The Virgin
A Character Analysis of Kerima Polotan Tuvera’s The Virgin
Kerima Polotan-Tuvera’s “The Virgin” is a short story that is centered on two characters namely Miss Mijares and The Carpenter. The title “The Virgin” reflects the subject virginity which is an important and cherished value for Filipinos. A Filipina should be proud to have maintained her virginity but in the case of the thirty-four-year-old Miss Mijares, she is ashamed of it. In her thirty-four years of existence, she had never been committed in a relationship. When she was younger, there had been other things to do and she never put love on top of her priorities. She had college to finish, a niece to put through school, and a mother to take care. Her duties became hindrances for her to be in a relationship. Miss Mijares’ childhood experiences and duties affected her personality. Miss Mijares is a thirty-four-year-old woman who works at a job placement agency. The first encounter of the two characters is at the job interview. The way Miss Mijares treat him is as aloof and cold just like the way she treated her other interviewees. She looks at herself as superior which explains the impolite language she uses to communicate with them. According to the text “When she was younger, there had been other things to do-college to finish, a niece to put through school, a mother to care for.” Her childhood experiences affected the way she is now, it greatly affected her personality. According to the theory of Sigmund Freud namely Psychoanalytic Theory of Freud, a person’s childhood experience and unconscious mind contributes to his or her personality (Cherry). The way Miss Mijares keep her distance from other people and the way she talk to them serve as a defense mechanism. Her unsociable manners coupled with frank and abrupt way of speech is a disguise for her loneliness. For nine years she dutifully looks out for the needs of her mother. For nine years she doesn’t think about her own happiness for she
Kerima Polotan-Tuvera’s “The Virgin” is a short story that is centered on two characters namely Miss Mijares and The Carpenter. The title “The Virgin” reflects the subject virginity which is an important and cherished value for Filipinos. A Filipina should be proud to have maintained her virginity but in the case of the thirty-four-year-old Miss Mijares, she is ashamed of it. In her thirty-four years of existence, she had never been committed in a relationship. When she was younger, there had been other things to do and she never put love on top of her priorities. She had college to finish, a niece to put through school, and a mother to take care. Her duties became hindrances for her to be in a relationship. Miss Mijares’ childhood experiences and duties affected her personality. Miss Mijares is a thirty-four-year-old woman who works at a job placement agency. The first encounter of the two characters is at the job interview. The way Miss Mijares treat him is as aloof and cold just like the way she treated her other interviewees. She looks at herself as superior which explains the impolite language she uses to communicate with them. According to the text “When she was younger, there had been other things to do-college to finish, a niece to put through school, a mother to care for.” Her childhood experiences affected the way she is now, it greatly affected her personality. According to the theory of Sigmund Freud namely Psychoanalytic Theory of Freud, a person’s childhood experience and unconscious mind contributes to his or her personality (Cherry). The way Miss Mijares keep her distance from other people and the way she talk to them serve as a defense mechanism. Her unsociable manners coupled with frank and abrupt way of speech is a disguise for her loneliness. For nine years she dutifully looks out for the needs of her mother. For nine years she doesn’t think about her own happiness for she