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Lesson 2: “The Love of Magdalena Jalandoni” by Winton Lou G. Ynion (Iloilo)

Lesson Objectives

➢ Infer literary meaning from literal language.

Pre-reading Activity for Lesson 2: Gender Roles, Then and Now

Directions: The story of Magdalena Jalandoni points us to a particular conservative time when men and
women were expected to perform certain roles. How has society changed since then? In what ways are
women freer than before, and in what ways do they still face limitations? To help you map your
thoughts, answer the table below.

What are the traditional roles of In what ways are women freer What ways do they still face
women? than before? limitations in the present?

Reading Time: Read the essay “The Love of Magdalena Jalandoni” by Winton Lou G. Ynion. As you read,
take note of the gender roles presented in the text and how these roles shaped the characters and how
these structures motivate them to break the mold.

“The Love of Magdalena Jalandoni”

MAGDALENA JALANDONI WAS FIVE YEARS OLD IN 1896 when her first love was sentenced to death by
firing squad by the Spanish authorities. The man, who was known as José Rizal, was an ophthalmologist
who, in his times of passion, wrote reformist novels that provided an indelible momentum for the
Philippine Revolution in 1898. His life had been accentuated by women of different languages. He left
Leonor Rivera, his childhood love, when his family sent him to Europe for further medical studies, only
to fall in love with a German dame in the person of Josephine Bracken. When he visited Japan in 1888,
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he wrote a woman named O-Sei-San about the equation of her beauty and that of the blooming sakura.
There were other women; some of them were kept in secrecy along with José’s indecent encounters
while sojourning with other ilustrados who established relationships with women of European lineage.
His looks were ordinary; Filipinos, in fact, felt deceived when he once came home and packaged himself
as a doktor Aleman. But he was gentle and, perhaps, romantic that Magdalena, heiress to the incredible
fortune of Francisca Gonzaga and Gregorio Jalandoni, fell in love with him.

Magdalena’s father died when she was two. Her brother Luis was only three-months old and her
mother was only twenty-three. After Gregorio’s death, the Gonzagas supported the Jalandonis, sending
Magdalena to Colegio de San Jose. At night, she would hear stories from her mother. At one instance,
she asked if the happenings and situations in the narrative were true. Having told that the storyteller
imagined the story, Magdalena resolved to make one. And the household was amazed that she narrated
a story that she originally owns. At ten, she wrote her first corrido, Padre Juan kag Beata Maria (Father
Juan and Mother Maria). At 13, she has four of the same genre, manuscripts of these were submitted
by her mother to La Editorial in Iloilo City, which published them in 6”x8” softcover newsprint edition.

When Magdalena was sixteen, almost ten years after her first love’s death, she wrote her first novel,
Mga Tunoc sang Isa ca Bulac (Thorns of a Flower). It was becoming evident then that she would be a
well-known writer like her José. But writing was a male-dominated sphere, so Magdalena was
prohibited by her mother from producing more literatures. She would write at night and keep her
notebooks under her clothes in her trunk. When she was 18, her mother wanted her to get married.
The bothered Francisca had chosen a prospective husband for her daughter. Magdalena, out of
obedience, agreed to marry the man of honorary stature; but she had one unjust precondition, that he
should write a novel within the year. So, Magdalena remained single, and wrote 37 novels, 5
autobiographies, 8 narrative poems, 6 corridos, 10 plays, 213 lyric poems, 132 short stories, 9 essays,
and 10 melodramas. Not almost over José, she transformed into painting all that was imagined by him
in his novels. Along with her dioramas of Filipino life, society, culture, and history are striking canvasses
of scenes from Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

From her room, Magdalena could view the quarters of the Spanish priests ruling the Archdiocese of
Jaro. So religious that she ornamented her inherited house with wood statues that she personally
carved. In present Iloilo, the house, located at No. 84 Commission Civil Street in Jaro, no longer bears
the sophistication of Magdalena’s isolated world. Perhaps, even the local government lacked the funds
to preserve the grandeur of the history of Jaro. The Jalandoni house was among the balay na bato styled
after European architecture and was among the mansions that decorated the vicinity of the bell tower
and the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary where the statue Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria can be
found. On the streets of Jaro, formerly known as Salog, rumbled the carruajes driven by cocheros.

