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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN GLOBAL LITERATURE : ENG 772 ASSIGNMENT

Nick Joaquín’s The Woman Who Had Two Navels

Dr. Monson constantly teaches his children who were born in Hong Kong the
significance of going back home, to the Philippines. As he often tells them, “The home of our
fathers is waiting for us to come home” (156). However, when Dr. Monson actually returned
to the Philippines, after his decades of exile in Hong Kong, he could not stay there long and
had to leave for Hong Kong “suddenly and unannounced” (191). Joaquín does not allow us to
learn what happened to Dr. Monson when he visited Manila.

Question: What do you think happened to Dr. Monson? What kind of experience do you
think he dad in Manila that made him come back to Hong Kong a changed person, a person
who keeps complaining about dust and crabs everywhere in his room?

In a historical novel The Woman Who Had Two Navels (1961) written by a prominent
Filipino author, playwright, and journalist, Nicomedes Joaquín y Márquez, it would seem that
the author presents the story without the consistency of narrative styles and narrates the themes
with a non-linear manner. By this means, the story gradually unfolds settings, themes and plots
when each character is orderly introduced. Reflecting a postcolonial expatriate consciousness,
the story, as portrayed in the novel, revolves around the upper middle class and shows how
each character struggles to maintain his or her self-identity among a foreign setting like Hong
Kong. The Woman Who Had Two Navels, on the other hand, maintains the mixtures of hatred,
love and sufferings that manifest the realities of life, making the flow of the story more
provocative and appealing to the readers. The name of the novel, “two navels,” probably
represents Hong Kong and the Philippines. That is, even if the story is set in Hong Kong, still,
the Filipino culture is presented throughout the story. As the story continually progresses, the
attempt to establish roots and need to bond, especially the cultural identity is continuously and
clearly shown through the Filipino’s characters namely Connie, Concha, Paco and Dr. Monson.
At this point, the sense of nationalism or being the Filipinos is portrayed not only through
female characters such as Connie and Concha, symbolizing their homeland, but also through
the character of Dr. Monson, who has still longed for his native country.

M.A. (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ), TIME RAMPHIPHATTHAMRONG

CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY, THAILAND
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CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN GLOBAL LITERATURE : ENG 772 ASSIGNMENT

Dr. Monson loves his native country and he always teaches his son, Pepe, about the
Philippines. Even though Dr. Monson once vowed not to return to the Philippines unless it
gained independence, he finally came back. Dr. Monson was very sad about the destruction of
his house, as Conchita de Vidal tells Pepe, “Whenever I see that broken stairway I feel your
father waiting” (159). When Dr. Monson was “suddenly and unannounced” (191), it was the
years after a great news that the flag of his country waved at last in sovereign solitude.
Unfortunately, when he came back to Manila, he changed. The fact that he became frail and
altered after confronting the destruction of the Philippines implies that he could not help his
beloved country even though he was once a revolutionist and used to fight alongside other
revolutionaries. Dr. Monson’s portrayal is that of a man who represents the masculinity for
protecting his homeland. Thus, Dr. Monson’s incapability to protect his homeland presumably
reflects the failure of his masculinity, causing him become frail and altered. In other words, Dr.
Monson’s powerlessness to protect his home country makes him feel emasculated, as Dr.
Monson talks with his son, Pepe,

“[…] Oh, not the rain - the dust, the dust, the dust […] And crabs. Crabs scrawling
[sic] everywhere. Wherever I place a foot I crush a crab. [emphasis added] […]
Dust and crabs, dust and crabs, dust and crabs […].” (194)

The phrase, “dust and crabs” as shown in the aforementioned excerpt is what the author
probably attempts to draw a comparison between dust and crabs, and the Philippines and the
Filipinos. More specifically, the epigraph literally refers to the natural attribute of a crab that
crawls and lives in dust. In this case, crabs can be metaphorically represented as the Filipinos,
while dust can be seen as the damage or problematic legacies caused by colonialism. The
statement, “Wherever I place a foot I crush a crab” (149) implies that the Filipinos have to fend
for themselves, yet they always become empty handed. That is, the negative impacts of
colonialism on the Philippines are very palpable in every sphere of life. Before the Spanish
colonizers firstly settled in the Philippines, the native Filipinos had lived simple lives,
depending on natural resources. Communalism was also apparent within the country and
people’s connection with the nature maintained a balanced environment. On the other hand,
the colonizers unfortunately left nothing but drastically affected both trade and infrastructure
of the country.

M.A. (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ), TIME RAMPHIPHATTHAMRONG

CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY, THAILAND