Summer Solstice Critical

Paper
 Confrontation amidst Gender Role in Society

In the family, who is in charge in the decision-making, is it the husband or the wife? In a
relationship, who should surrender, the female or the male? In general and in this generation,
who is more dominant, the male or the female? A classic short story titled “Summer Solstice” by
the late Filipino fictionist Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin; explore the issue of gender role that still
exist in society. The main protagonist, Doña Lupeng, accepted her fate as only the wife who is
respected but not adore by her husband, but that all change when the spirit of the Tadtarin group
possessed her. Summer Solstice takes place in 1850s Philippines during the festival of St. John
and the story shows that until this day, women should be submissive.
The author’s representation to the short story shows that there is a pro-woman feel to it.
The author also portrays a collision between femininity and masculinity but mostly on femininity
side. The manner for which the author wrote is extraordinary. Instead of using illusion or
ambiguity, he wrote it realistically and amorously, and the style of his writing is specific and
idealist to create a story about women empowerment. Joaquin also turned this short story into a
play entitled Tatarin: A Witches' Sabbath in Three Acts, on which a film adaptation has been
based.
The short story, Summer Solstice is centered about a woman named Doña Lupeng who is
introduced as a conservative mother of three children, discovered that she is more than a wife to
her husband. She learned that women should not only be respected but to be adored. She found
out that women are empowered. Initially, she is curios how the norms are being disturbed by the
festival of St. John which is a 3-day event that is done only by women to celebrate a ritual of
fertility that is frowned upon by the male population because of its extravagant dances and plays
in the ritual. With this curiosity, she gradually discovers women empowerment over men’s. It
strengthened when she inquired Entoy, the husband of Amada, why Amada is in a trance-like
state; later finding out she is in the possession of the spirit of the Tadtarin, and the wife beater,
Entoy told her that she is the Tadtarin and he became well-behaved, knowing that his wife was
so powerful. This made Doña Lupeng considered the possibility of women’s control over men.
Not only that, when Guido, cousin of Paeng’s, rambled to Doña Lupeng that according to
the early European education, women are the supreme and men are the slave and he even kissed
her foot, Doña Lupeng’s view intensified that women have the power as much as male. And
when she forced her husband to bring her to the place where the ritual is being place, she
changed. She put her husband into submission as she doesn’t want to be respected but adored. In
turn, her husband, Don Paeng, knelt down and kissed her feet as a sign of love and devotion to
her.
The story emphasizes the political view in regard with gender issues. Stereotypes
between male and female gender is prevalent on the said story. The story point out those women
are supposed to only stay at homes to take care of children and served their husbands after their
work. This quite true and still happening up to this age, although that shouldn’t be the case.
Femininity is as powerful as masculinity. There should equal treatments on both sexes; between
man and women on decision-making, in relationships and especially in the family.