The story of “How my Brother Leon Brought home a wife” takes place in Barrio

Nagrebcan in La Union where Baldo met his sister-in-law Maria, who was born in the city. The
way Leon introduced the new environment to Maria, bridges the way of knowing and adapting to
the culture of the people in the place. Upon seeing her, he already perceived her as a lovely
lady and as they set forth to journey to their home, Baldo chose the waig route instead of
Camino real that was immediately noticed by Leon which he answered by, “Father told me to do
so”. There was a silent communication between the two brothers which they both soon
understand the significance of the way their father dealt with this situation. It seems that the
route their father chose was to test Maria if she can live in the province in the dark night which is
different from her accustomed way of living, but then she proved them wrong when she adored
the night sky as well as the beauty of nature during the day. The sudden shift in the environment
affects the perception of the character (Maria) as well as the culture. Amidst their journey, Maria
hesitated going as she feared Leon’s family, especially their father, would not like and accept
her. As the story flows, the acceptance of Leon’s family is valuable to Maria considering that
they are going to live with them and she knows how her husband values his relationship with his
family. Finally, when they arrived home, it seems that their mother is waiting for their arrival as
Leon helped Maria into the house, Baldo was called by his father asking if Maria was afraid in
their place, which Baldo answered, “Maria is not afraid of their place but she quite enjoyed the
journey while singing on the silent night”. Similar to Filipino’s culture and perception, the
acceptance between the one you love and your family signifies a deeper relationship and
life-long filled happiness with the important people around you to support the both of you.

Cultural Approach (Carter and Long) and Structuralism Approach (Van’s Classification) was
used in analyzing and criticizing the story.