"The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states."
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mahatma Gandhi
Estrella Alfon's short story, shows a glimpse to the life of Rosa- a down-to-earth, physically attractive (although she seems unaware of this fact) but fairly typical servant girl. Rosa is depicted as a mistreated but overworked helper to an abusive but at times generous mistress.
This story reminds me a lot of Manuel Arguilla's story, Midsummer, a female counterpart to it if I may say so. Although it has some similarities, I personally preferred Servant Girl because of its more complex story.
What really struck me is Rosa's blind infatuation with her "Angel." To her, this man is a gentleman-kind, respectable and different from other men. She believes this person to be her savior- someone who will be able to rescue her from her miserable situation as a servant. But this man-this savior- does not really exist.Angel was just an image that she conjured. It became the embodiment of her desire to be free from servitude; the hero who will rescue her from her abusive mistress. Angel became Rosa's hope. I do not think that what she felt for the cochero was love. I believe that what she felt for the carriage driver(who we later know as Pedro) is adulterated infatuation. Blinded by her longing for freedom, she fails to see who the cochero really is. Instead, what she perceives is the image of her "Angel."
In the end, Rosa just accepts her fate as a measly servant. The man she believed to be her deliverer, was the one who returned her back to her pitiful life.
Servant Girl raises issues on human nature, slavery, discrimination between social classes, the harsh truth of reality, blind infatuation resulting from gratitude, disappoinment and even hope.
I do not believe that everything happens according to fate and that we can't do anything about it. If there was one thing that I realized from reading this story, it was that my life is a choice. Life is full of choices and that if we put God in the middle of all our decisions, everything will end up for the greater good. :)
I am a sucker for happy endings. Since this story did not end quite as I had planned, it made me really sad. But, what I prefer more than happy endings is a story that makes me think and feel..so kudos to Alfon for that. :D
This story reminds me a lot of Manuel Arguilla's story, Midsummer, a female counterpart to it if I may say so. Although it has some similarities, I personally preferred Servant Girl because of its more complex story.
What really struck me is Rosa's blind infatuation with her "Angel." To her, this man is a gentleman-kind, respectable and different from other men. She believes this person to be her savior- someone who will be able to rescue her from her miserable situation as a servant. But this man-this savior- does not really exist.Angel was just an image that she conjured. It became the embodiment of her desire to be free from servitude; the hero who will rescue her from her abusive mistress. Angel became Rosa's hope. I do not think that what she felt for the cochero was love. I believe that what she felt for the carriage driver(who we later know as Pedro) is adulterated infatuation. Blinded by her longing for freedom, she fails to see who the cochero really is. Instead, what she perceives is the image of her "Angel."
In the end, Rosa just accepts her fate as a measly servant. The man she believed to be her deliverer, was the one who returned her back to her pitiful life.
Servant Girl raises issues on human nature, slavery, discrimination between social classes, the harsh truth of reality, blind infatuation resulting from gratitude, disappoinment and even hope.
I do not believe that everything happens according to fate and that we can't do anything about it. If there was one thing that I realized from reading this story, it was that my life is a choice. Life is full of choices and that if we put God in the middle of all our decisions, everything will end up for the greater good. :)
I am a sucker for happy endings. Since this story did not end quite as I had planned, it made me really sad. But, what I prefer more than happy endings is a story that makes me think and feel..so kudos to Alfon for that. :D
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