Published On: "Preludes" by Daryll Delgado

“Preludes” by Daryll
Delgado
PUBLISHED ON 12/16/2016
This was an assignment assigned to me to make a report about the story. One of
our subjects includes 21st Century Literature, and it’s quite amazing how these stories
hold some hidden agendas (even if I’m just being too imaginative).
Preludes is a 21st Century short story written by Daryll Delgado, a Filipino writer.
The story was set in a natural setting with its distinct culture, with a theme of one of the
issues in the Philippines: Gender Inequality.
Reading the story alone, I couldn’t really find signs that it was about Gender
Inequality. It was only the background before the story that said it’s related to gender
inequality. Our book was quite a spoiler, but it helped me concerning my analysis.
What does the story have to do with gender inequality? That was my first
question. The story only delivered what had happened in a single point of view—Nenita,
the wife. She showed a behavior of not minding the actions of her husband, by taking
him back whenever her husband’s affairs with other women become sour. She never
asks, seemingly never cares. But it cannot be considered as completely not caring for
the husband—she still took care of him.
Nenita was also aware of how her husband’s siblings always reminding him that
he should’ve been a better man if he had chosen his decisions wisely, which also
concerns his decision of marrying Nenita. She did not feel that sorry or feel that much
grief when her husband’s siblings died, save for one. She was also fond of [1]Willy
Revillame, a host she had watched on TV, and whom she always waited for in her
dreams. This had also showed her unfaithfulness towards her husband, how she
wanted to take a glimpse of Willy on TV or in her dreams.
When Nenita suddenly woke up from her nap which she shouldn’t have, she felt
the presence of her husband and had thought that he swore at her—even though he
was at the Municipal Hall attending the death anniversary of the judge. Why? It wasn’t
mentioned. But that must be the gender inequality there. It can be assumed that her
husband does not like Nenita enjoying the presence of other men, even though he
himself had been having affairs with other women and Nenita just kept taking him back.
In the introductory part of the story, it was mentioned that Nenita did not feel
comfortable around the wife of the judge because of some rumors about her, even
though she did not really care. In a single read-through, it cannot be easily noticed. A
few reads later had made things quite clear. There had been rumors about Nenita’s
husband having an affair with the judge’s wife. Again, she didn’t care, took him back,
and nursed him back to health.
Those were some information I point out to be weird. Because reading it alone
would make the story quite peculiar. Now our book had guide questions after the story,
and question number 7 caught my attention.
Who killed the man? Explain your answer.
So there was actually a murder happened! The only character who died was
Nenita’s husband. The very beginning of the story started as “A man died singing”, and
the story went back earlier that day and led it back to the beginning, of how the man
died, which was not really stated and can only be assumed that he died from his illness.
And so I studied further, until I came to a conclusion.
How come Nenita didn’t really care when her husband had affairs with different
women, and taking him back with no questions? This aroused a few more questions.
Did Nenita gave up on her husband? If so, why would she openly take him back and
nurse him back to health?
There were times when Nenita listened to the beats and murmurs of her
husband’s heart at night. When she heard his singing voice from the Municipal Hall, she
almost caught the sound of his labored breathing, and his heart’s irregular beating. She
always nursed him back to health, but why wasn’t she showing any sings of concern or
worry whatsoever?
This brought me to the conclusion. Nenita killed her own husband.
How? That was the question. That conclusion matched the behavior of Nenita,
however, which strengthened my claim. Firstly, Nenita didn’t seem to mind about
nursing him back to health. Why would she feel nothing and still nurse him back to
health when she knew her husband’s been with other women? That was my first clue.
And it coincides with a paragraph somewhere near the ending:
“She could have prepared him then that other brew her [2]herbalista friend had
suggested at the time, the one that would make his balls shrink, give him hallucinations,
make his blood boil until his veins popped. But she didn’t, of course.”
She didn’t. Of course. Because she wouldn’t want the murder to be noticeable.
Although this could be considered as her small way of expressing her frustration
towards her husband, it’s still like a black print among the white words. Moreover, she
didn’t seem to be so concerned about her husband when she heard him choke.
She knew of his condition. But she still laughed at her silliness for applauding
along with the audience in the Hall. That moment, she went back inside the house,
emphasizing that it was getting very hot outside, certainly hot enough to boil an old
man’s blood and pop his veins, she added in her thoughts. She knew. It was her. She
killed her own husband.
Shocking. To think that a story like that could hide something sinister, but it could
be the possible effects of gender inequality. It’s plainly amazing. It may not be a happy
ending, but I don’t think it’s a sad ending either.
I praise Daryll Delgado for her fascinating work. I recommend you “Preludes”.

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“Preludes” by Daryll

Who killed the man? Explain your answer.

This brought me to the conclusion. Nenita killed her own husband.

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