Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez

Characters
Main Characters
Alfredo Salazar
He is a lawyer and a man who is afflicted with the love of two women, his wife Esperanza and
another woman Julia Salas. His father Don Julian is a wealthy man and takes him with himself
on his visits to Judge Del Valle.
It is here that Alfredo meets Julia. He decides to go ahead with the marriage to Esperanza under
the duress of social and public humiliation. However, he holds on to the notion of unfulfilled
destiny with Julia which hampers her marital bond with his wife.
Esperanza 
She a woman of exquisite beauty, charm and wit. She takes care of her house and family.
However, she suffers from the lust for material wealth and reputation. She is married to Alfredo
after he woos her aggressively.
She marries him even after learning about his dalliance with Julia. She is a person who knows
how to take care of herself and exudes an air of self-service. Even though they live amicably,
their marriage never resounds of the love that Alfredo showed during the early part of their
courtship.
Julia Salas 
She is the other woman in the life of Alfredo Salazar. She is a thoughtful, beautiful and winsome
woman who is good at conversing on different and profound issues. She is energetic, enigmatic
and vital, a complete opposite of Alfredo. This may be one of the reasons he gravitates toward
her.
She meets Alfredo when he visits her brother-in-law (a Judge), as she stays in his place. She
never truly loves Alfredo and that is apparent by her dispassion toward him when he visits her
toward the end of the story. Yet, she never marries and remains a spinster.
Secondary Characters
Alfredo’s family
It consists of his old father, Don Julian. He is a man of wisdom and advises Alfredo about the
dangers of prolonging courtship and engagement without a proper marriage. Alfredo has a
sister, Carmen, a caring and compassionate woman and her husband, Vicente.
Julia’s family
Julia stays with her brother-in-law, Judge Del Valle and happens to be the Salazar’s neighbour.
She has a sister, Donna Adella who is a beautiful woman with chubby features.  Her husband
is Dionisio.
Other Characters
Calixta 
She is a friend of Esperanza. She lives with her lover even without marriage and becomes the
reason for the exposition of Alfredo’s deceit and hypocrisy.
Brigida Samuy 
The woman Alfredo is sent to learn about as part of his professional work. She lives near the
hometown of Julia and becomes the means for a reunion with what he thought was his lost
opportunity at love and happiness.
Setting
Dead Stars Setting
The story uses the third-person voice and is set in the early 1900s. The story is set in Don
Julian’s and Judge Del Valle’s houses located in the Philippines. It foreshadows the social make-
up and dominant views of the place at that time.
The society is male-dominated and represent the features of such a social setup. As the author is
a female writer placed in a male-dominated age and World, the story became a precursor to the
growth of Filipino English literature.
In a patriarchal society, man is the ultimate authority in defining norms, moral or otherwise.
Women are secondary and precluded group when it comes to deciding the dominant idea and
pervasive issues. But the woman is not just anti-man or inadequate-man; she is also what man
can never be.
This necessitates the balance between the two and if this equilibrium is challenged by
revolutionary or reformist zeal than it is often stifled and silenced. They both cannot exist
unilaterally or autonomously and need mutual reaffirmation by each other.

Morals
Dead Stars Moral Lesson
The story is infused with moral and intellectual approaches highlighting the values and morals in
place in that age, culture and place. Historicism and the historical context of the story give it
salience in terms of understanding the thoughts and subsequent actions of the characters like
Alfredo, Julia, Esperanza etc.
It depicts a plethora of battles that a human being is involved depending on the circumstances
and interactions with other human beings. Characters like Alfredo, Julia etc are fighting not just
against the odds fate has put before them but also their circumstances, public and moral
obligations.
To make matter worse they are also embroiled in a battle against their own emotions and
understanding, a battle within themselves. They lack the certainty of thought, sentiments for each
other and thus their actions (Lies, ridicule, insults etc) reflect their ambiguity and desperation. 
Paz Marquez’s penmanship mirrors the dominant social views and established conventions of
literature as well society. It expounds various human emotions (like affection, compassion,
jealousy, concupiscence etc.) and relationships involvement (like betrothal, courtship, friendship,
professional obligations etc.).
Thus, it creates a veritable knowledge base to contrast and compares the society of her age and
place with the contemporary or any other age. It provides a lens to make meaning about the
extant culture, customs, traditions etc.
Consequently, it reflects the malleability of such social mores, practices and customs with a
corresponding change in time and even landscape. Both the leading women conform to the
masculine dominant and their ideology. They remain loyal to the man in their lives, Alfredo.
Hence, they both never criticize or lament Alfredo’s lies and deceit but acquiesce to his manly
exceptionalism.  Alfredo. On the other hand, is portrayed as weak-willed, easily seducible,
contorted with his changing emotions and vulnerable to irrational actions.
Eventually, he surrenders to the social expectations and does the moral good even though he
ends up building a loveless home with Esperanza, his first love.

Symbolism
Dead Stars Symbolism
The ‘Dead Stars’ represent a presence that is unrecognized. It speaks of emotions and
relationships that may exist but are not realized and lose their real meaning and significance.
In the story, the attraction between Alfredo and Julia is a forbidden and taboo phenomenon. They
both felt is to be real but never accepted their mutual attraction nor confessed it. They wilted to
the social expectations and did the morally ordained thing.
However, the truth remains that they never intently examined their sentiments and relationship.
Therefore, when they reunite after eight years they do not have the same passion for each other.
Their emotions became a transient and fleeting occurrence, much like the stars that are left as
relics of their old glory and shine. These stars are dormant and the fire within them is vanquished
but they remain as obtrusive reminders of their tangible existence.
They are an illusion of something that might have been lively and thriving previously, evidence
of their vital past. But now they are a mere illusion of something that cannot be revived.
Even the moral fortitude of Esperanza is symbolized in her devotion to her husband even after
learning about his dalliance with Julia. She has a strong belief in the institution of marriage and
loyalty and fulfils her commitment for the same even though she might not ever truly love
Alfredo.