, mother, you’ll be your old self again. Wait and see.

DONA TEODORA: Padre Dalmacio has just been here to see you.

JOSE RIZAL: So Choleng told me. The whole situation is ridiculous. Here I am, a harmless physician going about my work peacefully, curing my people. And yet these rulers – these foreign rulers – dog me everywhere. This is getting two be like the comedies I used to see in Madrid. They are really a laughing, those Madrilenos.

(Parting at Calamba, page 8)

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TRINIDAD: The Madrilenos we have in this town are very cruel.

JOSE RIZAL: That Spanish lout of a corporal of the guards claim I have a foreign passport. He says I indulge in midnight excursions for wicked purposes. As a matter of fact, my bodyguard was telling me only today that the government thinks I am an agent of Bismarck. On the top of it all, the Church considers me a Protestant, a wizard, with a soul half-condemned to hell. In short, they think that I am just a few steps from being satan in person.

TRINIDAD: They are very angry with you, Kuya, for writing about them in the “Reign of Greed.”

ALFREDO: It’s a most interesting book, Tio Jose. Everybody thinks it’s good.

JOSE RIZAL: The Dominicans don’t seem to think so, son. Indeed, the Jesuits will never admit it is a novel.

DONA TEODORA: Nevertheless, we are – everyone of us – being persecuted about it.

JOSE RIZAL: I’m sorry, mother, for the suffering I’ve caused all of you. At the same time, I do not regret having told our people the truth. I feel that it was my sacred duty to do so.

DONA TEODORA: Truth and duty! These words are too big for us to shoulder. Truth is bitter, Pepito. It’s creating for us formidable enemies everyday. Some of our former friends do not speak to us anymore. Ever since your arrival from Europe, nobody dares come to the house. Our isolation is complete.

JOSE RIZAL: What in heaven’s name are these friends so sensitive about? Hasn’t the Board of Censors at Sto. Tomas banned this book from circulation?

TRINIDAD: I’ve heard that the patriots in Manila are smuggling copies in through the customs, Mother. It’s true, because I’ve seen the book being passed in secret. (To her brother) And Kuyang, they say that Dandon Canon and his father go about in the evenings serenading people just so they can pass on the book to others. And they say that more and more copies are being sent to the islands by our exiled countrymen in Hongkong and Madrid.

JOSE RIZAL: Well, if that doesn’t open the eyes of the people, I might as well stop writing.

DONA TEODORA: I lie awake at nights thinking about the things you have written, Pepito. And my mind keeps repeating: “O Lord, o, Lord, he is the only son left to me. Spare my Pepito. Keeo all harm away from Pepito.”

JOSE RIZAL: I remember once in Berlin, I had aterrible dream. Mino Viola and I had just finished proof-reading the book. We went to sleep hungry

(Parting at Calamba, page 9)

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and tired. But soon, Moni was shaking me. It seemed as if the Civil Guards and the friars were chasing me, so I was shouting desperately when Mino woke me up. I tried to forget that dream. But for a long time, it kept coming back. I realized then that my future looked gloomy.perhaphs the friars will even get me in the end, but I’ll comfort my self with the thought that in my own way I shall have helped plant the seeds that will grow in a freer sun. What is the use of living when life itself is full fears, and his body becomes nothing but a tool for the profit of others? What sort of pride can there be in a life like that? A man ought to be willing to die so that justice may live!

DONA TEODORA: You ask for a happier life. We are all suffering as it is on your account.

SATURNINA: Then what are we to do mother? Abuse and despotism reign not only in this town but in the Philippines as well. We have become nothing but slaves in a country that properly belongs to us. Our lives are ugly in a land that was once beautiful.

DONA TEODORA: you do not have to tell me much things, Saturnina. I spent four long years in prison.

SATURNINA: Pepito should be told everything. Last year, the friars were very vicious, Pepito. Three hundred of our townspeople were driven out of their lands because they could not pay the exorbitant rents and taxes.

TRINIDAD: And we couldn’t write to you about it, Kuyang, because the government intercepted all our letters.

