Reading Notes: Week 9, Filipino Tales, Part A

The dialect and language of this story is fairly simple and elementary which gives it great potential for retelling a story. The ruler of a city has a son named Ucay which is the main protagonist of the story. Similar to Romeo and Juliet, Ucay falls in love with a woman who is not accepted by his father. This makes me wonder: did Ucay like growing up in a family with such high expectations? His character seems rebellious for going against the standards set in a high class family. The woman Ucay loves also happens to be a witch. Her character could serve as a source of inspiration for my portfolio project as it flows with my general theme thus far. From the fact that Ucay did not tell his father about his forbidden love affair, one can infer that this father-son relationship is most likely not secure. Also, the way his father goes on a search for women and brings them into the house shows how he is focused on reputation. The process essentially objectifies women as he lines them up to be judged by the prince. Eventually we see, however, that upon delay of Ucay, his father makes the decision which only intensifies the antagonistic motives of  this character. Was this his father's instincts kicking in maybe having something to do with the witch? Because it is soon revealed, that out of anger, the witch puts a curse on the prince for being put in a situation of an arranged marriage. Did the witch know it was not Ucay's fault this happened? Did the witch do this to prevent or maybe even protect Ucay from marrying another woman? Regardless, Ucay was betrayed, which leads me to think their secretive relationship was not built on the foundations of love to begin with.

Cute monkey, Needpix

Bibliography: Bibliography: P.D.L Sorreta, Filipino Tales: The Enchanted Prince (link)