May Day

A case of unfounded love: Nick Joaqin's "May Day Eve"

Rushing of decisions, flaring of passions - a perfect formula for a disastrous marriage. One May day night, Agueda looked at the mirror to see whose woman she will be, and voila she sees Badoy, which is really coincidental since Badoy only wanted to pass out quietly in bed. Badoy, being drunk and wanting to display his masculinity, thinks he can handle the situation and score a night with Agueada. But no, he made a terrible mistake of assuring himself that what he felt that night was love, while naughty Agueda believes that the man she saw in the mirror will be her husband. And thus began a case of unfounded love - more of an infatuation scene. What happened that night wasn't the start of what will seem to be a perfect and happy marriage, not a true and solid love, on the contrary, what passed between them was only an empty love, I believe.

Based on Agueda's character, she is truly capable of making rushed decisions. From the sequence in paragraphs 11-14, we can see an Agueda who is "rebellious", ready for anything, and clearly, she's not thinking things over. And just like that, she pushes forward but under that brave face, there is a coward lying underneath. In paragraph 23, she might as well have motivated herself rather than believing that there are no more Devils; her face turning pale gave it away. She is afraid yet she still moves on, unsure of what will happen. Badoy, on the other hand, happens to be drunk that night. Of course, we all know that drunken people tend to do anything and everything and they do things without giving much thought over it. So most probably, Badoy doesn't know what he's doing; he's not thinking straight; he's not in his right state of mind - which only serves as proof that what Agueda and Badoy had was only infatuation or passion. Agueda rushes with flickering indecisions, while Badoy is drunk; and there you have it, their love is that of a raging infatuation, no depth, no strong foothold, a mere "love at first sight" scenario.

"But, alas, the heart forgets; the heart is distracted; and May time passes; summer ends; the storms break over the hot-ripe orchards and the heart grows old; while the hours, the days, the months, and the years pile up and pile up, till the mind becomes too crowded, too confused: dust gathers in it; cobwebs multiply; the walls darken and fall into ruin and decay; the memory perished." Long, long after their midnight event, both of them realized that they made a mistake of following their first impulse about love; they both forgot how they "loved" each other. And the result? A very bitter marriage. Agueda recounts her experience to her daughter and she goes on to describe her husband as the Devil himself; and what she saw before is different from what she sees now. Agueda said that the man she saw in that mirror is a man with a "black, elegant mustache, and fine clothes and flashing eyes". But, the Badoy she sees now, she describes as a man with a "dirty, graying, and smell[ing] horribly of tobacco." That's a sure sign that her love didn't last. But don't think Badoy ever had a "true love" for Agueda. He also recounts his experience this time, to his grandson, describing the woman he married as the witch. Well, Badoy was still pretty kind by describing Agueda as "the most beautiful creature [he] has ever seen"; but he retracts by saying that he was "bewitched and tortured" by this woman. Describing their partners as the Devil or a witch will be more or less the same as saying that what they saw in their partners was only the surface value; and what they eventually (maybe alittle too late) saw inside was a dark and terrible soul, which is also another proof of the empty love going on in their lives. This is a clear illustration of "falling in love" - they loved then they fell. Well, what a happy couple.

Relationships must never be purely based on passions and infatuations. Relationships like these never succeed. But, had it been true love, had they been thinking right that night, they shouldn't have shed those needless tears. Their relationship could have lasted and what happened 43 years ago would have stayed till forever. But no, they made the mistake of reassuring themselves that it was true love. And all they could do is reminisce and that memory would always be their anchor to their distant past.