SATURNINA: To make things worse, these unfortunate ones were not permitted to receive from anybody. What kind of Christianity is that?

TRINIDAD: It’s true, Kuyang. They were left hungry in the street until the cholera epidemic came killing nearly everyone.

SATURNINA: And all for what, Pepito? For the glory of Spain and her greedy rulers? For the Governors and the Civil Guards she sends and the friars? Pepito, were tired of accepting that. They have no interest her save to make themselves fat by sucking the blood of our people. We live in filth and corruption. Is that what we are here for?

TRINIDAD: We have been fools to allow it!

SATURNINA: Yes, and for three hundred years they’ve kept us in ignorance so that we should have nothing to fear always in our souls. But we are afraid anymore. They’ve also planted hate in our hearts. What love had they shown us? We are far worse than when they came to “civilize” us. If this is their civilization. I won’t have any of it, nor of their corruption, nor of their God!

(Parting at Calamba, page 10)

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JOSE RIZAL: Whenever a race of men imposes its will and thinks superior of another, there is sure to be moral and economic corruption. There is sure to be tyranny. There is no happiness. Life is an illusion. Living becomes a burden. So therefore, in whatever place and form tyranny exists, it is wrong to allow it. That’s why those of us who see the light are morally obliged to fight this despotism.

SATURNINA: If we must fight, what good would dying be to us. I pleaded with you not to come back just yet. I plead with you now to go where you can work without being hampered.

JOSE RIZAL: The field in which to struggle is here in the Philippines. It is here that we should work together.

SATURNINA: It isn’t wise to follow such a course of action right now.

DONA TEODORA: Saturnina, let me talk for a while, will you child? I am glad that you want to stay with us, son. It has been years since we’ve been together. But if you would like to stay, why can’t you meet the powerful ones halfway. That’s not much to ask, is it?

JOSE RIZAL: I cannot take back the truth, mother.

DONA TEODORA: It’s wiser to bend with the fury of the storm, Pepito. If you can’t, you’ll only break yourself, son.

JOSE RIZAL: If my life breaks, there will be others to take my place.

DONA TEODORA: Don’t be stubborn. Listen to what an old woman says!

JOSE RIZAL: The world has been changed only by those who were not afraid to die. Let come what may.

DONA TEODORA: It’s all very well for you to talk like that. But I ask you to remember your father, your brother Paciano and Manuel. It’s all very well for you to be taken away, too. But when the greedy ones come to us with their lies, how will it be for your sisters and me with none of our men able to give back an answer.

JOSE RIZAL: I only want to do what’s right.

DONA TEODORA: Then tell me, Pepito. Would you allow your old mother to be left alone with her half-blind eyes pining to see the sunlight. I’m thinking the poor should be able to see also, and I’m glad you’ve written your book for an answer. But I’m an old woman now and I no longer have the strength to suffer. I beg of you to meet these greedy ones halfway, son. I want to live in peace for a while.

JOSE RIZAL: It is hard to be blind, Mother. And I know that when you are blind, you see only the ghost skeleton of happiness. I am glad you realize

(Parting at Calamba, page 11)

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that the poor are also blind. They, too, see only the ghost of happiness. But the greedy rulers, they get their full share of laughter everyday. They think of the common people as if they were animals. And how can the poor fight against the rulers when the long night comes and they are blinded forever?

DONA TEODORA: Are you to forsake me and your father, then?

JOSE RIZAL: I’m staying right here to fight it out.

DONA TEODORA: Well, we have had enough of pain, Pepito. We do not want to be dying with you. We want to live! We want to live!

TRINIDAD: Mother, your eyes!

JOSE RIZAL: Everybody wants to live.

DONA TEODORA: You are ungrateful! You are very stubborn, Pepito! You were always very stubborn even as a child. You’ll come to a no good end because you are very ungrateful…. Oh, that I should live to see this day when you turn against us! … Take me to my room, Trinidad. Take me to my room.

(Trinidad takes Dona Teodora to the bedroom, Adela follows in silence.)

