Feminisim and Historical Lense: A Literary Criticism on

Nick Joaquin’s “The Summer Solstice”

One of the societal constructs that is relevantly seen in

the Philippine Society is its inclination towards the idea of
patriarchy. Rodriguez (1990) described patriarchy as a social
concept that is also known as the male culture or male ideology,
where an appropriation of men and women’s sexual and reproductive
capacity is seen as an important factor in their ability to own
private property or in which bracket in the society’s hierarchy
they would belong to. In the Philippines, patriarchy is still
relevantly palpable in the community. This is where the notion or
the idea of a woman becomes attached to being submissive and
dependent to men while a man is perceived to be physically and
emotionally strong by nature (Luna,2016).

However, this is not always the case for the Philippines.

Previous research work has become a testament of the real status
of indigenous Filipino women during the ancient times, before the
colonization of the country, as they participate in the decision-
making process in the home and in the community, provided with
equal access to resources and inheritance rights, and occupied
leadership roles as the men in both the political and religious
fields (Rodriguez, 1990). This shows the equal treatment received
by both gender in the earlier stages of the country. This state
is broken when the Spaniards decided to colonize the Philippines
and introduce to them the Catholic religion which taught its
inhabitants new values, new virtues, and a new set of belief
system. Rodriguez (1990) attributed this change with a new
outlook of what a female is. There was a regeneration of a new
image of the Filipina or female indio who is now seen as her
father’s meek daughter, her husband’s faithful subject, an
obedient servant of the Church, and a chaste virgin who would
yield only to his husband. Luna (2016) states that patriarchy,
while “it is still almost never talked about” in dialogues, is
still a silent issue that we are confronting every single day.
This is because of the extensive inculcation of these patriarchal
values in our society, to the extent of it operating within the
bound of our own homes. This is seen in the remarks such as “You
can’t go out and play. Those are for boys only.” or “Don’t be a
cry baby! You’re not a girl.” that is still quite heard until
today.

This gave rise to the Feminism Movement that has easily

become a global motion. Feminism opened new doors to see the
value of women across all aspects of life. Lewis (2019) revealed
that the term feminism is first used to refer to “women’s freedom
or emancipation”. Feminism is any action that is organized to
rally the cause of changing the society to end the patterns that
have left women disadvantaged (Lewis, 2019). One touchpoint of
this movement is in Literature. One of the main characteristics
of literature is its capability to mirror the society to which it
is built on. In this regard, Literature serves as a reflection
of the relative values and principles that the society upholds,
it becomes a reflection of the community to which the writer
based it on. This is also the reason why the study of feminism is
a growing endeavor in this field. Thus, this paper would try to
encapsulate how the idea of feminism is portrayed in Philippine
Literature, with a highlight on the characteristic of Philippine
Literature mirroring reality on the values system of the
Filipinos. This paper would try to look at how Literature mirrors
the view of women in the context of the Philippines.
 The Feminist Approach to Literature can be achieved in a
literary piece through the Feminist Literary Criticism. This “is
the literary analysis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism
or feminist theory” (Napikoski, 2019). The Feminist Theory, as
explained by Crossman (2019) places a shift from the ruling
perspective and experiences of men to be more inclusive to the
perspective and experiences of women. The goal of the Feminist
Theory is not to assert the superiority of women over by men, but
to give a spotlight on the social problems, trends, and issues
that are presently found in the society as brought about by the
dominance of the male perspective which has been historically
inculcated in the minds of people.

According to Napikoski (2019), feminist literary critic

challenges traditional assumptions that were initially seen as
universal. In this regard, this kind of literary criticism is
agile in supporting women’s knowledge in literature and in
valuing women’s experiences. The goal of feminist literary
criticism is to “examines how works of literature embody
patriarchal attitudes or undercut them, sometimes both happening
within the same work”. Napikoski (2019) further added that the
Feminist Literary Criticism can extend its tools to other
disciplines like historical analysis, psychology, linguistics,
sociological analysis, and economic analysis among other fields
in which it may tackle. It also looks into factors such as race,
sexuality, physical ability, and class as part of its analysis.