The feast of the Señora or the Lady of Candle has been celebrated ostentatiously with a reina, a festival
queen chosen from among the daughters of the richest and the famous of Ilonggo families. She is often
considered as binukot (literally means “isolated”) or family treasure for her affiliation with powerful,
usually through marriage, could bring more affluence. Contemporary Ilonggos continue to observe the
spirituality and essence of the Virgin who is believed to have been discovered by a fisherman in the
banks of Iloilo River. It was only a foot high then but was dreadfully heavy until folks decided to bring it
to Jaro. Since then, she had the habit of disappearing in the early mornings. Stories say that a beautiful
lady with long hair had been seen bathing her child at the artesian well at the plaza.
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The Candelaria, as colloquially known, called for an extravagant procession of Jaro’s material assets, a
practice that Ilonggos were not able to protract along the onset of inequities in a colonial society.
Unwritten, it must be celebrated every 2nd of February to commemorate the presentation of Jesus at
the Temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin. Once, perhaps was just imagined, when the
wealthy families were broke and cancelled the feast, Great Flood came. The lineage, wealth, and
opulent lifestyle, and prominence of affluent personages of Jaro largely contributed to the glory of Iloilo
as the “Queen City of the South.” In its streets figure the gem-bathe mansions of the Lopezes,
Montinolas, Ledesmas, and, of course, the Jalandonis. But the heirs could only imitate the arrogance of
colonial models that Jaro lost from the track of development and progress.

When she was 75, Magdalena wrote about this leitmotif of losses and finds in Juanita Cruz, her most
mature novel according to scholar Lucila Hosillos. Conscious of the depreciating affluence of Jaro, she
wrote about Juanita who is a binukot of her family, a treasure kept by her father to the highest bidder
who offers the greatest wealth and power. But she fell in love with a poor choirmaster Elias.
Disinherited, she disguised as Celia de Asis, went to Manila, found a surrogate family, and became
heiress of her foster parents. Juanita was reunited with Elias in the end only to discover that he is
involved in the revolutionary movement against Spain. He was killed in a victorious battle and now,
Juanita, or the old woman who tells the story, or Magdalena, confronts Elias’s monument at the plaza.
On the 70th anniversary of her first love’s death, Magdalena wrote about an undying love – whether
filial, agape, nor eros, it was a passion toward a country finding golden meanings out of its centuries of
feasts. From her glass windows, Magdalena might have had internalized, more than ever, her life role
of a binukot, isolated and untouched. In 1978, 80 years after the realization of José’s dream, Magdalena
died at the age of 87. She remains the reina of Hiligaynon literature. No one knows if she once had
dreamt of herself as a reina for the feast of Candelaria, or if she ever imagined of Jose Rizal escorting
her down the plaza.

Magdalena Gonzaga Jalandoni was a Filipino feminist writer. She is now remembered as one of the
most prolific Filipino writers in the Hiligaynon language.

Who is she? The essay focused on the Filipino writer Magdalena Jalandoni, a prominent Filipina writer,
who flourished as an author during the time when only men are allowed to write. To help you visualize
better who she is and the weight of her achievement, let us create a biographical data.

Name:
Year of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Parents:
Schooling:
Occupation:
First Publishing Experience:
List of Prominent Works:

Year of Death:
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The Life of a Woman: Magdalena Jalandoni had shown how a woman can flourish in a male-dominated
society. Based on the details from the essay and other resources you can access online and offline, let us
trace the development of Jalandoni’s character from birth to death.

Birth As a lady At 80

Growing Up At 75

Now Let’s Talk: It is time for your voice to be heard. Share your thoughts on the life of Magdalena
Jalandoni and your reflection of yourself by answering the following questions.

1. What is something are you good at? Elaborate your answer.

2. What are the challenges you encounter as you pursue this endeavor?

3. How will you continue to grow despite the challenges that you are encountering?
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I can and I will: Imagine you are a cultural worker trying to educate people about the importance and
contributions of women in Philippine society. List down three relevant programs that you would
introduce and explain why. Include the goals of your programs and how you will implement them.
Attach images to concretize your projects.

Reference List

Aduna, L. (n.d.). 21st century literature from the Philippines and the world (1st Quarter). Slideshare.

Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/levzaduna/05-21stcenturylitasv10-depedtambayan

Versoza, N. (2018). Learning for better Life. Versoza Nelson Blog. Retrieved from

https://versozanelson.blogspot.com/2018/12/magdalena-jalandoni-by-winton-g-lou.html