ALFARO, Mitziel Yossefa Anjelyn M.

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The Tales of Tropical Gothic: The Brilliance of Nick Joaquin
 
Nick Joaquin is a National Artist for Literature. He was relatively shy as a writer, preferring the
use of his pseudonym – Quijano de Manila. Regardless of his reclusive nature, he became a
distinguished writer whose works featured a diverse Filipino heritage. He wrote his stories in
English, which are set during the Spanish Colonial Period and are reflective of the Filipinos'
cultural practices during those years. His famous works such as The Summer Solstice and May
Day Eve from the Tales of Tropical Gothic collection portrayed rituals, love, and legends which
made Nick Joaquin's works highly influential. In this regard, Nick Joaquin is a high-caliber
writer, a literary trailblazer whose impact transcends time.
 
The Summer Solstice, published in 1947, is a short story set in the 1850s Philippines. The story
revolves around a three-day fertility ritual called the Tadtarin that reminds men that women
were once superior. After each celebration, the women, inflicted by the spirit of the Tadtarin,
would demand adoration and do as she pleases. Having borne witness to the event, the men adore
the women by kissing their feet and uttering praise words. The empowerment of women is the
central theme for this literary masterpiece. Writing a story with a strong female lead discovering
a new sense of power around strong women when women were expected to do nothing but cook
and clean is a testament to how Nick Joaquin puts women in high regard. There were parts where
the portrayal of women empowerment was exaggerated, but the lesson to give women the same
amount of adoration a man thinks he deserves for himself was not lost in it. While this story is
generally celebrated, many critics claim that Nick Joaquin's narration of this story was
excessively melodramatic. Some also find the tale demeaning to men when Guido and Don
Paeng kissed Lupe's feet.
 
Next is May Day Eve, first published in 1947. The story begins with an old Agueda telling her
daughter about the legend that if you stand in front of a mirror and chant the words, "Mirror,
Mirror, show to me, him whose woman I will be", the mirror would reveal either your husband or
the devil.  Agueda claims she once saw the devil and that they had an intense exchange, which
ended badly. In 1890, a man named Don Badoy encountered his grandson chanting the familiar
verse. He told his grandson that he did the same to see his future wife but instead saw a witch.
The boy then told his grandfather that his mother said his grandmother experienced the same. It
is then revealed that Don Badoy and Agueda saw each other in their mirrors that night. They
married each other with a love that burned bright but burned out too fast, evidenced by their
descriptions of each other as the devil and the witch. This classic reflects what Nick Joaquin
envisions as the Filipinos' firm belief in superstitions during the Spanish Colonial period. Critics
consider this story fictitious, but its symbolism and lessons remain evident. May Day Eve tells
the audience that love may bring either great exhilaration or pain, so readers must choose with
whom they will spend their lives with careful consideration.
 
His ability to stay relevant is one of Nick Joaquin's greatest strengths as a writer, but like all
writers, there are strengths and weaknesses to his works. One of The Summer Solstice's strengths
is the message it tries to get across – feminism. Nick Joaquin wrote this when society, due to the
men's service in the Second World War, put them on pedestals while women were undervalued
constantly. There were not many stories that portray women as characters of great strength, thus
making Nick Joaquin a literary trailblazer for being one of the few who dealt with women
empowerment in their literary pieces. Another strength this story has is its rich cultural
appropriation. Its setting was during the Spanish Colonial period when Filipinos participated in
rituals and believed in their power to make a person live longer or more fertile, evidenced by
how the premise of the story revolves around the Tadtarin. By featuring this aspect of the
Philippines' then-society, it reflected the country's heritage in the 1850s and showed audiences of
a different time what life was like back then. As for The Summer Solstice's weakness, the story's
execution was quite exaggerated. In a time of political correctness, the worship of women in this
story may cause misinterpretation, leading to debates among readers. If I did not read into the
story, I would have misinterpreted Nick Joaquin's representation as satirizing women
empowerment because, in real life, women do not want to be worshiped; they want to be treated
with respect and be given equal consideration of rights. 
 
As for May Day Eve, its greatest strength is the pace and flow in which it is written. It is rare to
find a generous narrative along with multiple perspectives and scenes in a short story, but Nick
Joaquin proved it possible. Now, authors could look to him for inspiration when writing prose or
one-shots. However, Nick Joaquin's generosity in words can be a weakness, too. Since he was a
writer from a few decades back, the generation gap in vocabulary was evident. Today's readers
have a shorter attention span and might find the narration in this story too much to comprehend.
 
Furthermore, like The Summer Solstice, there are excerpts in the story that may be deemed
offensive by today's generation of readers, and that part in May Day Eve is when Don Badoy
pressed his advances to Agueda by groping her and kissing her hand even when she was visibly
agitated. When Agueda asked him to let her go, Don Badoy refused. If that happened today,
people would condemn Don Badoy, and would not excuse his behavior, even if he was
intoxicated. This part of the story shows the difference between the social perspectives of older
and younger audiences. What the older generation understands as an offensive but forgivable
attitude portrayed by Don Badoy would be considered cancel-worthy by today's generation.
 
All in all, there is no doubt that Nick Joaquin is a brilliant storyteller with an excellent grasp of
the English language. His ability to build a world with sufficient imagery and staccato-like
descriptions set the mood efficiently for the readers to feel as if they are moving within that
environment. Even if written years ago, his short stories remain relevant and severely impactful
and have since inspired a younger generation of writers to deal with sensitive topics such as
superstitions and women's issues in their works, regardless of whether they are directly affected
by the problem. Nick Joaquin's genius cannot be denied – not by audiences of his generation, nor
the new breed of students and writers who learn of him today. From him, a person may learn
how to incorporate taboo issues into stories, capable of inspiring the emersion of different
worldviews that move people enough to deal with the issues at hand and not turn away from
them. 
 
The newly garnered information on the life and works of Nick Joaquin accentuates the
importance of projects like this to students and citizens alike. A paper that allows a student to
examine why a person stays relevant despite his death from a few years back broadens a student's
perception and understanding, limiting thick questions such as, "Why do we need to study him?
He's dead already." By requiring more projects such as this, Filipino students will also become
more knowledgeable of the Philippines' cultural evolution, traditions, and heritage – something
Filipinos should never forget regardless of how long in the past these events occurred.

 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2020, December 30). Nick Joaquin. Encyclopedia

Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nick-Joaquin

Carballo, B. (2015, March 13). Women celebrate superiority over men. Retrieved March 08,
2021, from https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/03/13/1432921/women-
celebrate-superiority-over-men

Chadburn, M. (2017, September 01). Feminist fiction from the Philippines, written 50 years ago.
Retrieved March 11, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/books/review/nick-
joaquin-the-woman-who-had-two-navels-and-tales-of-the-tropical-gothic.html

Creativegodlywriter. (2017, August 07). Summary, review and Reflection: May DAY Eve by
NICK JOAQUIN. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from
https://creativegirlwriter.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/summary-review-and-reflection-may-
day-eve-by-nick-joaquin/

Joaquin, N. (2017). The woman who had two navels and tales of the tropical gothic. New York,
New York: Penguin.

Limos, M. (1970, January 01). The fascinating life of NICK JOAQUIN. Retrieved March 08,
2021, from https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/nick-joaquin-life-a00293-20190507-
lfrm

Tamondong, G. M. (2013, May 29). [The summer Solstice] by NICK JOAQUIN: A Feminist
Literary Analysis. Retrieved March 09, 2021, from
https://gtamondswork.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/the-summer-solstice-by-nick-joaquin/