There are many methods that can be utilized to study the

feminist attribution of a literary text, Napikoski (2019) said
that one can investigate on how women are described in a certain
literary piece by looking into the relationship of the literary
text and the ideas it shows in term of power, sexuality, and
gender or it can also contrast the men and the women author’s
writing styles. However, for the purpose of this paper, the
method that will be used in analyzing will be the two basic
methods, as identified by Napikoski (2019) in crafting a feminist
literary critic. This approach entails to first identify with the
female characters in the story by exploring how the female
characters are portrayed through their words and actions. The
next step is to reevaluate literature and the world in which
literature is read by looking into the society to which it was
meant to represent. This paper will look into describing how the
gender influences and the text interpretation is intertwined and
embodied in the text.

In hand with the Feminist Approach, this paper would also

synergize its finding to the Historical Criticism Approach as it
explores and justifies the roots and the evolution of the concept
of Feminism in the short story. With the notion that giving value
to the historical contexts of literary pieces are essential for
understanding them, Historical Critics Approach is defined by
McNiel (1998) as a way of providing a context of background
information that is necessary for comprehending the text as it
reflects the ideas and attitudes of the time in which it was
written. McNiel (1998) also argued about a new historicist
criticism approach, which is in contrast with the “old
historicism” that only looks at literary works “with a sense of
the time and place of its creation”, the “new historicism” is
concerned with the ideological products that are culturally
constructed from the prevailing power structures that are
dominating particular societies as part of the period. This will
be a relevant point that will be considered in the paper.
 According to Bull and Paille (2015), Historical Criticism’s
goal is to have a greater understanding of a literary text by
analyzing the historical and social contexts in which it is
developed. One of the resounding questions that this form seeks
to answer is “What did the author intend for this text to mean in
his or her time and place?”. Other important questions that
historical criticism finds essential to dwell on are “Who wrote
it?”, “When was it written?”, “What else was happening at the
time of its writing?”, How did it come to be in the form we have
it today?”, and What did it mean to the people who first read and
heard it?”.

In this paper, the literary piece that will be analyzed is

the short story entitled, “The Summer Solstice” by Nick Joaquin,
one of the most celebrated writers and journalists in the
Philippines. A proof of his prowess in writing is his Philippine
National Artist for Literature Award that was inducted to him in
the year 1976. Carballo (2015) regarded “The Summer Solstice” as
one of the most acclaimed and most controversial pieces that
Joaquin had written, aside from it being also the author’s
favorite tale. This is because of the unique view of the story as
it challenges norms in the society with regards to gender roles.
This short story is even archived in the Malacañan Palace
Presidential Museum & Library Website, a testament to the
outstanding literary technique exhibited in the crafting of the
literary piece as it engraved both the history and culture of the
country when it comes to the concept of gender.

Summer Solstice by Nick Joaquin is set in the time where

Filipinos are called Don and Doña and where the Spanish influence
in the way of life is still visible. The story begins by
featuring the celebration of the Feast of St. John that coincides
with the observation of the ancient ritual called Tadtarin, which
is a vital element in the story. The main character of the short
story is Doña Lupeng Moreta, a mother and is married to Don
Paeng. The presence of carriages and children’s nurses denote
that the family is well-off. “The Summer Solstice”’s main plot
focuses on the lead character as she goes through a character
development. This is Doña Lupeng’s experience in response to the
celebration of Tadtarin, that in return created an alteration of
her point-of-view towards owning to the woman that she is.

This paper would like to argue that there are two versions
of Doña Lupeng that is portrayed in the short story. The first
one is “Doña Lupeng Before the Tadtarin” as it embodies the view
of society to what a proper woman should be as engraved to the
heads of the natives for 300 years by the Spanish colonizers. On
the other hand, “Doña Lupeng After the Tadtarin” is a portrayal
of the empowered woman that realizes that she is worthy of
adoration, a resemblance to the authority women had during the
precolonial times of Philippine History. The two main occurrences
that will be considered in this paper is the ritual of Tadtarin
and the “kissing of the feet” act that has brought about two
different responses from the two versions of Doña Lupeng.

The tradition of Tadtarin is characterized as a three-day

ritual that is meant to be performed by women as they dance
around a Balete tree and seek the guidance of the god of
fertility to bless them with the children that they desire
(Carballo, 2015). Tadtarin, being part of the ancient traditions
that go way before the colonization of the Spaniards, is seen as
crude and deranged. In the first part of the short story, the
Tadtarin is seen as a mere display of women absurdity as they are
seen dancing freely on the street, but at the end, has become the
redeeming factor of Doña Lupeng’s power that is brought about by
her newfound sense of womanhood.

