DARYLL DELGADO

-She is a brilliant fictionist in the 21st century and

the author of the short story
collection AFTER THE BODY DISPLACES WATER
-has become a more voracious reader than ever.
As a young girl, the books she read made her want
to be a detective, or a castaway sailor, a Russian
priest, a Japanese boy, or a dog.
WHAT IS A PRELUDE?
This is an event or situation that serves as an
introduction to something which is more
important.
- similar to a prologue; preludes are short pieces
that introduce something larger
- an opening act which gives a brief glimpse or
preview of something larger.
 Preludes
- is a 21st century short story written by Daryll Delgado, a
Filipino writer. The story was set in a natural setting, with a
theme of one of the issues in the Philippines: Gender
Inequality.
 Preludes

Reading the story alone, we couldn’t find signs that it

was about gender inequality. It was only the background
before the story that said it’s related to gender inequality.
 Preludes
It touches the issues on adultery and concubinage.
Adultery - a voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and
someone other than his wife or between a married woman and
someone other than her husband
Concubinage- cohabitation of persons not legally married
(Merriam-Webster.Com 2015)
Why does it seem acceptable in Philippine
society for husbands to have affairs with other
women? Is it acceptable for women?
Under Philippine law, when a woman is guilty of
adultery she commits a crime while for a man, the crime is not
adultery but concubinage.
In our country, there is one set of laws for women,
and another set of laws for men, which shows that laws in the
Philippines are patriarchal in nature, and seem to favor men over
women.
 Preludes
What does Nenita feel for her husband?
The story only delivered what had happened in a single point of
view—Nenita, the wife. She showed a behavior of not minding the
actions of her husband, by taking him back whenever her husband’s
affairs with other women become sour. She never asks, seemingly
never cares. But it cannot be considered as completely not caring for
the husband—she still took care of him.
 Nenita was also aware of how her husband’s siblings always
reminding him that he should’ve been a better man if he had chosen his
decisions wisely, which also concerns his decision of marrying Nenita.
She did not feel that sorry or feel that much grief when her
husband’s siblings died, save for one. She was also fond of Willy Revillame,
a host she had watched on TV, and whom she always waited for in her
dreams. This had also showed her unfaithfulness towards her husband,
how she wanted to take a glimpse of Willy on TV or in her dreams.
What does the story have to do with gender inequality?

It can be assumed that her husband does not like

Nenita enjoying the presence of other men, even
though he himself had been having affairs with other
women. Nenita never complained, she never asked.
She just kept taking her husband back. She still took
care of him despite his injustices and unfairness.
 Example of prelude in the story
In the introductory part of the story, it was mentioned that Nenita
did not feel comfortable around the wife of the judge because of some
rumors about her, even though she did not really care. In a single read-
through, it cannot be easily noticed. A few reads later had made things
quite clear. There had been rumors about Nenita’s husband having an
affair with the judge’s wife. Again, she didn’t care, took him back, and
nursed him back to health.
•Those were some information pointed out to be
weird. Because reading it alone would make the story
quite peculiar
Do you think there was a man being killed in the story?
Who killed the man? Explain your answer.
 There was actually a murder happened! The only
character who died was Nenita’s husband. The very beginning
of the story started as “A man died singing”. He had sung a
total of three songs before he heaved his last breath and
collapsed on a chair. It happened at the Municipal Hall. The
time was three in the afternoon. The sun was high. Heat
seeped into people’s bones. Someone’s ninth death
anniversary was being celebrated. Another man’s life in that
party ended. It ended on a high note.
How do you think he died?
How the man died was not really stated and
can only be assumed that he died from his
illness.
After few more readings, a conclusion
came, that Nenita killed her own husband.
What clues in the text helped you to reach that
conclusion?
There were times when Nenita listened to the beats
and murmurs of her husband’s heart at night.
When she heard his singing voice from the municipal
hall, she almost caught the sound of his labored breathing,
and his heart’s irregular beating.
She always nursed him back to health, but why wasn’t
she showing any signs of concern or worry?
 The conclusion matched the behavior of Nenita.
Firstly, Nenita feels nothing and still nurse him back to health when
she knew her husband’s been with other women.
The paragraph somewhere near the ending gives a clue that Nenita killed her
husband:
“She could have prepared him then that other brew her
herbalista friend had suggested at the time, the one that would make his balls
shrink, give him hallucinations, make his blood boil until his veins popped.”
 She didn’t. Of course. Because she wouldn’t
want the murder to be noticeable. Although this
could be considered as her small way of
expressing her frustration towards her husband,
it’s still like a black print among the white words.
Moreover, she didn’t seem to be so concerned
about her husband when she heard him choke.
What is the importance of the dried purple leaves?
Do you think that these were used in the story?
Nenita’s husband started getting sick, when the part of his heart that was
supposed to beat started merely murmuring and whistling. Her friend, the herbalista had
just the right concoction for the heart ailment. Even the doctors were delighted with her
husband’s progress.
The dried purple leaves, said to be from a rare vine found only in Mt. Banahaw
located up there in the North, were given by the herbalista. She did know that she would
never use it, even she wanted to keep, see, touch, and feel the soft lump of leaves in her
palm, every now and then. She derived some sense of security, a very calming sense of
power, in knowing that she had that packet hidden in one of the kitchen drawers.
The story ends with the feeling of heat. What are the many
meanings of heat in the story?
She knew of his condition. But she still laughed at her
silliness for applauding along with the audience in the hall.
That moment, she went back inside the house,
emphasizing that
it was getting very hot outside, certainly hot enough to
boil an old man’s blood and pop his veins, she added in her
thoughts. She knew. It was her. She killed her own husband.
 The story “Preludes” could hide
something suspenseful and shocking, but it
could be the possible effects of gender
inequality.
It’s plainly amazing. It may not be a happy
ending, but not a sad ending either.
•Do you think with what happened, that some kind of
justice was served? Why or why not?