JOSE RIZAL: All my life, I’ve dreamt of coming home to help carry on the fight. How can I do it now if I give up, what I believe in? If I run away?

SATURNINA: We have come to the crossing of the road. The success of our venture will depend upon which one to take. If you allow yourself to be suppressed now, all our hopes will be crushed forever.

JOSE RIZAL: I don’t know what to think. I’m lost. I only want to do what’s right.

SATURNINA: You don’t have to give up any of your ideas. Stick to the. But you don’t have to jump right into the fire, either. Go back to Europe and organize our countrymen in Paris, Berlin and Madrid. Ask your friends there to help push our plans. Plead for their support. Go there and write, and send back what you have written. Our people are ignorant of many things. They are blind. You must open their eyes. My God, we can’t even walk the streets in our town without being watched. The Civil Guards stopped Kiki Tika’s boy, Andres, yesterday and beat him.

JOSE RIZAL: You are asking for a revolution.

SATURNINA: I don’t care what you call it. But something has to be done. Our people are hungry. Our people are thirsty. The land is rich and flourishing, but we are starving. We are favoured with rain, but we

(Parting at Calamba, page 12)

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are thirsty. We are dying everyday like flies. I’m sick and tired too. Sick and tired of the whole wretched business. I plead with you to think it over, Pepito. Many Filipinos are tired. (She goes out.)

STREET VENDOR: Bibingka! Bibingka! Salabat!....... Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat!.........Bibingka! Palitao! Salabat!

(Rizal is left alone. He goes to the window and gazes out thoughtfully. Alfredo is watching him intently, sadly. There is silence for a long while. The music from a neighboring house and the bibingka peddler is heard again from far away. rizal then turns and paces sadly up and down the room.)

ALFREDO: Tio Jose?

JOSE RIZAL: (Absently) Yes, Alfredo?... Isn’t that Andres playing the bamboo flute?

ALFREDO: How can he play? His arm was broken by the Civil Guard. That’s his brother.

JOSE RIZAL: Poor Andres! (Another pause)

ALFREDO: Tio Jose?

JOSE RIZAL: Yes?

ALFREDO: Was it sad in Europe? . . . . . I mean . . . . I mean can children laugh there?

JOSE RIZAL: Of course, they can. They laugh anytime. They have jolly songs, not like ours.

ALFREDO: Were you always happy there, Tio?

JOSE RIZAL: I was often feeling homesick for you and everybody.

ALFREDO: I’m homesick for father and Uncle Paciano.

JOSE RIZAL: So am I.

ALFREDO: I hate the civil guards, don’t you?

JOSE RIZAL: I can’t say I like them.

ALFREDO: We were homesick for you, too, Tio Jose. I’m glad you are here so you can help fight the Civil Guards. I can’t understand why mother wants you to go away again.

JOSE RIZAL: Your mother realizes that we can’t fight the rulers yet. They are powerful. The people aren’t ready. Our hands are still helpless, Alfredo.

(Parting at Calamba, page 13)

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ALFREDO: Is that why you are unhappy?

JOSE RIZAL: Yes, one might say that.

ALFREDO: I can’t understand it – what mother was saying just a while ago. I mean . . . . can the friars eat all that they get from the peasants, Tio Jose?

JOSE RIZAL: Of course, they cannot. They have more than they need.

ALFREDO: But the peasants – they do all the work. They plant the rice, they harvest the grain, but they are hungry just the same. They have nothing. Still the friars ask them to contribute to the support of a dead saint they call San Roque. And yet last Sunday, I heard the town priest say we should be kind to all people. How is that?

JOSE RIZAL: Friars and priests are nothing but men, and as such they possess all of men’s weakness. Sometimes they are even corrupt. At other times they are greedy. To live with such men then is like living among ordinary mortals. And to live among men is to struggle. Yes, Alfredo, life is a very serious thing. It is a constant struggle between man and his fellowmen.

ALFREDO: I can’t understand why, Tio Jose.