The behavior that is also relevant to note in the story is

the kissing of Doña Lupeng’s feet that were both performed by Don
Paeng and Guido, Don Paeng’s cousin. This act can be seen as
primitive because of the act of putting one’s lips to a body part
that is perceived to be one of the filthiest. However, this
notion is regarded as a sign of adoration and a symbol of
servanthood.

Doña Lupeng Before the Tadtarin

In this version of Doña Lupeng, one will see a woman that
has a sense of refinery and tact. She is a woman who is
contained. She also looks at vulgar acts with an eye of extreme
annoyance. This is seen in the way she looked down on Amada,
their house cook, who also took part of the Tadtarin and in the
way she perceived the men who joined the procession during St.
John’s day whom she despised for their arrogance. As a person who
believes that a woman is meant to be virtuous and reserved, she
has learned to despise any act that is otherwise. This is
exhibited in the way she moved away with great disgust when Guido
tried to kiss her feet. The act, for her, is a symbol of
vulgarity. Therefore, this elicited an aghast reaction from Doña
Lupeng, even reminding Guido that she is a married woman. Another
example of this is her negative outlook towards the Tadtarin
where women would dance on the streets without care.

These qualities of the woman can be seen in the way as the

social concepts that were handed to the society upon the arrival
of the conquerors. The heavy influence of religion had Filipinos
learn discipline, fear, and meekness that placed great benefit on
the part of the colonizers (Luna, 2016). The woman is regarded
with deep respect and that in return she must be pure and chaste.
The Church Patriarchy controls over women’s sexuality that they
are supposed to remain virgins until the day of their marriage as
an ode to the Virgin Mary (Luna, 2016). In this reason, we see a
woman that is expected to be fragile and therefore must be
protected and taken great care off.

Doña Lupeng After the Tadtarin

In this version of Doña Lupeng, a woman is regarded with a
great sense of power and control of who she is. Doña Lupeng has
regained a new sense of womanhood. This is sparked by Guido, Don
Paeng’s cousin who is studying in Europe, who also happens to be
so enthralled by the ritual of Tadtarin. Doña Lupeng found
herself in a conflict with herself. In this sense, Guido’s words
and actions ignited the interest of Doña Lupeng to witness the
ritual, thus, fueling her sense of self and what she can do as a
woman. This is fully embraced by Doña Lupeng as she let go of his
husband arms, let his hair down, tossed her head back, and joined
the dancing crowd of woman during the last day of Tadtarin.

The fullness of her transition was depicted in the encounter

of Doña Lupeng and Don Paeng after witnessing the Tadtarin. In
contrast with the previous scenario with Guido, Doña Lupeng now
demands his husband to crawl on the floor and kiss her feet after
letting him admit that he adores her. This is a total reversal of
roles between the two genders. The masculine character which is
seen as the brave and dominant one, now takes the subservient
role.
In this manner, Doña Lupeng’s full circle change is attained. At
the end, there is an embodiment of power, of accepting who she is
and taking control of herself. This can also be seen as
acceptance of women’s potential and competence to be
authoritative and to be worthy of intense adoration. This is also
the embodiment of feminism in the story as the lead character
embraces the oppressive notions of what a woman should and should
not be at once. In consequence, she realizes the great influence
that comes with being a woman.

In this story, Guido’s words have been instrumental in

marking the change in perspective of Doña Lupeng. Guido, being
seen as an enlightened gentleman by virtue of being able to study
in Europe, has given Doña Lupeng a profound outlook on the
Tadtarin by stating that, “I think it is to remind us men that
once upon a time you women were supreme and we men were the
slaves.” In this manner, his words were able to remove the
machismo outlook or the strong or aggressive masculine pride
which is associated to all men. Being a man himself, this
acknowledgement attributed to women as a higher being than men is
revolutionary. This is intensified when Guido stated that “the
queen came before the king, and the priestess before the priest,
and the moon before the sun.” This line recognizes the supremacy
of women over men, that women are meant to be prayed for and
venerated by men.

This brings us back to the reclamation of the state of women

during the precolonial societies in the country. In a TED Talk by
Villarta (2020) on the topic regarding the gender-fluid history
of the Philippines, he revealed that the Spanish Colonial
Archives shows that the pre-colonial societies were largely
egalitarian, man does not necessarily have an advantage over
women. Wives were treated as companions and not as slaves. Family
contracts were not done without their presence and approval. He
also said that in many ways women had the upper hand as a woman
could divorce her husband and own properties under her own name
which can be kept even after marriage.

