Pasig City Science High School

[Link] St., Rainforest Park, Maybunga,

Footnote to Youth by José García Villa:

Prepared by:
Alliah Dionelle M. Sison
10-Rutherford
English 10, S.Y. 2020-2021
Ms. Larraine Kris Navarro
May 10, 2021

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 Abstract

This paper aims to analyze José García Villa’s short story, Footnote to Youth,

with the use of two different literary theories: Historicism (with the mention of Marxism

and Feminism in relation to the literary work’s historical context) and Psychoanalysis. The

utilization of critical evaluation within and beyond the text included in the content of the

reviewed prose was carried out in order to form a specific, well-written assessment.

A copy of Footnote to Youth is provided in a separate file in pdf. format. This file

solely contains literary criticism of the said short story; the references are provided at the

bottom of the page as well.

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Historicism (Marxism and Feminism)

The world isn’t black and white— as well as the short story, Footnote to Youth by

José García Villa. One quick read and it induces the readers to have a plain reaction of:

“Oh, I see. History repeats itself.” But it’s way more than that— way more than just a funny

story of irony, of finally being put in the shoes of someone you refused to understand back

in time. Footnote to Youth provides a quick glimpse of Filipino life in the 1930s.

Even though Villa was an English writer (due to him being a self-exile in America),

he is known for his anthology of Philippine Short Stories and his own written collection of

Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others. His works reflected those of the

Filipino practices he was exposed to in his younger years.

Dodong, the short prose’s protagonist, as well as his son, Blas, both showed a

tradition they share as young Filipino men during their years of courtship. Back in the

days, the Philippines had a conservatively focused culture, requiring men to propose their

offer of marriage to women; additionally, they would need the blessing of their parents,

as depicted by the scenes where Dodong admitted his infatuation to Teang to his father

and Blas’s infatuation to Tona to him. Before doing so, Dodong was seen as nervous and

tense, even distracted from his work, for he considered telling his father alone as an

impactful moment of his life. Nowadays, while this behavior is still expected from us

(especially of the elderly people), the weight of responsibility in regards to romantic

relationships does not fall solely to men anymore.

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 Teang married Dodong during their teenage years; in the past, this was just normal

for it was not until 1988 that the Family Code was implemented, stating that one has to

be at least 18 years old before marrying. In the old days, holding a girl’s hands means

you’ll marry her, kissing a girl means you’ll marry her, and pre-marital sex was not talked

about.

As historicism requires us to see further into the text as told by the past, it is just

necessary that we go back in time a few years back and try to analyze what pushed the

author, Villa, to add certain elements of Filipino qualities to Footnote to Youth. At times,

historical criticism brings up issues that can also be tackled through the Marxist and

Feminist lenses, with regards to the social and political context that is timely relevant.

Footnote to Youth was written during the year 1933, shortly before World War II

began. In the 1930s, the whole world was experiencing a global economic depression,

officially referred to as The Great Depression. The United States of America was one of

the first of those who first felt the impact of the said event. At the time, the Philippines

were under the rule of the Americans; thus, while America was greatly affected, the impact

has indirectly reached the Filipino people. Being colonial subjects, moving in and out of

America was of ease to the Filipinos. The Americans had to control this in order to offer

more jobs to their own people and so they’ve deprived foreigners such as Filipinos to

keep on working in their country.

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 In the story, the narrator first establishes the setting of broken-up grounds with the

fragrance of a sweetish, earthy smell. The main character, Dodong, is then depicted to

be working in the fields, indicating a heavy workload relying on manpower, with the

mention of carabaos and worms. In one viewpoint, it might’ve just been the pride of his

father passed down unto him.

Dodong’s family works in the field of agriculture; the Filipinos have ever been

exploited in labor work since colonialism and capitalism came to cage us all. Especially

during this time, The Great Depression, not many jobs were in great demand of workers.

The line of work being done by Dodong’s family could’ve been a sign of no options.