JOSE RIZAL: There are always in this world a few men who want to be powerful. And to gain that power they must be rich, or be associated with the rich so they can impose their will upon everybody. Thus, the fate of the many becomes entirely dependent upon the whims and caprices of the entrenched few. The struggle becomes so brutal that men resort to killing each other. But this is not only a struggle within man himself, with his mistakes and worries, with his passions and weaknesses. It is a struggle with himself, for instance, when others urge him to give up his hopes and dreams, when he is made to choose between those he dearly love and his Ideals.

ALFREDO: It must be lonely to be like you.

JOSE RIZAL: Yes, only it’s very comforting sometimes to be able to listen to the songs of one’s own native land . . . . . to come back home no matter what happens.

(Pause. He looks at the window again, and then turns quickly to the boy.)

Don’t you think you had better go out to the kitchen and help your mother?

ALFREDO: Is anybody coming, Tio Jose?

JOSE RIZAL: It’s Padre Dalmacio.

(Parting at Calamba, page 14)

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ALFREDO: I want to stay with you.

JOSE RIZAL: It might be a good idea to take the book to the kitchen and hide it there.

(Alfredo goes quickly. Jose Rizal moves to the door and waits for the Padre. Rizal is cordial and polite which changes the attitude of the priest at least temporarily.)

PADRE: Ah. There you are, my boy. It is indeed a pleasure to see you again after all these years.

JOSE RIZAL: Thank you father. It is nearly eight years now, isn’t it, since St. Thomas?

PADRE: I must admit, you were quite an exceptional student at the University. I was afraid I’d miss you a second time. First, let me give you my blessings.

JOSE RIZAL: (Courteously side-stepping the issue) Please have a chair, Father.

(Trinidad enters and serves wine.)

JOSE RIZAL: All these years, I’ve looked forward to this occasion when we could talk about old times again. One gets pretty homesick abroad.

PADRE: (Pointedly) Yes, of course, of course! (Continues resentfully) I seem to notice the lack of reverence from many of you, the new arrivals from Europe. However, I hope your failure to observe the rites of the Church is merely a slip on your part.

JOSE RIZAL: (Simply) To be perfectly honest with you, Father, I do not believe anymore the ceremonies that constitute the Roman Catholic Religion.

PADRE: (As if thunderstruck) My dearest so in Christ! Lad, do you mean to tell me that . . . that . .

JOSE RIZAL: Yes, and I do not regret it.

PADRE: Ah, what a pity that you, too, have changed! Your Liberal education In Paris, no doubt!

JOSE RIZAL: Paris was bursting with new ideas three months ago when I left. Cezanne, Monet, emile Zola . . . . . .

PADRE: Now a see what a bad example you are to the townspeople. Oh, what a pity! I positively refuse to believe the town curate at first, but now I have to apologize to him.

(Parting at Calamba, page 15)

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(Saturnina comes back. Eyeing her sarcastically)

Why even your sisters have to be in the right mood for religion these days!

JOSE RIZAL: I’m not speaking for my sisters, naturally, they have minds of their own.

SATURNINA: If the reverend Padre doesn’t know that, Pepito, it’s high time he should.

PADRE: Caramba! I did not come here to ask for your advice, woman! Oh, but I won’t stoop . . . . My dear Rizal, how perfectly true are the things they say about you in Manila. You’ve drunk too deeply of the liberal education in Europe. Your German friends, no doubt, have led you on to such incautious indulgence.

JOSE RIZAL: If you are referring to Professor Virchow and Blumentritt . . . . .

PADRE: I only know too well the venom that Blumentritt has poured into your mind. You are being overwhelmed by the spirit of rebellion. And your association with him resulted in this . . . . this so called “novel” of yours, full of lies and slander.

JOSE RIZAL: “The Reign of Greed”, Father, was written before I met the professor in Vienna. As a matter of fact . . . . .

PADRE: Even the very title of your book is hardly a compliment to us, your former mentors. (Pause) I hope you are aware that this so-called novel of yours is banned.

JOSE RIZAL: Indeed, I am, Father.