In addition, Villarta (2020) said that the real key to the

power of the pre-colonial Filipino woman was in her role as a
Babaylan. This is a collective term for shamans of various ethnic
groups. They are the community healers that specialized in herbal
and divine lure who also delivered babies, performed exorcisms,
and communicated with the spirit world. The babaylan is seen and
revered as an important figure in the community who plays a vital
duty in the spiritual nourishment of the people. However, the
manner in which these precolonial socities conducted themselves
did not continue to permeate; all the free gender principles of
the earlier communities clashed viciously with the European
sensibilities at that time. Thus, the practices of the old were
regarded as crude and primitive. This is greatly seen in the
celebration of tadtarin and the view to those who practice it,
what was once an important custom to the natives in communicating
to the spiritual realm was now regarded as just a “hysterical
female horde” act.

Nick Joaquin’s “Summer Solstice” brought an unconventional

concept in a time where women are expected to be prim and proper,
and where not having these qualities is seen by society as lewd
or obscene. It reminds the readers of the almost forgotten but
important legacy of gender equality that pervaded in the blood of
Filipinos before the Spaniards spend the next 300 years trying to
change the social construct when it comes to the role and
character of women in the society.

The Feminist Literary Criticism argues that women are

historically defined and presented in literature as mere objects
on the point of view of the male gender. (Napikoski, 2019)
However, this short story is different as it shows itself as a
reminder of the capability of women, a shift of perspective from
looking at women as tamed and virtuous individuals to free and
powerful human beings. It gives rise to the concept of women
being respected at their own right and adored for everything that
they are, with no reservations.

“The Summer Solstice” screams women empowerment by reaching

out to the roots of the past as it localizes it in the Philippine
context. It is a striking reminder of the real status of women in
the country before another race explored and engraved the island
with their foreign values. The indigenous Filipino women before
Magellan laid his feet in the seashores of Cebu, enjoyed the same
benefits as men; they could inherit their own property, engage in
business exchanges, and join politics without the doubt of not
being good enough for the position.

The story clutches into the reality where women should be

accepted in all spectrum of their qualities. It serves as a
reminder for young Filipino girls of their roots. This is to
break free from social norms and own their feminine qualities and
use it as strength rather than looking at it as a set of
weaknesses. This also shows how women in the Philippines are
generally, by nature, seen as equal to men.

More than reflecting the reality to which it is built on,

the power of literature is to move its readers to take action or
to be able to repel the oppressive pattern through the readers
that the literary piece extends to. It serves as the charge to
which patriarchy can be talked about and addressed. In a world
where women are seen as disadvantaged as compared to men, the
short story depicts the “truth” of the Philippine society. That
is behind the underlying issue of patriarchy, there was a time
before the invasion of conquerors that women are seen as supreme
being, mighty, and worthy of veneration. This was even before
women were constrained by the chains of social relations and
norms.

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Criticism?. Retrieved from http://queergrace.com/historical-
criticism/

Carballo, B. (2015, March 13). Women celebrate superiority over

men. Retrieved from
https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2015/03/13/1432921/wom
en-celebrate-superiority-over-men

Crossman, A. (2019, October 25). Feminist Theory in Sociology.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-theory-
3026624

Lewis, J. (2019, October 6). The Core Ideas and Beliefs of

Feminism. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-
feminism-3528958
Luna, N. (2016 March 31). Patriarchy, Manny Pacquiao and Madonna.
Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/views/imho/126707-
patriarchy-manny-pacquiao-madonna

McNiel, A. (1998). Critical Theory: Approaches to the Analysis

and Interpretation of Literature.
Napikoski, L. (2019, August 11). Feminist Literary Criticism.
Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literary-
criticism-3528960
Rodriguez, L. (1990). Patriarchy and Women’s Subordination in the
Philippines. Review of Women’s Studies, 1(1), 15-25. ISSN:
0117-9489.

Villarta, F. (2020, March 9). The gender-fluid history of the

Philippines. Retrieved from
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tfzIgGmQvV3iTYjsQMaNe?
si=M5dD1Mr0SVGkDmv_RWU3RQ