Philippine E-Journals

The Woman in the Short Stories of Filipino Feminist Writers: A Literary Analysis

Maria Fe Ora | Kate Hanna Aspe | Judith Odfeminina

Discipline: Anthropology

 

Abstract:

A short story usually has a limited number of characters and focuses only on a single event. Short stories have a unique structure and style that sets them apart from longer works of fiction, and they offer writers and readers a wide range of benefits. This study sought to discover the characteristic of woman as portrayed in the selected short stories of the three Filipino feminist writers; Kerima P. Tuvera, Aida R. Ford and Esterella D. Alfon. Feminist Theory, Sociolinguistic Theory and Readers-response Theory were employed to critically analyze the female characters in the story. The study attempted to meet the following objectives: 1) to characterize woman as depicted by the authors in the short stories in terms of; (a) characters, (b) context, (c) symbolism, (d) theme, 2) to identify how the woman in the short stories advocates the woman’s capability in the society; and, 3) to proposed a short story reading and writing model that will help the students invest more time in reading literature. Through examining and analyzing the short stories, different characteristics were discovered. The close textual reading resulted in the study’s coming up with the following findings: female characters are portrayed as independent and confident, emotional and innocent young woman, loving mother independent mistress, risk-taker servant, caring and protective mother. Indeed, women embodies diverse qualities that align with their societal roles, ultimately promoting the capabilities of women in the society.