GROUP

8
HANNILYN FLORENTINO
MARIA FHEBIE KATE ALSAYBAR
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
December 16, 1925 August
19, 2011
She was a renowned and
highly respected, essayist and
journalist
She graduated from the Far
Eastern University Girls' High
School
she transferred schools to
Arellano University, where she
attended the writing classes
In 1944, she enrolled in the
University of the Philippines
School of Nursing, but the
Battle of Manilaput a halt to
her studies.
The Virgin, won two first
KERIMA prizes: of the
POLOTAN Philippines Free PressLiterary
Awards and of thePalanca
-TUVERA Awards
She wrote a biography of
Imelda Marcos in 1970
The
Virgin
 Setting
Place:
*(Main) the urban city, mostly in the job
placement agency that the protagonist
works at.
*(Minor) the jeepney rides that the
protagonist takes on her way home
*the street island that she goes down on
from the jeepney
Time: set during the 1950s (as seen
when the author wrote the story) and
mostly focuses during the afternoon till
evening.
 Plot
Introduction
It was a typical day for Miss Mijares, a 34-year old
woman who works at a job placement agency.
Thoughts filled her mind and she realized, to her
disappointment that love and marriage have eluded
her all these years due to spending most of her
adult life caring for her mother and a niece to put
through school.
 Rising action
The next job seeker enters her office and gives her his
documents. She is unnerved when he held her slightly
broken paperweight in his hands and fixed. She
assigned the man to work at the woodcraft section and
discussed with him his schedule of work and salary.
One day, Miss Mijares came by the woodcraft to check
on the workers. She asked Ato, her foreman about the
salary of the man and found out that he was only
receiving three pesos, but then asked if it could be for
3.50 pesos. Ato agrees. The carpenter stops Mijares
along a pathway in the compound and thanks her; but
 Climax
The new hand was absent for the week; and so, Miss
Mijares waited on that Tuesday to confront the
carpenter. He tells her that he went to the province
because his son died, which upsets Miss Mijares
further, as he never spoke of a child, or a wife to
begin with to the agency. He tells her, grinning
stupidly, that he is not married to the mother of his
child. Miss Mijares looks away, sick all at once and
says that he shouldve told the agency everything
that was significant to know, and that Your lives are
our business here.
 Falling
action
She flagged a jeep, got in, and the the
carpenter jumps in after; feeling of dread
comes in once more as the driver switches
route from the normal one. The driver stopped
the vehicle and told the passengers that they
have to get down because it is how far the
jeepney is going, since the Main street is a
block, straight ahead. and telling them that
he will never be able to sift through the traffic.
Miss Mijares stepped down and the carpenter
 Denouement
The two find themselves standing on the sidewalk in
front of a boarded store. He apologizes, saying
Maam, Im sorry if you thought I lied. In the rain,
and Miss Mijares allows herself to be led by her
feelings for the carpenter; wildly thinking that that
she must get away as he moved and brushed
against her. Her flesh leapt as she recalled the first
time they met in her office, and when he fixed her
paperweight. And she tuirned to him; with her
ruffles wet and wilted, in the dark she turned to
Symbol
s:
The wooden bird paperweight

In English Romanticism and poetry, birds symbolize sacrifice,

change of fortune or purity and innocence.

In The Virgin, the undistinguised, badly done bird could convey

several meanings between Miss Mijares and the man. For miss
Mijares it could pertain to her life, as an unfulfilled woman, being
virgin and unmarried at the age of 34. It suddenly looked like a
dove conveys the hope , love, promise that Miss Mijares might
expect from the man.

For the man, it could mean that he has finally come to take Miss
Mijares purity and realize her secret short-lived thoughts about
love, as shown when he tightened the screws and dusted it
eys detour

The jeepneys detour on several occasions as Miss Mijares

heads home suggests a diversion of route.

According to an online dream interpreter, to see as a

detour in ones dream suggests that one has encountered
an obstacle in some aspect of his/ her life. He/She may not
want to confront something directly, and thus is trying to
find a way around it.

