Marianne Villanueva and Gilda Cordero-Fernando Write About Essay

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Marianne Villanueva and Gilda Cordero-Fernando write about their native Philippines through the eyes of daughters. Villanueva's "Lizard" encapsulates a girl's alienation and lack of self-determination. Cordero-Fernando's "Bushouse" provides poignant insight into nearly the opposite dynamic, as the narrator discovers a sense of belonging within the community in spite of sexism, racism, and classism. The point-of-view of a daughter enables a rich, multifaceted, and nuanced perspective on issues related to race, gender, social status, and especially power.

While the two stories share in common a cultural milieu, they differ widely in terms of tone, style, and diction. The last lines of each story provide particularly rich insight into the differential motives of their authors, through the voices of their respective narrators. Wito of Villanueva's "Lizard" ends her story with a negative realization about sexism, racism, and power structures in society. Power is meted out according to sharp patriarchal norms, which are as inflexible as a lizard's "long, pointed teeth." The phallic imagery of these "long, pointed teeth" corresponds with the ancient animal symbol that a lizard represents: thus, something immutable and unchangeable. Wito suggests that patriarchy and outmoded social codes are ingrained in society; they are as timeless as the lizard. Moreover, Wito hints at the possibility of only offering a silent retaliation, given the lizard appears only as a shadow. It is the reflection of something, an illusion, rather than a tangible thing.

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There may in fact be a kernel of hope embedded in Wito's narrative, even if her tone remains positively pessimistic. Wito's perspective on Philippine culture is that patriarchal norms have infiltrated even the minds and consciousness of women. Her mother, and the nun serve in antagonistic roles and do not permit Wito to flourish. Wito therefore finds herself torn and caught between two cultures, two perspectives, and two ways of life. The ambivalence and confusion in the ending reflects Wito's pessimism.

The narrator of Bushouse, on the other hand, indicates a far more optimistic outlook on the future of her culture and community. Throughout the story, imagery of patriarchy is embedded everywhere: in the mother's hard work and her perceived dirtiness as she scrubs herself to "atone for yesterday," (4). Yet like dirt and all else that accumulates during the day, renewal and hope are the promises of tomorrow. The final lines of Cordero-Fernando's short story reveal the delightful paradox between permanence and impermanence. Whereas Villanueva suggests that paradox cannot be resolved in ways that are peaceful and leading to self-efficacy, Cordero-Fernando hints at the opposite. The narrator describes their "impermanent kingdom," a phrase that is oxymoronic in nature, as a kingdom is something entirely grand and lasting but….....

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