Exciting, Fun and Thrilling that's what this book brings to every readers

​Philippine novelist, poet, playwright, biographer, and essayist writing in English, the National Artist for Literature, Joaquin wrote largely [about the Spanish colonial period and the diverse heritage of the Filipino people.

​ Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin, also known as Nick Joaquin, was the greatest Filipino writer of his generation. Over six decades and a half, he produced a body of work unmatched in richness and range by any of his contemporaries. Living a life wholly devoted to the craft of conjuring a world through words, he was the writer’s writer, and people’s writer as well because of his undying passion to the country. ​ Nick Joaquin was born in the old district of Paco in Manila, Philippines, on September 15, 1917, the feast day of Saint Nicomedes, a protomartyr of Rome, after whom he took his baptismal name. He was born to a home deeply Catholic, educated and prosperous. He was unable to pursue the religious vocation that his strictly Catholic family had envisioned to be his future. Joaquin himself confessed that he always had the vocation for the religious life and would have entered a seminary if it was not for the death of his father, Leocadio Joaquin.

​In 1976, Nick Joaquin was named National Artist of the Philippines in the field of literature, the highest recognition given by the state for an artist in the country. Conferred in Manila on March 27, 1976, the award praised his works as “beacons in the racial landscape” and the author for his “rare excellence and significant contribution to literature. “Nick Joaquin lived in the city and country of his affections and continued writing until his death on April 2004 at the age of 86.

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​One of Nick Joaquin’s amazing works is the mind-twisting story entitled The Summer Solstice which was set in the colonial era and happened during 1850s Philippines during the festival days of St. John. The literary work “The Summer Solstice,” also known as Tadtarin or Tatarin, is a story that received recognition both critical and praising. The story brilliantly depicted the status that women had in the past. The said work of Joaquin is originally published in 1972 and talks about the role of women in the society during the Spanish occupation in the Philippines. It was made into feature film in 2001 titled “Tatarin” starred Dina Bonnevie who played the role of Doña Lupeng and Edu Manzano who played the role of Don Paeng. The story tells how Doña Lupeng, the main character of the story gathered respect and adoration from her husband, Don Paeng. By a thorough reading of the story, it can really bring us back to the past where men are the dominant figure in the society. Reading it can also make us realize how women overrule the society, knowing that males were known to have the rights over women during the Spanish colonization period. It also makes the readers feel how it makes sense to be respected and loved-the love and respect women had not felt before.

Characters

​Characters. The exhilarating plot of the story would just seem lifeless without the presence of the characters. Characters, as we all know, are the ones who give energy and thrill to the story. They are made with a purpose and they were classified according to their roles in the story. Without them, the story would look like a building with no lights-boring and not entertaining to the reader. The characters present in the story are acting in many different ways.

She is Doña Lupeng the wife of Don Paeng who is a long-married woman with three children and who feels closed to her womanhood

Don Paeng , the highly moral husband of Doña Lupeng

Guido the young cousin of the Moretas who came back in the Philippines after finishing his studies in Spain and the one who made Doña Lupeng realized that women should be ravished and men should adore them.

Amada the family cook and Entoy’s wife who triggers the curiosity of Doña Lupeng towards Tadtarin.

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and Entoy the affectionate husband of Amanda and the trusted family driver of the Moretas.

The mentioned characters are the hidden colors of the story. They make the story livelier and more intense.