PADRE: What a pity that a brilliant young man like you has not devoted not devoted his talents to the defense of a better cause.

JOSE RIZAL: The good of the people is a fine enough cause to fight for. My people must see the light.

PADRE: You have slandered the good name of the Church and the King.

JOSE RIZAL: I’ve tried my very best to tell only the truth.

PADRE: Truth? When you have flung such insults against us? It’s power that you want and you’ve planned to get it by destroying us.

JOSE RIZAL: I only want to open the eyes of my countrymen and those of you who seemed to be interested with their destiny. The people are ignorant. They are oppressed. They are hungry. Why? Because for three hundred and fifty years now, a reign of greed has been going

(Parting at Calamba, page 16)

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on in this country. It must be stop. You speak of the good work of the King and of the Church, but in all honesty, where is it? In the lands you take away from the peasants? In a religion that is used to exploit the people? Ah, no, Father. Well then, where shall we find salvation? In a corrupt Spanish government that allows such things to happen to poor people far away?

(Dona Teodora enters with Trinidad and Adela)

PADRE: Do you realize that I could have you arrested right now for treason?

DONA TEODORA: Pepito, what is it?

JOSE RIZAL: If truth have become treason, Father, then I am willing to defend the cause of truth with my life!

PADRE: Caramba! You defy me! You defy the Church! You defy Spain! You forgot that Spain’s right to be here is divine and natural!

JOSE RIZAL: Spain’s right to be in the Philippines? To accept that idea is to betray the freedom with which the Philippines has the right to shape their own destiny! To accept it would be to deny the Filipino his birthright to human dignity, whereby no man, not even a Spaniard, is his superior.

PADRE: Do you mean that . . . . . that I should I consider myself on the same footing with an Indio?

TRINIDAD: We, Indios, us you call us, Father, have as much right to a decent l ife as you Castilas have.

SATURNINA: Is it necessary to remind you, Padre Dalmacio, that you Spaniards came here on your own invitation? Haven’t you gone surreptitiously appropriating everything while you cackled about your Christian heaven?

PADRE: Your mind is corrupt, definitely immoral!

TRINIDAD: We do not remember that morality was any consideration of yours when you grabbed the lands of the poor defenseless peasants!

PADRE: The trouble with all of you is that you open your mouths too much!

SATURNINA: It would be nearer the truth to say we are beginning to see the light.

PADRE: Light? Caramba! Caramba! You are being led into the darkness because of that awful book!

(Parting at Calamba, page 17)

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DONA TEODORA: Will you tell me, Padre, why we browned-skinned Filipinos who owned this land are not allowed to rule?

SATURNINA: Grabbing somebody else’s land is the height of wickedness. It’s plain thievery . . . . . its . . . . . its . . . . .

PADRE: Enough! . . . . . Enough! . . . . . As a servant of God, I must not stoop. I must control myself. I must be logical. You people ought to know that once you are separated from Spain, you will inevitably fall back into savagery and indolence.

JOSE RIZAL: The idea of a superior race, Father, is positively revolting to us. It’s a gross insult to our intelligence.

PADRE: That’s it! That’s it! Blumentritt’s idea of equality. The shipwreck of your faith is already a living fact. Oh, what a pity! But all is not lost, however, you wi ll be brought back to the port of salvation. Sooner or later, you will return to the bosom of the Holy Mother, the Catholic Church.

JOSE RIZAL: The wounds you have inflicted are deep, and I’m afraid they’ll never heal. It’s too late now.

(There is a tense and embarrassed silence.)

DONA TEODORA: Has Soledad come back, Saturnina?

SATURNINA: Not yet, Mother.

DONA TEODORA: Don’t you think that it’s getting a little to late?

SATURNINA: (Pointing to the priest) Yes, it surely is getting late.

(Pause. The priest could only look at her in anger. The church bells are ringing the angelus. Everyone is still. The priest looks at them disgustedly. Trinidad goes to the window.)

TRINIDAD: It’s already dark outside. Shall I fetch Soledad?

SATURNINA: No, Trining you are safer inside.

