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The story "Preludes" is about a Filipino woman named Nenita and her husband. Some key details:
1) Nenita's husband has affairs with other women but Nenita takes him back each time.
2) Clues in the text suggest Nenita killed her husband using poisonous herbs given to her by a friend.
3) Gender inequality is a theme, as Philippine law treats adultery differently for men versus women.
While the story doesn't explicitly say Nenita killed her husband, the clues point to her using the poisonous herbs to get revenge for his repeated infidelities and the unequal treatment of women under Philippine law. Some justice
The story "Preludes" is about a Filipino woman named Nenita and her husband. Some key details:
1) Nenita's husband has affairs with other women but Nenita takes him back each time.
2) Clues in the text suggest Nenita killed her husband using poisonous herbs given to her by a friend.
3) Gender inequality is a theme, as Philippine law treats adultery differently for men versus women.
While the story doesn't explicitly say Nenita killed her husband, the clues point to her using the poisonous herbs to get revenge for his repeated infidelities and the unequal treatment of women under Philippine law. Some justice
The story "Preludes" is about a Filipino woman named Nenita and her husband. Some key details:
1) Nenita's husband has affairs with other women but Nenita takes him back each time.
2) Clues in the text suggest Nenita killed her husband using poisonous herbs given to her by a friend.
3) Gender inequality is a theme, as Philippine law treats adultery differently for men versus women.
While the story doesn't explicitly say Nenita killed her husband, the clues point to her using the poisonous herbs to get revenge for his repeated infidelities and the unequal treatment of women under Philippine law. Some justice
-She is a brilliant fictionist in the 21st century and
the author of the short story collection AFTER THE BODY DISPLACES WATER -has become a more voracious reader than ever. As a young girl, the books she read made her want to be a detective, or a castaway sailor, a Russian priest, a Japanese boy, or a dog. WHAT IS A PRELUDE? This is an event or situation that serves as an introduction to something which is more important. - similar to a prologue; preludes are short pieces that introduce something larger - an opening act which gives a brief glimpse or preview of something larger. Preludes - is a 21st century short story written by Daryll Delgado, a Filipino writer. The story was set in a natural setting, with a theme of one of the issues in the Philippines: Gender Inequality. Preludes
Reading the story alone, we couldn’t find signs that it
was about gender inequality. It was only the background before the story that said it’s related to gender inequality. Preludes It touches the issues on adultery and concubinage. Adultery - a voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband Concubinage- cohabitation of persons not legally married (Merriam-Webster.Com 2015) Why does it seem acceptable in Philippine society for husbands to have affairs with other women? Is it acceptable for women? Under Philippine law, when a woman is guilty of adultery she commits a crime while for a man, the crime is not adultery but concubinage. In our country, there is one set of laws for women, and another set of laws for men, which shows that laws in the Philippines are patriarchal in nature, and seem to favor men over women. Preludes What does Nenita feel for her husband? The story only delivered what had happened in a single point of view—Nenita, the wife. She showed a behavior of not minding the actions of her husband, by taking him back whenever her husband’s affairs with other women become sour. She never asks, seemingly never cares. But it cannot be considered as completely not caring for the husband—she still took care of him. Nenita was also aware of how her husband’s siblings always reminding him that he should’ve been a better man if he had chosen his decisions wisely, which also concerns his decision of marrying Nenita. She did not feel that sorry or feel that much grief when her husband’s siblings died, save for one. She was also fond of Willy Revillame, a host she had watched on TV, and whom she always waited for in her dreams. This had also showed her unfaithfulness towards her husband, how she wanted to take a glimpse of Willy on TV or in her dreams. What does the story have to do with gender inequality?
It can be assumed that her husband does not like
Nenita enjoying the presence of other men, even though he himself had been having affairs with other women. Nenita never complained, she never asked. She just kept taking her husband back. She still took care of him despite his injustices and unfairness. Example of prelude in the story In the introductory part of the story, it was mentioned that Nenita did not feel comfortable around the wife of the judge because of some rumors about her, even though she did not really care. In a single read- through, it cannot be easily noticed. A few reads later had made things quite clear. There had been rumors about Nenita’s husband having an affair with the judge’s wife. Again, she didn’t care, took him back, and nursed him back to health. •Those were some information pointed out to be weird. Because reading it alone would make the story quite peculiar Do you think there was a man being killed in the story? Who killed the man? Explain your answer. There was actually a murder happened! The only character who died was Nenita’s husband. The very beginning of the story started as “A man died singing”. He had sung a total of three songs before he heaved his last breath and collapsed on a chair. It happened at the Municipal Hall. The time was three in the afternoon. The sun was high. Heat seeped into people’s bones. Someone’s ninth death anniversary was being celebrated. Another man’s life in that party ended. It ended on a high note. How do you think he died? How the man died was not really stated and can only be assumed that he died from his illness. After few more readings, a conclusion came, that Nenita killed her own husband. What clues in the text helped you to reach that conclusion? There were times when Nenita listened to the beats and murmurs of her husband’s heart at night. When she heard his singing voice from the municipal hall, she almost caught the sound of his labored breathing, and his heart’s irregular beating. She always nursed him back to health, but why wasn’t she showing any signs of concern or worry? The conclusion matched the behavior of Nenita. Firstly, Nenita feels nothing and still nurse him back to health when she knew her husband’s been with other women. The paragraph somewhere near the ending gives a clue that Nenita killed her husband: “She could have prepared him then that other brew her herbalista friend had suggested at the time, the one that would make his balls shrink, give him hallucinations, make his blood boil until his veins popped.” She didn’t. Of course. Because she wouldn’t want the murder to be noticeable. Although this could be considered as her small way of expressing her frustration towards her husband, it’s still like a black print among the white words. Moreover, she didn’t seem to be so concerned about her husband when she heard him choke. What is the importance of the dried purple leaves? Do you think that these were used in the story? Nenita’s husband started getting sick, when the part of his heart that was supposed to beat started merely murmuring and whistling. Her friend, the herbalista had just the right concoction for the heart ailment. Even the doctors were delighted with her husband’s progress. The dried purple leaves, said to be from a rare vine found only in Mt. Banahaw located up there in the North, were given by the herbalista. She did know that she would never use it, even she wanted to keep, see, touch, and feel the soft lump of leaves in her palm, every now and then. She derived some sense of security, a very calming sense of power, in knowing that she had that packet hidden in one of the kitchen drawers. The story ends with the feeling of heat. What are the many meanings of heat in the story? She knew of his condition. But she still laughed at her silliness for applauding along with the audience in the hall. That moment, she went back inside the house, emphasizing that it was getting very hot outside, certainly hot enough to boil an old man’s blood and pop his veins, she added in her thoughts. She knew. It was her. She killed her own husband. The story “Preludes” could hide something suspenseful and shocking, but it could be the possible effects of gender inequality. It’s plainly amazing. It may not be a happy ending, but not a sad ending either. •Do you think with what happened, that some kind of justice was served? Why or why not?