Monday, October 7, 2013

May Day Eve Plot Summary

                 As Don Badoy Montoya visited his old home at Intramuros, Manila, memories of his youth came back. He recalled how he fell in love with Agueda, a young woman who resisted his advances. Agueda learned that she would be able to know her future husband by reciting an incantation in front of a mirror. As she recited the words: “Mirror, mirror, show to me him whose woman I will be,” Agueda saw Badoy. Badoy and Agueda got married. However, Don Badoy learned from his grandson that he was described by Doña Agueda (through their daughter) as a "devil". In return, Don Badoy told his grandson that every time he looks at the mirror, he only sees a "witch" (Agueda). Don Badoy ponders on love that had dissipated. The truth was revealed, Badoy and Agueda had a “bitter marriage”, which began in the past, during one evening in the month of May in 1847. The tragedy of the story is Badoy’s heart forgot how he loved Agueda in the past. They were not able to mend their broken marriage because their love was a “raging passion and nothing more”.
An irony surfaced in the latter part of the story: Doña Agued was telling her daughter about a devil she saw in the mirror on a May Day Eve, while deep inside she means the devil to be her husband.

               The plot of the story is complicated because the author had deviated from the normal flow of a story. A person, upon reading this story, would immediately sense a strong air of melancholy that is somehow radiated in the story. This development of Agueda's character further shows the of the status of women as . Badoy, on the other hand, was a strong-willed young man, who just came from Europe when he met Agueda. It was the defining incident that clearly portrayed the inner anguish of Doña Agueda in her marriage to a man she never loved. Men like Badoy had a seemingly irresistible power over the society especially to women like Agueda, enabling him to have her in the end. Agueda was a beautiful and brave young girl who despised men like Badoy. In this light, Badoy in the story was depicted as a representative of men abusive of their superior status. The theme couldn't have been as apparent and evident if the point of view had not been that of a female. This kind of tone appeals well to the emotions of the readers, inciting in them the right attitude towards the theme of the story. This statement shows Agueda's utmost disgust in the dominance of men over them. He had fallen deeply in love with her, despite her obvious loathness for him, and had sworn to have her no matter what. This irony had made the story effective for the reader's understanding of the unfortunate situation Doña Agueda was undergoing because of Don Badoy's dominance over her. The complexity of the plot invokes th
Dona Agueda tells her daughter of one evening in may. There was a party but after the party there were still women who stayed for the night. There was a belief that if you went to a dark room with only a mirror with a candle,go to the mirror, close your eyes and say the words:



"Mirror, mirror
Show to me
him whose woman
I will be" 
 
                   They believed they would either the face of the man who will be her husband or the devil. When that night Dona Agueda decides to do as that, a man, Don Badoy, comes and interrupts her by trying to charm her and asking for a dance with her. Don Badoy forces her to dance but she cries so the man regrets but when she says "Let me go", he does not and says to her " say you forgive me first." She bites the Don Badoy's hand and Don Badoy tries to slap her but she was already gone. Don Badoy wishes for revenge but at the same time he fell in love with her making him wish to see her again but he still waqnted his revenge. Time passed by and Don Badoy was over 60 and he had forgotten that night. His grandson decided to do as Don Agueda had done but stopped by Don Badoy. He told his grandson to stop for he would just see a witch in the mirror as he was referring to Dona Agueda.



No comments:

Post a Comment