JOSE RIZAL: This is not to hurry you, Father, but I’m still waiting to hear what you have come to say to me.

PADRE: Very well, Rizal. I’ll be brief. I’ve come to offer you a professorship at the University of St. Thomas, your Alma Mater. The Church, naturally would like an answer.

SATURNINA: Pepito, think well what you do.

DONA TEODORA: Saturnina, be quiet.

(Parting at Calamba, page 18)

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PADRE: We Dominicans would like you to consider an additional offer . . . . . merely as a humble gift, understand . . . . . of a hundred thousand pesos. Also several haciendas if you care to go on with your fondness for farming.

JOSE RIZAL: And what, pray, may I ask, Father, am I expected to give up in return for such opulent offers?

PADRE: Do we have to go into that? You know what the Church and the government want, don’t you?

SATURNINA: Good God! This is bribery Pepito!

PADRE: Alright, call it what you will. We do not want what you have written about us, your book least of all

JOSE RIZAL: And so now in exchange, you are going to coerce me to retract all that I have written, is that it?

PADRE: That would be the smartest thing to do, my boy

JOSE RIZAL: Sell my conscience?

PADRE: We promise not to say anything.

SATURNINA: Well, of all the low-down tricks . . . . .

JOSE RIZAL: Ate Neneng, please! Tell me, Father, has your religion fallen so low, has it made you so corrupt that you would even use the name of God to bribe me? I'm sorry, Father, I won't have any of your lies and intrigues and machinations. What my right hand had done, my left hand is not going to deny. If my book “The Reign of Greed” is like a mirror and you are yourself doing the things I've written about, then I've written about you. If not, then have no fear. You are trying to drown me in a glass of water, but you shall not drown me even in the ocean.

PADRE: The Dominican Order is a powerful corporation, my boy, and it touches all the oceans. But you and your family, you are infinitesimal drops in a glass of water.

SATURNINA: It might please you to know, Father, that you friars are not wanted in this country anymore-- the Dominicans least of all.

DOÑA TEODORA: All of us have come to the end of the road, Padre Dalmacio.

(Parting at Calamba, page 19)

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TRINIDAD: And now, if you'll kindly leave my brother and his family in peace.....

PADRE: God help me if I allow anyone of you to talk to me in this manner again. You are a pack of wolves trying to attack me.

SATURNINA: And I suppose you are the sacrificial lamb.

PADRE: Oh, I won't stoop. Stooping would mean arguing with you and that would presuppose equality. No, I positively won't stoop. I must control myself.

SATURNINA: There's nothing at presnt our men can do to you. But you can't kill them all. Someday the free ones will do something about it.

PADRE: I thought so. Now I have a positive proof that you are planning a revolution. You are plotting to overthrow the Church and the Spanish government. You will massacre all of us Spaniards, if you get a chance. But we shall see who is the stronger. We will use everything in our power to crush you. We will put you where you belong.

SATURNINA: Go ahead. We are not afraid of you any longer. You may even shoot Pepito, but the day you do that, we shall realize our freedom.

PADRE: My good Rizal, suppose we gave you half the Philippines? (There is a gasp from Rizal's family.)

JOSE RIZAL: No thank you, Father. Not even for that. Please let us say goodnight.

PADRE: Caramba! Caramba! It's useless to reason with you. You've completely gone to the devil! But what a pity that you are digging your own grave. It might have been better had you stayed in Europe. Your sister is right about your future, and you will see that Spain will win in the end. Spain will live forever! (To Saturnina) My smart girl, you took the words right out of my mouth. Good night!

(He goes. They are all speechless. Trinidad is still wearily looking out, but she moves to her brother unable to hold back her tears.)

TRINIDAD: Kuya Pepe, it's not safe for you here anymore.

(Parting at Calamba, page 20)

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SATURNINA: Please think over what I've told you, Pepito, or we will lose everything. Think of what we've been working for years. All that we've been working for. You have to go tonight. I'll bring you things to Manila in the morning.

(Someone's crying is heard from the gate. In a moment, Soledad comes in sobbing.)

