Magnificence Critical Essay

Magnificence: The Invisible Hand of a Mother
During the early 20th century most women would prefer to work at home, stereotypically
as either housewives or as weavers even though most gender barriers in the labor force were
removed by then. The woman in Estrella Alfons short story, Magnificence, is a mother of
two whom resides in the years before the Japanese Invasion (1900 to 1939). A reader could
assume that this woman was alienated to her children due to the heavy load of daily household
chores and coordinating the neighborhood association. Often, she would be treated as a passive
antagonist character throughout the early parts of the short story and deemed magnificent in the
latter. However looking at circumstances, such as her sense of dignity and responsibilities at both
at home and in the association, the reader must doubt whether she was truly passive in the
beginning, or she was magnificent throughout.
Note that in the first few paragraphs, Alfon portrayed the mother as someone who had
eyes that held pride and exhibited maternal gloating. She exhibited similar characteristics
to that of an antagonistic woman in the first parts whereas on the latter part, after she had drove
Vicente out into the darkness, she was described as a magnificent and loving mother. Often, a
reader would sympathize with characters who they could plausibly relate with. Whereas younger
readers would feel the same feeling of arrogance towards the mother since she represents an
existence which opposes to the wants of her children. However, if a reader assumed the
perspective of a parent, one would see the sense of pride and protection she presents to the
children, which is magnificent in itself.
Her magnificence was portrayed even in the early parts of the story, cloaked in deeds
similar to that of our mothers. Though passed off as the cause of the latter events, she searched
for a tutor for the good of her children. Though the manner it was presented was molded such
that readers would portray it as the mothers exhaustion from daily chores and her liberation of
having to take care of the children. It had cloaked the mothers intentions for the children such
that she seemed against the thought of helping her children with their homeworks. However, she
wasnt only concerned with her children but also for Vicente. She pitied the way her children
asked for material needs from the man, saying that hes only a bus conductor implying that
Vicente had a low income as is, whilst defending Vicentes intentions against her husbands
suspicions, I have watched him with the children, he seems to dote on them. This exchange
presented a build up of hype as the mother changes colors, becoming more noticeable in the
story.
This gradient of change is also displayed in the metaphor of light or illumination. As she
discovers what Vicente had done, she was describe as advancing into the light. During the
build-up to the climax, she had been in the shadows and slowly being transfigured by some
sort of glow. This exemplifies her change of face, as she openly presents herself as a
magnificent entity opposed to Vicentes darkness. Her magnificence was amplified by the
realization of the darkness of Vicentes light, which had overpowered her previous deeds and
thus most readers would denote this as her only magnificent moment in the story. Though
toned down, this glow still flickered after the confrontation as she put the little girl to sleep.
She was magnificent not only in the latter part of the story, but throughout. The
contrasting levels of magnificence were able to magnify the climax as it had presented the
mothers shift from a flickering entity in the early parts of the story, shinning in the background,
to a transfiguring glow which was able to overcome an opposing false light. Alfons style had
dimmed the presence of the mothers magnificence in the first few paragraphs such that it was
overpowered by the climax, which had both positive and negative effects on the mothers image.
By dimming it in the start, the mother was treated as an antagonist to Vicentes plot of teaching
the children however the role reversal made it such that the mothers magnificence shined
brighter than normal since it was not that evident in the earlier parts. As if holding a candle
against the light of the sun, the dimmer magnificence was made insignificant by the bright
however by removing the light from that of the sun, the magnificence is brighter than it seems.

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Magnificence: The Invisible Hand of a Mother

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