Characters

• Salazar- Don Julian's daughter, a bachelor over thirty years old. He is devoted to
Esperanza, but Julia Salas has feelings for him.

• Esperanza Salazar is Alfredo Salazar's mother. She is a literal-minded, acquisitive, and

homely lady. She is one of the fortunate women who has a standardized beauty donation.

• Don Julian is an elderly man who is Alfredo Salazar's father and Carmen. Carmen's child.

• Brother-in-law of Judge Del Valle-Julia Salas.

• Julia Salas is the sister-in-law of Judge Del Valle. She is Alfredo Salazar’s other daughter
who stays unmarried throughout her existence.

• Donna Adela’s boyfriend is Dionisio.

• Carmen's boyfriend is Vicente.

• Brigida Samuy- She is the elusive lady Alfredo is looking for.

• Julia Salas's daughter, Donna Adella. She is a tiny and skinny girl with a baby's complexion
and a lovable cow's shape.

• Calixta is the note carrier for Alfredo Salazar and Esperanza.

Setting

The story is told in the third person and takes place at the turn of the century. The story
takes place in the Don Julian and Judge Del Valle buildings in the Philippines. It foreshadows
the location's cultural make-up and dominant opinions at the time.

The characteristics of such a cultural configuration are represented by a male-dominated

society. Because the author is a woman writer in a male-dominated era and world, the story
became a forerunner to the development of Filipino English literature.

In a patriarchal culture, man is the supreme power to define moral and other standards.
Women are secondary and excluded groups when it comes to selecting the dominant
concept and pervasive problems. But the female anti-man is not only an inadequate man;
she is also what a guy can never be.

This necessitates a delicate balance between the two, and when revolutionary or reformist
zeal threatens this equilibrium, it is frequently stifled and silenced. Both cannot occur
unilaterally or autonomously and must be mutually confirmed.

Females often become an afterthought in such male-dominated and chauvinistic moments,

despite the fact that the delicate and inextricable interdependence of masculine and female
types is always a feature of a cohesive social system.
Point of view

“Dead Stars” was a narrative story written in the third person. The author tells the story in
the third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc.).

Man vs. Himself

Alfredo felt unsure and embarrassed as a result of his choices in the story. He’s been torn
between doing the right thing and doing the right thing in his heart.

Man vs. Society

Alfredo struggles against society in the story because, especially at the time of the story, he
was afraid of the reactions of those around him. People frequently pay close attention to the
community to which they are connected. They try to conform to the standards, traditions,
and culture of their society, even though conformity sometimes forces them to give up a
part of themselves—an attitude, an impulse, or a choice.

Man vs. Circumstances

In the story, Alfredo is fighting against his destiny as well as the lives and family situations
that he is confronted with. He must confront issues when choosing between difficult career
decisions. The story is a collection of the complicated lives that everyone must go through in
order to exist.

Theme:

The subject of forbidden love is explored in Paz Marquez Benitez’s short story “Dead Stars.”
It is stated that forbidden love is simply obvious, and its ills are frequent to an individual
until he realizes his deficiencies. The hidden theme is responsibility, as the story
demonstrates that Alfredo is intent on marrying Esperanza and that everyone expects him to
do so.

Women’s activist abstract analysis resulting in blending with sociopolitical women’s

liberation, man-centric language evaluation, and writing or literature by revealing how it
reflects male philosophy It investigates the sensitive development of masculinity and
feminity within plays, as well as their similar position, positioning, and underestimation.
Ladies are portrayed as vulnerable in this story, and they regard people as second-rate.
Others are balanced and uncertain, whereas they are steadfast and easy to appreciate. The
story defied the male-centric framework concept, which holds that men are rational and
level-headed, whereas women are psychological.

Peruser reaction evaluation is a school of scholarly hypothesis that focuses on the reader (or
“group of spectators”) and their abstract work comprehension, in contrast to other schools
and speculations that focus primarily on the creator of the substance and type of work.

