Kerima Polotan Tuvera was a renowned Filipino author. Her works earned some of the highest literary recognitions in the Philippines, with her short story 'The Virgin' being one of her most notable literary pieces. The word "virgin" that she mentioned in her story implies somebody who is pure and unstained. As dictated by the society, in order to gain respect and dignity, a woman must be pure and virgin because it is said that a woman's virginity is equated to her dignity. The society dictates that woman must preserve her virginity until she gets married, like what Miss Mijares did to herself. She wasn't able to state her feelings to men because she had to protect her virginity/dignity. Hence, the story presents Miss Mijares' struggles caused by the social dictates on her individuality that hindered her to find her own identity as a person and as a woman through the feminist type of perspective.
This story is about Miss Mijares who is so glued to take care of her family making her so busy that she gets no time to get involve with some guys. But as being a member of the society, she’s expected to settle to marriage to become a proper woman.
Miss Mijares gets to meet a man whom she could almost herself with. But this man, a carpenter, has already had a son that makes Miss Mijares feel betrayed. On the other hand, the fact that the man and the child’s mother are not married eases the character up.
All the metaphors and symbols of bad weather resign to tell the woman’s emotions. It makes the realization to her being so tight to anything; she comes to realize that she could control not everything. In the arms of the carpenter, she becomes unstrung from being incompetent in the norm. He defines her womanhood.
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