Papagayo, Hazel Hanne S.

July 18, 2016

2015-00059 Eng 12 X1Incentive

Response Sheet to The Female Heart

The poignancy of The Female Heart lies in how the characters’ prospects, however promising in

the beginning, slowly unraveled towards the end, forcing them to resort to desperate measures. Adelfa

may have graduated valedictorian of Smokey Mountain High School but this did not help her much in

securing a job. Kuya Anghel may have had prospects to be a dance instructor but things turned out

differently. It was harsh that neither education nor talent vouchsafed for them a more economically stable

life. Ultimately, they both had no choice but to take what they can get from the limited opportunities

presented to them, thus painting a very vivid picture of the hardships and sacrifices of the poor, who have

limited opportunities.

In my opinion, education and talent were not really able to help uplift the Ocons’ condition in life

because in the first place, they were already poor. From what I infer from the play, it is doubly hard for

the poor, though educated, to elevate their status in life compared to the rich, who always, always seem to

have a world of opportunities open to them, regardless of whether they did well in school or not. This is

why Adelfa and Kuya Anghel are forced to endure hardships from their scant options. Everything

becomes a sacrifice. They do things not because they want to, but because they need to. Consent comes

not from the desire to do it, but from the alluring prospect of money. For instance, when Adelfa found out

about Kuya Anghel’s dancing stint in the club, she vehemently confronted him about it, but Kuya Anghel

pointed out that he had to continue doing it since it pays for Adelfa’s college education, though later it

was cut short. No matter how physically draining or demeaning it is, a job is endured for the sake of

subsistence. This is the harsh reality faced by the poor, such that they don’t have time to think of things

such as fulfillment or personal growth – some of the concerns of the upper classes – as long as the job

pays enough.
 This is most strikingly portrayed in Adelfa’s decision to become a mail-order bride. Enticed by

the promise of higher income, she willingly goes to the United States to become a stranger’s wife. How

twisted is that! Her circumstances do not even allow her to know the person she would be wed to. Adelfa

entered not into a marriage in the romantic sense of the word, but into a deal. In a tense argument with

Roger, she begrudgingly admits, “I married you for money!”

Eventually, as the money remitted to her family increases, the domestic conditions Roger imposes

become more stringent. When he allows her only one phone call a month, it becomes obvious how he

does not really care about her family – basically an extension of herself – making one question the kind of

love he has for her. As Adelfa sends fancy, even superfluous things to her family, their lives become

cluttered not with garbage as during their time in the Smokey Mountain, but this time with strife. Adelfa

becomes cut off from her family, coming to know about Kuya Anghel’s (sacrificial) death a tad too late.

Their lives may have gotten more extravagant, but this comes at the price of family ties.

In the end, Kuya Anghel, appearing in spirit to Adelfa, poignantly sums up what they all did:

“Sinira natin ang buhay natin sa kakaayos nito.” Yet they cannot be faulted for wanting to survive. In a

world that does not really favor the poor, they just did what they thought would bring them a more stable

life, no matter the downsides, which in itself already constitutes a moving act of courage and filial loyalty.