Poverty leads to a lack of education; causing their career paths to be limited to those

requiring labor but reaping low income. This can also be the reason why Dodong is so

used to the act of forming a family at a young age. Even though marrying young was

prominent, child-bearing isn’t necessarily done right away.

As depicted in the middle parts of the story, at the time when Teang was giving

birth to their firstborn, Blas, Dodong stayed outside— considering the thought of backing

out and running away. He was unprepared for his responsibilities as an upcoming father.

Even after he knew about his inexperienced self, Teang still continued to give birth to their

children to the point that her body became shapeless and even she was unhappy with

her decisions. This might be a product of their lack of sex education, for even though

Teang wanted to stop bearing more children and Dodong thought likewise, it just kept on

coming.

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 It can also be interpreted that the couples in the story— Dodong and Teang, Blas

and Tona— saw marriage as an opportunity to escape their problems. But instead of it

saving them, it created even more problems. Not only were they unprepared of having a

baby, but they also had no idea how to raise it. Dodong thought that assisting his father

in work (for example, feeding a carabao) is maybe the most tiring thing that could have

happened to him— that a life with Teang will be much different, but he was wrong. Dodong

was still suffering yet in another way, dragging Teang alongside with him.

A patriarchal society is not just present in Filipino homes, nor in the past, as we

globally share the trait of (still) currently living in (mostly) men-dominated families. With

the father always being a principal figure of the home, some qualities of Villa’s Footnote

to Youth may easily be of concern to the Feminist view. Since the old days, the Filipinos

have formed an Androcentric culture. The Androcentric culture of Filipinos is where men

have access to the world (Dodong to his job in the fields, Dodong’s father’s

responsibilities) while women (Teang’s minimal appearance, as well as Dodong’s mother

and Tona) have access only to the house, ignoring the “common humanity” of women.

Most of the female figures in Philippine Literature are known to be frail, feminine,

and anything connected to powerless. Our most famous is Maria Clara. Here, Villa applied

that same old restrictive role to the women in his works; he made them into the ideal

women of his time.

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 There are barely any female characters in the story; there were Teang, Tona, and

Dodong’s mother, but they were only ever mentioned either doing chores, establishing

the presence of gender roles, in daydream-flashbacks or as love interests. The only time

their perspectives were taken account of was of Teang— it wasn’t pretty either, for it only

contained her regrets of marriage in general, marriage with Dodong, and child-bearing.

Teang cannot even speak up of her misery as Dodong’s wife, as that would be unlikeable

of her.

The conversations included in the story were solely of father-to-son; the father is

portrayed as the head of the family, to be sought for guidance and wise counsel. The

women were explicitly excluded from these “important” moments, their thoughts

disregarded by the author. While the Androcentric culture of conforming, meek, and

submissive wives were present in Villa’s authorization, he is still not to blame. Historically,

these virtues of a woman were idealistically romantic for both men and women at the time.

At the time Footnote to Youth was published, the American colonial period in the

Philippines was still ongoing, as briefly mentioned earlier. An adaptation of their way of

life was forced into us; modernization (a prevalent topic in Villa’s works) then made way

for capitalism to prevail in the country. This conflict affected the relationship between

farmers and landowners— relevant to the living environment of Dodong, the story’s

primary character. Digging in deeper thru Karl Marx’s theory of Socialism, actual forms of

alienation can be seen all throughout this specific work’s content. Workers experience

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different kinds of alienation as effects of capitalism. Generally, there are four types:

alienation from (a) product of labor, (b) process of labor, (c) others, and (d) self.

Dodong and his family were mere laborers; they make a profit for those who own

the capitals. They are the ones who grow the crops, take care of the fields, and get dirty.

However, a scene during their dinnertime showed that they did not have much to eat and

the fruit was even overripe. Their product is not theirs— even though they gave rise to it.

