There’s
no one description that would suit what are Filipino women for they are a
product of distinct cultures, different blood and diverse periods. Writing
about them and attempting to animate them by means of delicate threads of words
should be utterly true to their heart. It is not as simple as tying a string in
any way for they are, undeniably, the many faces and the detached pieces of a great
picture. Filipino women in short stories reflected the mind, heart and psyche
of a Filipina- a Filipina possessing numerous characteristics: likable and
unlikable and manifesting important factors of existence: period and milieu.
Akin with numerous characteristics, the image they portrayed in literature were
also many: a beauty, a believer, a fighter, a homemaker, a lady and a victim.
A
beauty: Their guise was a concoction of a handful of Asiatic
ancestors and western invaders that enriched the mien of Filipino women. If not
for the physical attributions, the ways and acts of these women would lucidly
depict how beauteous they are. They don’t need the treacherous hues of white,
purple and red to flaunt what they have gotten; there’s even no demand for pretentious
layers of colored masks to show to the sinful eyes how comely they are. They
are adherents of the virtue of simplicity.
A
believer: Their beliefs were a conglomeration of their
obsolete pagan origin, tribal set-up of year’s immemorial, patriarchal nature
of society and established taboos by the Christian faith. They were bound to
adhere in superstition, devote in laws and principles that speak of their stronghold
in religious orders, stay and confine themselves in the quarters of the social
norms and retain unwritten laws that dictate a fate of an innocuous entity.
A
fighter: They are determined to engage in a struggle to
stood for what is right, to defend their ideals and to eradicate the wrongs of
the society. They are capable of being stern, brave and fierce- breaking the
submissive and servant image of being a woman and abrading the delinquency that
is ever-present in the areas of society. Women they are; but do not conform to
the stereotypes of their gender- they are full of wits, spunk and vigor.
A
homemaker: They are either a mother or a wife whose prime
activity and concern are household chores and matriarchal responsibilities.
They are the light of every abode. If not there, the dwelling is barren and
dim, and the strengths of the home are slowly fading. They give satisfaction to
the body, provide warmth to a soul and supply sanity to the mind.
A lady: They
are mannered and controlled- words and actions were a great show of a proper
nature. They are also affable, modest and honorable; fashioned with authority
and graciousness- not just of shirrings and sequins that attract a mundane
spirit.
A
victim: They are martyrs for they make sacrifices and
accept hardships coupled with the belief it was a part of their fate, a part of
their femininity- written in the lines of their palms, destined by God. A
martyr; a result then of being a victim, thus strengthens their image of being
forceless- a captive of the opposite gender, a dummy for fleshly satisfaction
and only a supplier of life. Object they are not—they breathe and dream but had
been traded for a trifle.
Filipino women are a reflection of
their own selves in the short fiction narration of their nation; reflections of
their pleasant and unpleasant identity in the society for “Filipina of centuries ago still composed
the contemporary Filipina, who she was in her past life and who she is in the
present will be thoroughly indicated in our national literature.” (Lomigo-
Ojas, 1984, p.21)
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