Miss Mijares could not admit openly (or maybe even to

herself) that her physical need in secret short-lived
thoughts on love is burning
her within, and so she masks it with aloof , superior
attitude.
 The dream of
being lost
To dream that you are lost suggests that
you have lost your direction in life or you
have lost sight of your goals. You maybe
feeling worried and insecure about the
path you are taking in life.

In this symbol, Miss Mijares is shown as

someone who, because of other priorities
in life, have lost sight of her dream of
becoming a mother and wife.
feminism
femnizm/
noun
the advocacy of women's rights on
the grounds of political, social,
and economic equality to men.
synonyms:the women's
movement,the feminist
movement,women's liberation
,female
for social, political and economic
equality for women, originated in 1848
when a group of women gathered at
the Seneca Falls Convention to discuss
women's rights.

Since then, feminism has occurred in

waves, which are characterized by
organized, large-scale efforts to
increase the rights of women.

The 1950s occurred between the first

and second waves of feminism.
However, despite the lack of organized
advocacy, the actions of feminists
during this decade resulted in major
Employment
Due to the need for workers to replace the
jobs of men who were deployed overseas
during World War II, many women began
working outside of the home.

In addition, women who had held jobs prior

to the war were given the opportunity to
work in better jobs and receive more pay
due to the opening of positions that were
previously male-dominated.

After the war ended in 1945, women

experienced great social and political
pressure to leave their jobs and return to
being homemakers which continued into the
1950s.
While some women did so, many
continued to work outside the home.
The social and cultural impact of
women's wartime labor participation
and the refusal of many women to leave
their jobs greatly influenced later efforts
to secure equal pay for women and fight
sex-segregation in labor markets.

http://classroom.synonym.com/femini
sm-1950s-9814.html
 The rainstorm
Rain is a symbol that holds varied meanings. Emotionally, rain
symbolizes tears, sadness frustration. On the other hand, it
could also mean cleansing, washing away of sadness and
rebirth since rains nourishes humans, crops and animals. Its a
symbol of taking away the dark and the old to make way for
new things. This is also seen as a symbol of change in some
circumstances.

When during a rainy afternoon that both of them were stranded

in an unfamiliar, dark street, Miss Mijares, driven by her
feelings and emotion, finally gave in to the mans invitation.

Confli Man vs. Himself
ct Miss Mijares vs. Her close mind and heart on the
possibilities to have a companion.

Man vs. Circumstances

Miss Mijares vs. The illness of her mother

Man vs. Man

Miss Mijares vs. The feelings of the carpenter to her

Man vs. Society

 Point of view
Third Person Limited: Third person limited is similar to the
omniscient point of view, but it is a limited viewpoint. The
narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character.
Source: https://wikis.engrade.com/pointofview

The short story only focuses on Miss Mijares point of view, thus
the readers knowing more about the depth of her character.
 Theme
It is easier to find fault in others and criticize them
than it is to do the same to oneself. The main
character is unmarried, 34 years old, works at a job
placement center, cares for her mother, and is
working to put her niece through school. Her
condescending attitude towards others keeps her
locked in her own world, obliged to help everyone but
herself.
 Miss Mijares did not look 34. She was

Characters:
slight, almost bony, but she had
learnt early to dress herself to
achieve the illusion of the hips and
bosom that really were not there.
-p.201

She is a virgin slight

who spent almost bony
most of her life smooth and clear
caring for her brow
mother. thin, pinched face
small and angular
She like to crows feet
wear ruffled lippy, almost
and pastel- sensual pout
colored illusion of hips and
clothes. bosom
College graduate,
She wants to HR officer
Miss Mijares beloved and to
get married.
 A tall, big man, walking with an economy
of movement, graceful and light, a man
who knew his body and used it well.
-p200

He applied tall
in the Big
agency graceful
light
where Miss big, strong
Mijares wrists
worked. old, pressed
clothes
He was the heaving body
unmarried, but
one who has a son
fullfill Miss high school
The Carpenter Mijares graduate
THE
END