TRINIDAD: What in the world has happened to you?

SATURNINA: Soledad, tell us what is wrong!

SOLEDAD: I wish they'd die. I hate them!

TRINIDAD: Who?

SOLEDAD: Those Castilas! Those brute of the Civil Guards!

SATURNINA: What in God's name did they do to you?

SOLEDAD: They took me back to Father's cell and claimed that I brought him pages of the book. I said I did'nt do such a thing. They started to search Father. But when they came to me, Father was so incensed that he fought with them. I fought them, too.

SATURNINA: Oh, God! How long do we have to stand such things?

DOÑA TEODORA: What did they do to your father?

SATURNINA: Captain Andrade heard the noise. He came and took the guards away. He told me to go home and said he'd apologize to Kuya Jose tomorrow. Father is all right now. He said it would be wiser not to do anything about it because it will only make things worse.

TRINIDAD: (Taking Soledad to the bedroom.) Come and rest for a while.

DOÑA TEODORA: They will be harder on us after this. They will. I know they will.

SATURNINA: That's why he has to go tonight, Mother.

(Parting at Calamba, page 21)

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(Jose Rizal walks thoughtfully to the window as Adeala runs quickly to the kitchen. The room is silent. But the bamboo flute is heard again from across the street. There is stifled sob from Doña Teodora as Saturnina leads her to the Bedroom. Adela and Alfredo appear gingerly from the kitchen, entering shyly in the silence of the room as they go near Jose Rizal.)

ALFREDO: Tio Jose, is it true what Adela says?

ADELA: Are you going again, Tio?

JOSE RIZAL: (Turning to them thoughtfully.) I should very much like to talk to you once more. I know it should be your bed time, but i want to tell you something that's awfully important. Come, sit by the chair with me. (Adela and Alfredo sit at the foot of the chair close to and in front of him.) Had you had your supper?

ADELA: Not yet, but I'm not hungry.

ALFREDO: I've been reading your book while the Padre was here.

JOSE RIZAL: Good. I'm glad to see that you are brave, Alfredo. That's the spirit. Read and learn. Think over much what you learn and remember always what I've told you. Life must go forward. But I want you to listen very carefully because Imust tell you a more important thing right now. And I want you to remember it all the days of your lives. It's not anything pleasant. Oh, I shouldn't be talking this way to you who are yet but children. You have a right not to be disturbed in your sleep. You have a right to be happy.

ADELA: We are happy, Tio, because you are here with us.

ALFREDO: We shall miss you terribly if you go away again.

JOSE RIZAL: That's just it. That's what I wanted to tell you. But I didn't know where to begin. Yes, I'm going away again, although, I promise you I won't stay so long. Oh, but I want you not to be sad or sorry because I'm leaving. I want you to feel that I'm going away for a

(Parting at Calamba, page 22)

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mighty good reason. Do you remember the children of the peasants last year when they did not have food and they were starving, and many of them got sick?

ADELA: Yes, mother says it was because the Friars and the Civil Guards drove them out of their houses.

JOSE RIZAL: Well, there are many others, children like you all over the world who are being persecuted, always afraid lest the civil guards may come to take their fathers and mothers away. I want to help. I should like to see every boy like Alfredo read anything he likes without being afraid, without watching from the windows. I want to hear boys like Andres play their flutes once more and sing songs that are happier. But to do these things, we must work. I have my share of work to do and I can do it best at present far away. I shall not forget you. I will work harder knowing that you are waiting here for me, waiting for the coming of happier days that we must help to bring about. On your part, you must be good. Obey your grandmother, your mother and your aunts. Tell the truth always, even if it to say the truth would mean your punishment. Now, can you understand why I am going?

ALFREDO: Is it far where you go?

JOSE RIZAL: Yes, but you and I will think each other always and then the distance won't matter. Why, Adela has fallen asleep! Let me put you both to bed.

ALFREDO: I am a man now.

JOSE RIZAL: You are only a child. Nevertheless, I am proud to hear you say that. Come, let me put your sister to bed. (He carries the little girl into the bedroom.)

