Dead stars, a short story written by Paz Marquez Benitez in 1925. Philippine Modern English Literature was introduced through this story. A story that compiles everything about complicated circumstances that every man has to go through in life.
Alfredo, who was torn between doing what is right and what he wanted. Alfredo Salazar, the main character in the story. Esperanza, who is the love of Alfredo and the maiden who got engaged with Alfredo. Esperanza was beautiful woman, elegant, and not an average type of a woman. She loves Alfredo so much and trusted him with her whole heart. They have been together for four years and was meant to get married in May.
In the beginning, their relationship was full of enthusiasm, full of love and happiness. As time goes by, like the other long term relationships, their feelings for each other was being fade and change. Alfredo suddenly seemed to get cold and tired.
After four years of being engage to Esperanza, Alfredo had the thoughts of finding what he really wanted. As the wedding approached, Alfredo met Julia Salas, their neighbor’s sister-in-law, Who was just a visitor in town and been there for only six weeks. Julia, the average type, a not so beautiful but still Alfredo interest her so much. Alfredo found new happiness and starts to fall for her as their new friendship grew more. They build and found good company between themselves and Alfredo got a weekly habit to visit Julia after every Sundays mass.
One day, Alfredo’s family invited Julia’s family in their coconut plantation near their beach. It’s their chance to have a quality time together, but it is also the time to say goodbye, because Julia is planning to leave the town and go back home because she also found out that Alfredo is engaged.
Alfredo got broken hearted and made him more confused, because He is thinking of choosing Julia over his fiancée Esperanza, but Alfredo matters the most is their neighborhood thoughts about what will people will say. Despite of the happenings Alfredo married Esperanza after Julia left the town, and realizes that he was not unhappy and everything have fallen back into place. After eight years of being married to Esperanza, Alfredo still can’t get over Julia’s memories. His thoughts of Julia is hunting him, and those what-ifs thoughts. Until one day, Alfredo goes for a business trip to the town where Julia lived, and While he was there, Alfredo runs across Julia. Alfredo has never forgotten about his feelings for her, but over time, he has come to accept his marriage with his wife Esperanza. Suddenly, Alfredo realizes that the feelings he had for Julia are gone and he felt contented with his life, and just like the dead start his love for Julia had already passed away without him knowing it. All those years was like the “light of dead stars, long extinguished, yet seemingly still in their appointed places in the heavens.”

 

Dead stars, a short story written by Paz Marquez Benitez in 1925. A narrative story and it was written in third person point of view. Philippine Modern English Literature was introduced through this story. English was still a young language in the Philippines, and many of the writers using the language were still struggling with it.

Paz Marquez-Benitez her masterpiece Dead Stars, is conveying the theme that pertains to forbidden love. It says that forbidden love is only apparent, and its banes haunt the person until such time that he realizes his faults.
The underlying theme is responsibility, as shown by the story that Alfredo is engaged and will be married to Esperanza and the people expect him to get married with her.

It is entitled as Dead Stars because when stars die, their glow diminishes then eventually vanishes, like the feelings of Alfredo when he touches the hand of Julia when they see each other after a year, he realizes that the feelings that he had to her were already gone.

Paz Marquez-Benitez did not only write about a love story. It exhibits how one conquers himself by understanding his true feelings. It also reflects the time in which the literary work was written along with the language, norms and the way people think. It serves as a literary time machine for readers as it enables them to understand how courtship, marriage and fidelity were viewed through the early 1900 standards. It renders a sound comparison between the past and the present, the existing modern culture and the fading, almost obsolete tradition.

Dead stars symbolizes things that are present but are left unspoken of. The love between Alfredo and Julia seemed to be real but as time goes by the love they had got lost and fade like a dead star so the disillusionment, reminiscent of the past that doesn’t exist anymore. The illusion he harbored all these years are nothing but dead stars, long dead but emits light that seems real for the distance it has to travel, light being seen even if the source has lost its own brightness or died.
Characters:
Alfredo Salazar – son of Don Julian, a more than 30 year’s old man and a bachelor. He is engaged to Esperanza but he is in love with Julia Salas.
Esperanza – wife of Alfredo Salazar. She is a homely woman, literal minded and intensely acquisitive. She is one of those fortunate women who have the gift of uniformly beauty.
Julia Salas – sister-in-law of Judge Del Valle. She is the other girl of Alfredo Salazar thatremains single in her entire life.
Don Julian – an old man, a father of Alfredo Salazar and Carmen.Carmen – sister of Alfredo Salas.
Judge Del Valle – brother-in-law of Julia Salas.
Donna Adella — sister of Julia Salas. She is small and plump, a pretty woman with acomplexion of a baby with an expression of a likeable cow.
Calixta – note-carrier of Alfredo Salazar and Esperanza.
Dionisio – husband of Donna Adella.
Vicente – husband of Carmen.
Brigida Samuy – She is the illusive woman whose Alfredo is looking for.
Setting:
Don Julian’s house
Judge Del Valle’s house
Don Julian’s house in Tanda
Calle Real
Sta. Cruz

 

written by: Christine Baudin