In another situation, Dodong notices his father’s pain from a toothache; still, he denies

himself of going to the dentist. While you can easily connect it to poverty, Dodong states

that he too would be too scared to go to the dentist; indicating that even though they have

enough money, he’ll choose not to relieve himself of the pain if he had to see a doctor.

This shows how Dodong is being estranged from his existence as a human being; in other

words, his essence. This is not the only pain he tries to ignore; in the fields, he dismisses

the sting of a stone in his feet. He himself knows his work is dirty but he tries to justify it

as healthy.

If we were strictly to judge based on the timeline, Dodong’s family’s job in the fields

could be explained by a majority of farming households in the Philippines, it being an

agricultural country ever since. Additionally, as the Filipinos held pride in their

conservative attitudes, it would’ve also explained the conforming female characters within

the story.

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 The world isn’t black and white— because there are shades of gray in between. It

wasn’t Dodong’s karma— what his son did to him. They were both victims of

marginalization and inequity due to the rule of the Americans. Had they have been

privileged, would they have suffered the same consequences? Had the mothers have

had a part in the planning, would it have been a little better?

“As long ago Youth and Love did triumph for Dodong… and then Life.” Youth and

love, beaten by life. Their life was poor; owned by betrayers, stuck doing labor, affiliated

with a one-sided toxic culture. A lot of Filipinos are still stuck in this way of life ‘til today,

unable to escape the horrors of the past. Teenage pregnancy became rampant, both

being caused by and causing poverty; it is now one of the biggest growing problems being

faced by the country. While Dodong’s story is inspired by the past, in a way, it warns us

about the impact of our actions to the future, as well as what we can do in the present—

through the moral lesson which served as a footnote for the next generations.

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Psychoanalysis

“Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief.” –

Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue

Desires. Yearnings. Everyone has it— may it be the young or the aged, may it be

exposed or hidden underneath. While seventeen-year-old Dodong, from the short prose

Footnote to Youth, is true to himself with his inclinations to a life with his dear Teang,

the author, José García Villa, who made him, is not.

While Villa insists that his stories are straightforward, with the message clear within

the text, there are underlying longings of both his childhood and mature heart masked

within. As psychoanalytical criticism relies on the author’s background, possible

neuroses, interests, and any analysis of psychic phenomena, the specific piece of literary

work, Footnote to Youth can be subjected to the application of Sigmund Freud’s Theory

of Psychoanalysis.

Villa’s famous short story can be interpreted as a footnote to his life— the warnings

he wishes he had given to his young self. Looking back, his experiences were quite

packed with impulsiveness. Being in a family of doctors, he decided to pursue medicine.

Not really liking his course, he then switched to take pre-law. Realizing his heart belonged

to arts— he focused on writing, starting with short proses and poetry.

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 In his journey in finding out what he really wants, he used to attend the University

of the Philippines (UP). He was in his twenties, in 1929; he published a series of erotic

poems with the title of Man-Songs in the Philippines Herald Magazine, leading to his

suspension from the said university, UP.

By the time he has reached his late thirties, he jumped into a life of marriage with

Rosemarie Lamb; they officially joined hearts in the year of 1946. With Lamb, the said

author had two kids, Randall and Lance. Unfortunately, 10 years later, they filed for

divorce.

This writer— he knows first-hand about impulsiveness and regrets, not just in

choices generally, but also in married life. He knows how one choice deeply affects one’s

life: he may not have foreseen the footnote waiting for him at the end of his life’s page,

for he was far indulged— living in his best chapters, just like Dodong, who in the story,

could care less about anything other than his coming of age.

Dodong, Footnote to Youth’s main character, shows a healthy relationship with

his father in the story, contrary to the author’s relationship with his real-life father. Before

revealing his plan to marry Teang, Dodong kept repeating the same sentence. “I will tell

it to him. I will tell it to him.” The pronoun him most probably pertained to his father,

indicating that the news he considered of utmost importance— as marked by the

sentence, “What he had to say was of serious import as it would mark a climacteric in his

life.” —shall first be heard by his father.