SATURNINA: (As she comes out with Doña Teodora) He has to go tonight. It will be for the best. He can take the path by the lake and reach Pansol in the morning. From there, the farmers will know what to do.

DOÑA TEODORA: All our men have left us!

SATURNINA: It won't be long before they come back again mother.

(Parting at Calamba, page 23)

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(Jose Rizal returns from the bedroom.)

TRINIDAD: (Also coming to the living room) Kuya Pepe, are you really leaving us?

SATURNINA: The Philippines should be a happy lan, Trinindad. But the present is a fearful thing. We must work to usher in the coming of a glorious dawn for everybody living here. Just think, Trinidad, in the long and dark night, you and I will tend the seeds we have planted and when the dawn comes, we shall be able to see those seeds growing freely. The oppressed of our land shall no longer be deprived of the fruit of their labors.

SOLEDAD: Don't go, Kuya. The evening will always be dark without you.

TRINIDAD: Come back to us.

SATURNINA: We shall be waiting for him to come back, Soledad.

DOÑA TEODORA: Pepito, son, something tells me they'll never allow you to come back.

JOSE RIZAL: Let's just think of this as a beginning, Mother.

SATURNINA: Don't worry about your suitcases, Pepito. I'll bring them myself to Manila in the morning. Take this brooch. You can pawn it just in case you cannot hear from us. Go now as you are. There will be less suspicion.

JOSE RIZAL: Thank you for everything, Ate Neneng. Give my apologies to Cuñado Manuel for dragging him into this. And when you write again to Kuya Paciano, tell him everything. I know he'll understand.

SATURNINA: Don't forget us.

TRINIDAD: We'll pray for you. Only come back to us.

(Parting at Calamba, page 24)

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DOÑA TEODORA: When you pass out of that door, Pepito, the hounds will get you wherever you are. Then what of us who will be left weeping in the dark? What of oyur sisters and me who will be left alone in this house? Our friends will not come for fear of the things you have spoken. This house will be falling, surely. No roof to hold back the tears, no walls to cry in, not even love ones to remember. There will only be broken pieces of us scattered like dust in the dry summer wind. Only the poor will come, but htis house will be torn down. Only the memory of it will be left.but what will that mean to your many nieces and nephews? The crying of the empty wind?

JOSE RIZAL: That memory shall not be empty, Mother. An evil wind will blow into this house and into this land. It will cry into the depths of men's hearts and leave them heartbroken. But the oppressed will take up my voice.they will wash the plains and hills with their blood and drive the foxes from our orchards. And when the valley shall be free again, this house will no longer be empty.

(Moves closer to his mother) It's hard to say goodbye, isn't it . . . . . even if we had said so many goodbyes to each other. But this time, leaving you breaks my heart – you who have made my childhood bright and happy. I wish now I could say the same for you, Alfredo. But someday, I shall bring back the smile to your face once more.

Goodbye, Mother. Have faith. Say goodbye to father for me and tell him why I have made up my mind to go.

(He walks to the door and stops.) Goodbye to you all. I go with the dream that some sunny morning we shall all meet again in this house.

(He goes out. Saturnina runs to the window to watch him. Alfredo follows his mother. Soledad breaks into tears. Doña Teodora is seated on her chair bent in sorrow. Trinidad goes over to Choleng.)

(Parting at Calamba, page 25)

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DOÑA TEODORA: He is gone now and will never be back again. The deep night is coming. I shall never see him again. He is gone from me forever.

SATURNINA: He will bring us a new day. Surely, he will.

DOÑA TEODORA: Fetch me a candle from the altar, Trinidad. I want to say a prayer for your brother.

(Trinidad goes quickly into the bedroom. In a moment, she is back with a lighted candle on a saucer. She places it on the floor in front of the old woman, kneels low before it as her mother starts to pray. Soledad is still sobbing. The song from the bamboo flute goes on. The old woman is now heard chanting a prayer. Saturnina turns away wearily away from the window as the curtain falls.)

(The end)

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