Philippine E-Journals

MOTHER VERSUS DAUGHTER: IDENTIFYING THE FEMALE ARCHETYPES AND THEIR CONFLICTS IN NICK JOAQUIN’S “THE WOMAN WITH TWO NAVELS”

Tara Crishia Victorino | Joycelyn Espana | Julaila Velez | Virgilind Palarca

 

Abstract:

The Philippines has a long history of being conquered by the male-dominated west. We see evidences of these patriarchal politics through our literature. Most of these works are included in the Filipino literary canon. But there is an argument whether or not these required reading which actually perpetuated the sexist myths that prevailed in our society. Every after year, the students are presented with material teeming with sexual stereotypes that students do not easily recognize.

Nick Joaquin is typically found in required reading lists. His award-winning novel “The Woman who had Two Navels” (1961) has been read in classrooms usually in the patriotic context. The aim of this study is to reread this classic literary masterpiece, and to identify the female archetypes present within, and to show their anti and pro feminist implications. The researchers used textual analysis to identify the images of women characters present in the novel, juxtaposing them against Female Archetypes based on Johnson’s classifications. Through textual analysis, the researchers provided textual evidences to support the claims. Tables were used as tally sheets. The results showed that the female protagonists depict multiple female archetypes that made the mother-daughter relationship of Concha and Connie very complex. Their contradicting archetypes prove that there is a male constructed competition between them. The novel is clearly more than just Joaquin’s account of the travails of post-Spanish Philippines. It is a reflection of a universal phenomenon of the male constructed competition between women. The archetypes are clearly antifeminist and therefore the novel should be read with care especially in the classroom.