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Literary Criticism E173

Activity 1 BSE-ENG2-2
Submitted by: Morales, Bernadeth April 03, 2023
Submitted to: Ryan Delos Reyes

May Day Eve

Nick Joaquin

Genre: Magical realism, realistic narrative with elements of fantasy, folklore, and myth.

"May Day Eve" by Nick Joaquin is a short story set in Manila, Philippines, on the
evening of May Day Eve in 1849. The story revolves around a conversation between a man
named Don Badoy Montiya and a woman named Agueda.

Don Badoy Montiya and Agueda were childhood friends who grew up to be neighbors.
However, they have not spoken to each other for a long time due to an incident that
occurred on May Day Eve many years ago. On that night, Don Badoy and Agueda both
went to a party where they played a game of "flames," which involved lighting a candle
and looking at its reflection in a mirror to see the face of their future spouse. Agueda saw
the reflection of a man who turned out to be Don Badoy, but he did not see her reflection,
and instead saw the reflection of another woman.

Years later, Don Badoy and Agueda met again on another May Day Eve, and they
talked about their past and their lives since then. As they conversed, they both realized that
they had misunderstood each other's feelings and intentions all those years ago. They also
realized that they had been deeply in love with each other, but their pride and
stubbornness had kept them apart.

As the night wore on, strange and magical things began to happen, and Don Badoy and
Agueda realized that they were reliving the same events that happened on that fateful May
Day Eve many years ago. They both saw their younger selves in the mirror, and Don Badoy
saw the reflection of Agueda as his future wife.

In the end, Don Badoy and Agueda were able to reconcile and confess their love for each
other. They realized that their love had survived the passage of time and the
misunderstandings of the past. The story ends on a hopeful note as Don Badoy and Agueda
embrace each other, and the magic of May Day Eve continues to work its wonders.