​Plot. Written during the 20th century, the story started with a simple introduction of the Moretas family. The celebration, the happenings during their breakfast were revealed. The story continued in the scene where Amanda’s screaming so loudly in their room. Doña Lupeng, to her concern, entered Amanda’s room and there, she saw the big half-naked Amanda sprawled across the bamboo bed with no deafening screams. She (Doña Lupeng) was shocked when she asked Amanda why she was still in bed. Amanda just stared at her and began quaking noiselessly with a hair-raising laughter. Doña Lupeng blushed...and blushed again when she saw Entoy leaning in the doorway, watching stolidly. Even though she was ashamed to look directly at Entoy, she still asked him if Amanda went to the Tadtarin. ​Entoy responded, “Yes, Señora. Last night.” She mumbled. She noisily spoke to him that she did forbade her to go. But Entoy could do nothing. He (Entoy) also said that the spirit is in her for she is the Tadtarin and she must do as she pleases. He also added that, at such times, Amanda was not his wife. She is the wife of the river, crocodile, and the moon.​The Maretas couple, while riding in the carriage through the pastoral countryside that was the arrabal (a neighborhood but not yet urbanized) of Paco in the 1850s, was talking about the beliefs of the town people and why they still kept on believing about the said beliefs. While they were still inside the carriage, the couple heard people shouting “San Juan!, San Juan!,” as they ran to meet the procession.​ Standing in the stopped carriage, Doña Lupeng stared down on the passing male horde with increasing annoyance. She also thought that all sisters were virtuous and all the brothers were brave. After that, Guido came and told Doña Lupeng that Amanda is beautiful. But she insisted. She said that Amanda is fat and old, she is not beautiful. ​Guido also felt that the Tadtarin was quite mysterious...and it was also where the dominant figure was not the male but the female. The conservation of the two went on until Doña Lupeng get sulked to Guido. When she was about to leave, Guido propped up his elbows, dragged himself forward on the ground and solemnly kissed the tips of her shoes. ​ In their home, Doña Lupeng had risen and gone to the window. She turned her back and faced Don Paeng. She even told him that she wanted to see the Tadtarin. She added that she had not seen it when she was a little child. He did not like the idea of his wife so he disapproved the favor of Doña Lupeng. But she was so eager to watch the ritual, she disobeyed her husband. And because she was so set on it, he went to the Tadtarin together with his wife. When the crowd parted, he saw the image of the patron saint and it seemed to be crying for help, to be struggling to escape. To him, such act is a gross and brutal caricature of his sex. He flashed hotly. He felt he was personally insulted by the women. He turned to his wife and took her away. He grasped her arm but a flash of lightning blazed. The surroundings lightened and together with that, girls broke away from their parents and wives from their husbands join in the orgy. Don Paeng ran after Doña Lupeng, but she laughed and shook her head and darted deeper into the dense maze of the procession. He was stumbled by the huge crowd. He was tripped. He picked himself up and walked away from the crowd. ​ In their home, Doña Lupeng asked her husband what he was doing. He was going to whip his wife because his wife behaved like a lewd woman. She was pained. She thought he wanted revenge because he was whipped by the women. ​ The row (a noisy disturbance or quarrel) was getting more intense. Don Paeng’s wife was waiting for him to speak. And he responded, “No, I cannot whip you!” But Doña Lupeng was not convinced. She wanted him to say it. In the end, he was exhausted to say how much he adored her. But it was still not enough for her. She commanded him to crawl on the floor, and kissed her feet. ​Without any doubts, he lifted his hands and grasped the white foot and kissed it savagely-kissed the step, the sole, the frail ankle. He had proven to his wife that he really loved her so much.

​The way the author started and ended the story was really impressive. How the plot of the story was made is intensifying the hidden emotions present in it. A person, upon reading this story, would immediately sense a strong air of ‘determination to become equal’ that is somehow radiated in the story. Even I have thought, it would be like those stories I have read before-no thrilling moment, no surprises. But my expectations got me crushed. The story really made me gasping for breath. I thought I was tricked by the author himself. I thought the ending of the story would be predictable, I was wrong. There are twists of situation and surprises, may it be figures of speech, etc., like the following:

Point of View

The point of view of the story is set to be the third person-omniscient point of view where the speaker is all-knowing. The speaker also knows the background of the characters-almost everything.
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The story “The Summer Solstice” of Nick Joaquin has produced an inseparable energy to the taste of the readers. The conflict of the story is when masculine and feminine traits converge and run rampant in the story. The women are supposed to be submissive to their husbands, they are also after husbands and children. Men do the work to earn money and even sustain the needs of the family. In the story, Lupeng washed out the concept of the suppressed woman when she gained control of her husband, who kissed her feet in the end. The lines below can really justify what I said:
​“Then come, and crawl on the floor, and kiss my feet!”
​This is what Doña Lupeng did to her husband. She was able to take control of her husband. This was so shocking to the readers because the situation has been interchanged. Knowing that during 1850s, the society is patriarchal which means that men have a greater power than women. But in this situation, Doña Lupeng became the commander and Don Paeng turned to be the ‘follower’.

