MAY DAY EVE

May Day Eve is a horror love story with a theme “Love is not founded on magic”, Love
grows and blossoms by respect and acceptance by both the lovers. This story is a third person
omniscient, which means the narrator knows everything about the events, characters, and world in the
story.

In the story May Day Eve women is represented by Dona Agueda as fearful and no choice
of her own wherein she is forced to marry a man she doesn’t like and her whole life become miserable
because of bitter marriage. Dona Agueda is also a bold, liberated and non-conformist young woman as
the author Nick Joaquin portrays her in the story, he also carefully depicted the status of Filipino
Women had during in the past. He also wants to show that we are forced to believe that men are
superior and women are born to serve men.

Enjoying is not bad but we should know our limitations in the beginning of the story old
people are very cautious and conservative especially to women which it is said that “girls were promptly
herded upstairs to the bedroom”, even men are disconsolate because the night is still young, men and
women are separated immediately. Men stayed alone and not convince and still make ways to see
women they like. “Girls were disrobing upstairs in the bedroom scattered screaming to windows”, in this
line shows how flirty the girls are and very obvious that they knew and like the intentions of the men
down the street. Being a woman you should always be extra careful to everything; actions or gestures
and to how you speak unlike to men they are free to do everything they want without judgements ,
people around will just feel pity and understand them but when woman made a mistake it looks like
they were very dirty or sinful kind of person just like the old Anastasia said, “How carefree were men but
how awful to be a girl” she throw this line after she saw girls giggling by the window to men outside the
street.

The old Anastasia shared a story about the first day of May where according to her
witches are present at night and it is night of divination, night of lovers and you can see whoever you are
fated to marry in the mirror, The girls did not believe hey they think the old woman is

A literary analysis of Nick Joaquin “May Day Eve”

https://www.paperpublications.org/upload/book/A%20Literary%20Analysis%20of%20Nick%20Joaquin
%E2%80%99s-1096.pdf
“
Charms like yours have no need for a candle, fair one” in this line where Don Badoy said to
Dona Agueda smiling at her in the mirror and steeping back to give her a mocking bow, then
she glared at him and burst into laughter. It was the time Dona Agueda saw herself in the
mirror with Don Badoy, they both shared a conversation where Don Badoy wanted to dance the
polka with her but Dona Agueda doesn’t want to make dance with him, but still he wanted her
to take some dance with her. Dona Agued who really hate Don Badoy, “you go to Europe and
you come back elegant lords and we poor girls are too tame to please.” where in this line he
told Don Badoy.
Suddenly the candle dropped down from her hand, and Don Badoy where conscience-
stricken and tell her not to cry and forgive her, he groped and found his hand touched her lips.
Dona Agueda forcing herself to let her go, she pulled his hand to her mouth and bit in, bit it
sharply he cried with pain and lashed cut with his other hand. But instead of getting some
revenge he falls in love with her. “But Judas! He remembered her bare shoulders: gold in her
candlelight and delicately furred. He saw the mobile insolence of her neck, and her taut breasts
steady in the fluid gown” in this line Don Badoy Montiya have some desire with Dona Agueda
and didn’t want to take retaliation for biting his knuckles.
It was May, Don Badoy still remembers the moment he meant Dona Agueda where he
can’t forgive her by giving him so much pain, that night while going to the “sala” dining room
and witness his grandson wanted to watch at the mirror to look for his wife, but the old Don
Badoy sat down put his cane and talked to his grandson Voltaire that it was just a tale and he
will just saw a witch at the mirror. Don Badoy shares that he experiences it, "Exactly! A witch so
horrible you may die of fright. And she will be witch you, she will torture you, she will eat, your
heart and drink your blood!" in this line Don Badoy tell his grandson what did the witch did to
him, but his grandson says it was 1890 and there are no witches anymore, but he refused and
tell him he himself saw a witch. “She bewitched me and she tortured me. I She ate my heart
and drank my blood." said the old man bitterly.” In this line Don Badoy tell his grandson the
moment he saw the witch. Voltaire who was listening and asked his grandpa if the witch was
horrible but Don Badoy replied this line, "Horrible? God, no she was the most beautiful creature
I have ever seen! Her eyes were somewhat like yours but her hair was like black waters and her
golden shoulders were bare. My God, she was enchanting! But I should have known I should
have known even then---the dark and fatal creature she was.”
 Don Badoy remembers the love of his life where dead, Donya Agued who she really loves
the most and never told it to her, how much he really and deeply in love with her back from the
start he remembers all the moments they had together where his tears fall down to his cheeks
wherever the importance of May day eve.