In the story of the deceased angels, men are easy to drop distant and easy to drop in
contact. Alfredo, the protagonist, is unsure about his life choices. He was locked in with
Esperanza, his four-year-old soon-to-be life partner. In any case, for various reasons, there
has been a shift in attitude toward Alfredo’s part. He fell in love with Julia Salas, the judge’s
sister-in-law, who was reunited with his father. His shame, weakness, and unreasonableness
are all natural human flaws. Alfredo thinks Julia Salas has something that Esperanza does
not, and I think it’s childish for him to make that distinction. When his fantasies fade, he
considers females as the next best option.
 “DEAD STAR” by Paz Benitez Marquez

Plot

After the procession for The Daughter of Sorrows,

Alfredo rejoined Julia. It was when Julia discovered Alfredo’s

wedding that he congratulated him. Alfredo must devise a

difficult scenario. Will he be able to choose what he

wants to do? Or will he choose what he has to do?

He and Don Julian had moved to Judge Julia did not want Alfredo to honor his

Del Valle’s home. He was having a knowledge, of Esperanza. She said her

meeting with Julia Salas. He kept goodbyes . He arrived at Esperanza’s

calling her Mrs. Del Valle, which house. And the final sentence has

made him feel embarrassed. been said.

Coming to the judge’s

chambers was frequently.

Then he realized that,

despite his relationship

with Esperanza, he was

content with Julia.

Carmen inquired about Alfredo Alfredo had proposed to Esperanza.

and Esperanza at Don Julian’s After eight years, he was looking

house. Alfredo recalls his meeting for a woman named Brigida Samuy,

with Julia Salas. a significant woman in the court for

his defense. Sta. Julia’s birthplace is

Cruz. He went to Julia’s house and

discovered her there. I’m still

sleeping. And he realized he was like

a Dead Star in his love for Julia. It

was not present.

Historical context

The brief story “Dead Stars” gave rise to contemporary Philippine English poetry. English
was still a young language in the Philippines, and many of the language writers were still
fighting for it.

Paz Márquez-novel Benitez’s Dead Stars contains more than just a love story. Her
instruction, most notably, reflects a time when literary work was composed in conjunction
with people’s language, norms, and beliefs. It serves as a literary time machine for authors,
allowing them to understand how courtship, marriage, and fidelity were viewed in the early
1900s. It makes a clear distinction between the past and the present, between modern
culture and the almost obsolete, vanishing tradition.

This is a story about deception. It focuses on how men succumb to temptation and abandon
years of commitment to their significant others in pursuit of pleasure and lust for another
woman they have just met. It’s truly heartbreaking. As a result, many relationships,
marriages, and years are squandered and shattered. Some men can’t get enough. They
discover another woman or mistress, a new world, an adventure, and a new type of
experience. To keep his man, the legal woman must devise schemes and play the fool. Isn’t
it frustrating and heartbreaking? This has been a problem for centuries, and this twentieth-
century poem demonstrates that cheating is prevalent in any era, location, or culture.

Alfredo and Esperanza are set in twentieth-century Philippines, where the process of
courting to marriage is rigorous and requires blood, sweat, and tears, as well as a great deal
of hardship. After years of being a couple, their wedding was finally planned and is about to
take place. Alfredo was overjoyed until someone unexpectedly caught his eye, heart, and
attention. Julia, a lovely lady, is this “someone.” He was smitten, like a star sparking and
shining brightly. Julia felt the same way, and the two had a brief relationship. Esperanza
eventually discovered that Alfonso was cheating on her behind her back. She was furious
and confronted him about it, but she remained calm. Finally coming to his senses, Alfonso
was consumed by guilt and chose his commitment to Esperanza over his intense but brief
affair with Julia. The marriage continued, and he never saw Julia again, but he did see her
years later when he visited a location. He saw her as single, elderly, and frail. He realized
that what he felt before was just a spark that died quickly. They were burning hot before,
but they eventually died. What he feels now, and what happened between him and Julia,
are exactly as the title suggests: “Dead Stars.”