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 Now Villa, the author, grew up in a wealthy family— not like Dodong, who had to

work in the fields, feed carabaos, and get dirty. The story might just represent a life that

Villa preferred: a life where he had a good relationship with his father, even though it was

simple. Villa might’ve been one of those people who showed no care about riches if there

was no love present within the family. This theory is further strengthened by the

knowledge of Villa’s bravery to emigrate to America on his own, using his own money (an

amount of 1,000 PHP) which he earned from winning best short story of the year 1929

from the Philippine Free Press— specifically, from the published literary work he was

banned from UP for. Villa was rebellious to the point that he was a self-made exile, whilst

Dodong stayed true to his roots, obediently working for his father, even though he did not

take that much joy in it.

Even though they have their differences, there are still aspects of them which are

the same. Dodong never really took joy in his dusty work; too distracted and impatient to

finish. It might be Villa’s real feelings toward the things he used to pursue before entering

the creative arts: he must’ve felt pressured, having to take medicine and law, when all he

enjoyed was writing. Coming from a wealthy family, writing isn’t exactly one to bring in

money.

His pen name, Doveglion, a combination of dove, eagle, and lion, is what he refers

to as his true persona. A friend of Villa, Cowen, noticed how Villa always uses the

pseudonym Doveglion as a personal mark on his works— he then questioned Villa about

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it, with the latter answering that it was all because of the loathe and anger he feels for his

father. His birthright father was unsupportive of him in America; he, therefore, refuses to

honor him by using his surname, Villa and denies him of any representation in the credits

of his work. Doveglion— being gentle as a dove, free as an eagle, and fierce as a lion—

is not just symbolizing his fame and glory in the field of literature, it is also a statement of

rebellion towards his family.

The author’s specific needs and wants his young self was deprived of — love and

support of family— might’ve motivated him to give his main character, Dodong, a

harmonious paternal relationship with his father.

One aspect of psychoanalytic criticism revolves around the three areas of our

mind, present since infancy; the Id, the Superego, and the Ego. The Id is our innermost

desires, whatever the desire may be— good or bad, mostly impulsive. The Superego is

then responsible for controlling this as it is an individual’s morality. The Ego balances the

two, in order for them to co-exist not just in the mind, but in the choices of their beholder.

The use of these three main concepts is found present within the story’s characters, their

feelings, and actions.

Having a young boy’s self-centered attitude accompanied by hasty decisions,

Dodong, during the first part, has been greatly affected by his Id. His Id has successfully

dominated the two other aspects of his mind in numerous situations, the first being his

persistence in marrying Teang. He aggressively insists on his plans of marriage to his

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father, driven too much by his emotions, to the point that it looks like he is not ready to

entertain “no” as an answer— when in fact, he came to ask for official permission.

Like any other teenager, Dodong thought he was invincible: that reaching

seventeen years old made him some kind of superhero, ready to take on anything— ready

to take on marriage. He was careless and attentive to his job, only focusing on his

daydreams of Teang and the man he has become. Nothing else minded to him, not even

the consequences; he was only welcoming to his heart’s desires.

When readers focus so much on the current paragraphs on pages— they fail to

see the footnotes underneath. Dodong focused so much on his infatuation with Teang—

he failed to see the warnings his father gave him. He failed to notice the strange, helpless

light in his father’s eyes— too self-absorbed to do so.

That was not the only time Dodong could have cared less of his surroundings. Ever

since the very start of the story, Dodong is shown to exhibit vanity and self-obsession. At

the beginning of the story, the author narrated of a short colorless worm, marching blindly

into Dodong’s foot, crawling calmly over it; disgusted, Dodong then tickles and jerks his

foot, resulting in the worm flinging into the air— and Dodong too unbothered to look where

it fell. Instead, he thought of his age and how older he has become; he was already

seventeen and not a youngster anymore.

