DEAD STARS

Dead Stars is a short story by Paz Marquez Benitez, written in 1925. The story is all about the forbidden love and conflict in choosing between what you want and what you have, that every one of us may encounter in our lives. The story revolves around Alfredo Salazar and two women; Esperanza which is his fiancé and Julia Salas a girl from out of town. It started when the main character, Alfredo, his sister and his father were talking about the relationship of Alfredo and Esperanza until he reminisce Julia, a girl he met in the house of Judge Del Valle. Alfredo is a lawyer that’s why he is always in the house of the Judge. In the beginning the relationship of Alfredo and Esperanza was full of enthusiasm, full of love and happiness. But like other long term relationships, their feelings for each other changes as time goes by. Alfredo and Julia started to talk and meet each other all the times and that time Alfredo knows that he is already fall in love with Julia, even if he has a fiancé. After a procession in Calle Real, Julia found out that Alfredo is already engaged to someone and goodbye to him. Alfredo went to home and Esperanza told him that she knows everything with Julia and say the last words. Esperanza and Alfredo continue their marriage and after eight years, because of Alfredo is working in the case and finding a girl in Sta. Cruz, the home town of Julia Salas. He went to Julia’s house and they meet again. Julia is still single but Alfredo noticed that Julia had changed. Alfredo realized that the love he has for Julia was like a dead star, it doesn’t exists anymore.

The title itself “Dead Stars” symbolizes the love that he had for Julia, it existed but now, it is nowhere to be found because it was already faded. Paz Marquez Benitez uses symbolic events that illustrate Filipino culture where society greatly affects how we make decisions. Judgemental society will lead you to do the decisions that you never wanted to choose. Alfredo shows that he is weak in making mistakes and weak for being too easy to fall inlove in just a second.

In the story, traditional gender roles were portrayed in every characters. Esperanza was just a typical woman waiting for his fiancé’s decision. She even has an idea at first that her love is eyeing for other woman. While Alfredo shows that he is a man that will never be contented in the love he has for his fiancé because it still change even though he offers Esperanza a ring to marry him. Julia Salas clearly shows that she's not a girl who will run after to a man that will never be with her and never been hers.

This short story made me realize that no matter what happen, when the feelings that you have will change you will no longer can control the things even if its right or wrong. But as time passes, the love that you have in just a mistake can be fade until it will not exists.