​ Theme

One of themes is the CULTURE OF CELEBRATING ST. JOHN’S AND TATARIN FESTIVALor widely known as “SAN JUAN”. Culture can be tracked easily within the story and it is really present in the passage, “And here come the men with their St. John!” cried voices up and down the countryside. People in wet clothes dripping with well-water came running across the hot woods and fields and meadows, brandishing cans of water, wetting each other uproariously, and shouting “San Juan! San Juan!” as they ran to meet the procession.” From the passage, it is evident that culture governed the society during ancient times. They believed about saints and to give honor to them, they venerated them (the saints) through a procession. And having saint in the procession as a part. ​Next is WOMEN EMPOWERMENT. Obviously stated, Joaquin’s work is shouting for women to empower the society. It implicitly tells that women also have equal rights with men. They are not born to be submissive; they also have the power to lead in everything. Like Princess Urduja in history, she had shown that women can also do what men can ably do. The empowered women can be justified in this situation; when Entoy could do nothing but allow his wife (Amada) to go to the “Tadtarin”. The lines below show how Amada changed the course of women through Guido’s and Doña Lupeng’s dialogue: ​​​“Tell me, Entoy; has she been to the Tadtarin?” ​​​​​“Yes Señora. Last night”. ​​“But I forbade her to go! And I forbade you to let her go!” ​​​​​ “I could do nothing.” ​ ​​​“Why, you beat her at the last pretext!” ​​“But now I dare not touch her”. It is the day of St. John; the spirit is in her. ​She has the Tadtarin. She must do as she pleases. Otherwise, the grain would not grow, the trees would bear no fruit, the river would give no fish and the animals would die”. ​In addition, the lines uttered by Don Paeng showed how Doña Lupeng empowered herself towards him: ​​ “That the air you breathe and the ground you tread is holy to me. That I am your dog, your slave…” ​Third will be RESPECT and ADORATION FOR WOMEN. The reason why Doña Lupeng defied Don Paeng is: She wanted adoration and respect from him just like what Guido did to her. The lines below showed how Guido adored her: ​​“I remember that you are a woman, yes. A beautiful woman”. “Do not go, I implore you! Have pity on me!” ​Furthermore, the respect and adoration that Doña Lupeng wanted to have with her husband was realized in the lines said by Don Paeng: ​​“No I cannot whip you!” “Because I love you, because I respect you-“. “I adore you, Lupe”. “That I adore you. That I worship you”.
​Last is FREEDOM.Freedom is what Doña Lupeng wanted from Don Paeng, and to justify my claim, the passage will clearly show it, “I will go with Amada. Entoy can take us. You cannot forbid me, Paeng. There is nothing wrong with it. I am not a child.” With this, she really wanted to be free and be out from Don Paeng’s control. And to her, she could do everything. ​ The story “The Summer Solstice” of Nick Joaquin is the archetype of a creative and meaningful writing. It is really one of a kind because it is quite controversial. It is controversial because it is a mix of Pagan beliefs and Christian rites. And not only that! The use of figures of speech makes this literary work to stand out from other stories. ​This story is actually one of the best. With the classy choice of point of view, readers are able to delve out the hidden meaning of the story. Readers will not be confused because everything readers want to ask is already engraved in the said work. ​ Aside from Point of View, the ideas are clearly stated. The description also makes the readers think they are one of the characters in the story. The plot is well-furnished and impressive. Talking about the way the author started the narration, it is interesting. The plotting of events in the story cannot be levelled by any writers. The unexpected twist of situations make the story exceptional. In the story, it is really doubtful and question-generating because we, all know that men are more powerful than women. Men led the family while women revolved only to the roles of being a mother, a housekeeper, and a cook. But in the story, it turns out that the rule had been changed. Don Paeng turned to be the ‘suppressed’ and Doña Lupeng gained control of her husband. And that is the irony hiding in the entirety of the story.

The story is also mysterious, sometimes. The story has a wide blanket of hidden meanings. Buried with many useful ideas in the whole story, it seems like a mathematical problem. A reader must have a very sharp problem-solving skills to fully understand the ideas.

Conclusion Source The said story is a good training field for students who wanted to gain more knowledge about LITERATURE. It is really perfect because with the IRONY presented, the readers’ mind will surely turn upside down. In addition, this serves as a teacher to all of us who do not show respect to women. This is not just a prosaic product of great minds; it is the perfect training for those who wanted to live with literature.

I also can say that the story shows no weaknesses but strength. It is durably constructed by the author himself which makes it one of those stories that can instill morals to the minds of the readers. I can also see myself in the story. I can see myself in the person of Don Paeng. In the story, he was doubted by his wife for showing no admiration to her. He did not care about that ‘admiration’ and I am really like him. I seldom admire beauty and I do not have care when the conversation talks something like that.

To the new lovers of literature, I highly recommend this story of Nick Joaquin to my friends, teachers, and to those who hate literature. I am pretty sure they would really enjoy reading it the way the author described the flow of the story and conceptualized the said story to the natural setting we have. Reading literary works like The Summer Solstice of Nick Joaquin is really adventurous because you will also feel that you are part of the story. Readers will also learn more about the country’s cultural practices and traditional beliefs. It will teach them lessons, give hints about the appropriate action to do during perilous situations. Figuratively speaking, Nick Joaquin’s work is the reflection of one’s life, and the carriage that can bring us to the past, to the present, and to the future. It is the twin of humanity, the blazing sword that can slice up dangers into tiny bits of confidence.

Thank you for reading!

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