MAGNIFICENCE

Estrella D. Alfon

SUMMARY OF THE LITERARY PIECE

Magnificence is one of the short stories written by Estrella D. Alfon. This

story is all about a man gaining the trust of the family especially the Mother.
Later on, the Mother was persuaded with the man’s gentleness. Along the
story, the man, who was named Vicente, had a dark motive to the family
targeting the little girl, the only daughter of the Mother.

BRIEF BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

Estrella D. Alfon was born on July 18, 1917 at the city of Cebu, and died on
December 28, 1983 at the age of 66 because of heart attack. She was a
child of shopkeepers. Estrella was known from being a Filipina prolific
storywriter, playwright, journalist, and an author of many masterpieces such
as Graphic Weekly Magazine, Philippine Magazine, and the Sunday
Tribune which are written in English.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS USING THREE APPROACHES

FORMALISTIC APPROACH

The context of the said literary piece is written in a descriptive style. I have
noticed that the author mostly use words that describe such thing. Here are
some of the lines:

First Paragraph

…for the man was always so gentle, so kind…

…but his voice soft, his manner slow…

He would smell very faintly of sweat and pomade…

…and it would fall down with a soft plop…

Second Paragraph

…he had never seen two children looking so smart.

They were both very tall for their age, and their legs were the long
gangly legs of fine spirited colts.

I think the author used this kind of style to give emphasize on the meaning
behind those simple words but the real deal is deep. The story is also
painted with colorful lines with the use of figurative languages such as
Irony. Here is the line that expresses opposite in meaning.

There was nothing to fear, for the man was always so gentle, so kind. (This
meaning of this line is opposite on the true intention of Vicente on the later
part of the story.)

Another figurative language that was used in the story is metaphor. Here is
the line that expresses an indirect comparison of two ideas.

They were both very tall for their age, and their legs were the long gangly
legs of fine spirited colts. (The legs are indirectly compared to a gangly legs
of fine spirited colts.)

I noticed that this story also contained a figurative language –

personification. Here are the lines that expresses an attribution of a
personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman.

As soon as the cool air of the free night touched him… (It seems like the
air has a human capacity to touch Vicente.)

…into the shadows that ate him up. (It looks like the shadow can eat
Vicente but the truth is, it can’t happen.)

For me, the theme of the story is “Don’t fully trust anyone. All of us are
wearing masks.”

Magnificence symbolizes the greatness of the Mother’s act to protect her

daughter from the sexual harassment done by Vicente.
PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

As a reader, I did not imagine this story containing a sexual content. In the
first part of the story, Vicente was described as very gentle and very kind
man whose voice was soft and his manner was slow. The dark intention of
Vicente started when he gained the trust of the president of the community.
He persuaded the Mother to be the tutor of her children and later it
happened. The Mother was so innocent the same feeling with her two
children. She was very unaware and fully-given her trust to Vicente
knowing only a little details of Vicente’s background. Vicente used the
pencils as a bait to lure the little boy and the little girl. In result, both of them
had also fully-trusted Vicente. They treated him as someone who was their
elder that they needed to show respect. The dark motive of Vicente
happened when the little boy left her sister to Vicente and had to get a
glass of water for him. The sexual harassment happened but his intention
was not fully accomplished because the Mother knew it and stopped it
before it happened completely.

FEMINISTIC APPROACH

The Mother in the story is easily persuaded by the gentleness and kindness
of Vicente in the first part of the story. Based on my perception, she’s a
very kind-hearted person who is willing to help those in need that is why
she helped Vicente without any hesitation giving him the sideline to work as
a tutor to her 2 children. Later on the story, I found out that behind her
softness and kindness towards Vicente, it was replaced by Mother who is
very loving and very protective towards her children. It was also
emphasized in the story how the Mother reacted on the malicious act of
Vicente towards her daughter. Every mother has this kind of attitude who is
willing to give everything for the betterment of their child.