Human emotions are as complex as our personal choices. We do things with our own will, but why do feelings fade sometimes?
Aside from understanding the themes and analyzing the characters, I am fond of sharing what trust, understanding, and shared responsibilities mean in the story.
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Main Points
- Paz Marquez-Benitez was born in 1894 in Lucena City, Quezon, Philippines.
- Dead Stars is considered the first modern Filipino short story and was published in the Philippine Herald in 1925.
- The narrative and character analysis align with the story's themes and character portrayals.
Kicking Things Off
In the history of Philippine literature, a person named Paz Marquez-Benitez holds the distinction of having written the first modern Filipino short story, "Dead Stars."
This groundbreaking literary work was published in the Philippine Herald in the year 1925, and this marks a notable milestone in the nation's literary history.
Who is Paz Marquez-Benitez?
Paz Marquez-Benitez, born on March 3, 1894, in Lucena City, Quezon, is honored as a great and remarkable Filipino writer. She was among the first generation of Filipinos taught under the American Education System.
Paz became a pivotal figure in the University of the Philippines' English department from 1916 to 1951 for her excellence.
As published by The Kahimyang Project, she pioneered the "Woman's Home Journal" in 1919. It was the country's first women's magazine in the country.
Aside from "Dead Stars" in 1925, she later compiled in 1928 the "Filipino Love Stories," a groundbreaking collection of Philippine stories in English written by her students.
Character Analysis
Alfredo Salazar
Alfredo is the central character in the story. He had internal conflict between his fiancé Esperanza and Julia, the one whom he fell for after getting cold with the former.
Alfredo is portrayed as someone who is caught between his responsibilities and his feelings. The love he felt for Julia represent the excitement and passion of youth. Meanwhile, the future he has with Esperanza symbolizes stability.
He also portrayed self-realization. He discovered later on that his feelings for Julia are not as genuine as he initially thought. He came to his senses and realized the goodness of the life and love he has with Esperanza.
Esperanza
She was Alfredo’s fiancée. Compared to Julia, she was more pragmatic and grounded because of her practical and sensible approach to love and life.
She represents the ideal of stability of societal values in marriage. Completely unaware of Alfredo’s emotional turmoil and the conflict within him regarding his feelings for Julia, she also represents people with steady and responsible nature and the lack of romantic fantasies.
She was someone who sees her relationship with the love of her life as continuously progressing, without the need of questioning it.
Julia
She represents Alfredo’s yearning of love that is passionate and fleeting. As if a mirror of what Alfredo longs to recapture, she just became an illusion after realizing it was just a mere feeling of getting back the attention he used to received and feel.
Julia’s role in the story is subtle, and her character is not as deeply developed as that of Alfredo or Esperanza. But it also signifies the need to respect someone else's relationship by getting away from it before she falls deeper.
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Dead Stars by Paz Marquez-Benitez
"Dead Stars" is more than just a short story about love and longing. It reflects the 20th century's societal norms and values as this story provides a window into the soul of human emotions and the complex circumstances every individual must navigate.
It is a story between Alfredo Salazar, who has a turbulent emotional journey, and Esperanza, the beautiful and elegant woman who got engaged with the former. Their story poignantly captures the ephemeral nature of emotions.
As portrayed in the story, love can be fragile and purposive. It can be seen in how their love for each other went. At first, their relationship was full of enthusiasm and passion. Though they've been together for four years, and their marriage is about to come, Alfredo's feelings for Esperanza seem to fade over time. It was held together only by the binding promise of marriage—a vow he feels he cannot abandon.
As Alfredo became cold, he met Julia. Alfredo had internal struggle between rightness, love and passion, as well as societal expectations and personal desires. These form the heart of the story.
As Alfredo continues to fall, Julia learns he's engaged. The time, which he thought was their chance to have quality time together, was also the time to say goodbye because Julia planned to leave the town and go back home because of what she learned.
This made him more confused as to who he was going to choose. He cares what other people say, so he chooses to marry Esperanza. After being married for quite some time, Julia still resides in his memory. There are a lot of what-ifs thoughts, and these haunted him.
One day, during a business trip to a town, where at the same time, the place where Julia lives, Alfredo unexpectedly encounters her. Although he had never actually forgotten his emotions for Julia, he had gradually accepted his marriage to Esperanza. In that moment, Alfredo realizes that his feelings for Julia have faded, and he feels at peace with the life he has with Esperanza.
The Bottom Line
So, what do dead stars symbolize in Marquez-Benitez's story?
Well, like a dead star whose light still lingers long after its extinction, Alfredo's love for Julia had silently dimmed over the years as a memory. It was hardly mutual and doesn't seem to last. Further, Esperanza's love for Alfredo, though appearing as love, is more rooted in strong will and principles. Like dead stars, such events may still shine brightly but are devoid of life already.
Through their characters, we can reflect on how love evolves and how our perceptions of it change as we grow older.
Today, after long years since it was published, the story remains as a powerful piece showing as the illusion and reality of love, and the conflict between duties and desires.