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 With a name like Footnote to Youth, numerous deductions come into mind about

its true definition. What’s a footnote? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines footnote as

a note of reference, explanation, or comment usually placed below the text on a printed

page— which is quite ironic, as the author of Footnote to Youth, José García Villa

included no actual footnotes in the book the reviewed story was included in.

A crawling literal note on his foot— the worm, foreshadowing his future. He

marched into marriage as blindly as the clueless worm did, only to be shaken away by

life. His choices and what led them there— life doesn’t care… just like how he didn’t care

where the wind took the worm.

The way I see it, the story can be divided into 4 parts; a recurring cycle of youth,

love, and life. The first part focuses on youth and love, the age of rash decisions and

unstoppable desires, and how it affected the relationship between Dodong with Teang

and his parents. The dark side of Dodong’s mind took control of his emotions; it took

control of his youth. He was selfish, not only to his parents and Teang but to his future

self as well— all because he lost himself in dreams and fantasies. He failed to recognize

the doom he will be caught up with, in the next parts.

The second and third part shows how life gradually took over the course of Dodong

and Teang’s thoughts and anxieties, respectively. Married life went on to hunt them— not

only temporarily, but for the rest of their lives. This was an age of responsibilities, anxiety,

and regrets. Dodong realized he was unprepared to be a father; suddenly contradicting

15
himself in the first part where he insisted that he was a mature man. He now realizes he

was naive and young, but there’s no turning back time. Dodong was feeling so anxious

that he wanted to turn away from his responsibilities.

Here, Teang’s point of view was depicted to the readers, where is either practicing

displacement towards Dodong or projection of how she really feels. She didn’t just

question whether marrying itself was a wise decision; she partly blamed Dodong, thinking

that if she had married another man (Lucio), she wouldn’t be feeling depressed and

insecure about her body. Still, she knew she loved Dodong, but love wasn’t enough to

keep her from crying at times. To be fair, she was also part of the choice; as far as the

readers know, everything was consensual. Teang didn’t tell Dodong of what she thought,

but deep inside, she wanted someone to blame.

Teang’s reaction is quite normal for women like her; who had the same experience

at the same age. A study by sociologists discovered that in early marriages, especially

those preceded by a pregnancy, were highly prone to divorce. In the Philippines, divorce

has never been legal— although there is annulment, by the looks of it, Teang will never

gain the courage to stand up to Dodong.

The fourth part, finally, goes back to focus on youth and love— but now, with Blas.

Dodong is now ironically against youth and love, unlike back then when he was on the

same side; he has already experienced first-hand that youth and love always wins. It won

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over his father; now, it will win over him. Not even him nor his past experiences can take

away Blas from youth and love— only life ever will, just like it did to him.

Clearly, Dodong wants to stop Blas— that is what his Superego tells him to do, to

protect him from the same catastrophe he ended up in. The Ego knows, though, that while

morality is correct, we still need to keep intact with reality. The most realistic decision is

to let Blas go— and that’s what Dodong did.

“Youth must triumph… now. Love must triumph… now. Afterwards… it will be life.”

Youth, with their confidence and aggressive selves— they’ll think they have what it takes

to win against all odds… and they do. Eventually, love comes to find them, and whilst

pursuing this desire, they fight off those who aren’t in favor of them, and again, in this

battle, they win. But time will come that the reality of life will barge in, make them lose

their momentum, and take control; this time, youth and love? They stand no chance.

Desires. Yearnings. Everyone has it— but not everyone has patience, and that is

what shall conquer the mind. Dodong did not see what he had coming for him, not

because he was blind, but his vision was blurred by his agitation. We all can still be true

to ourselves, to be open to our heart’s callings, while at the same time being cautious.

Let’s not drown in the current pages of our life’s stories; instead, let’s think ahead, think

of the possible aftermaths of our actions, and not only realize what’s important only at the

end… like a footnote.

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