Juanita cruz by magdalena jalandoni novels

Oct2010

(Reaction) A Capacity to Love by: Ms. Pickles


Magdalena Gonzaga Jalandoni, as a poet and a novelist, was deeply steeped in the Romantic literary ethos that started in the West during the first half of the 19th century.

Romantic principles are sharply embodied in her novel Juanita Cruz, in which the subjects of oppression, loyalty, romantic and filiallove, and patriotism are framed by the Romantic foregrounding of human emotion, passion, and individual vision.

Most, if not all, of the characters in the novel give utmost importance to their emotions and passions as the means through which they can improve their lives. And of course, there is nobody else but the novel's heroine, Juanita Cruz herself, who really embodies the ideals of a truly Romantic character-highly misunderstood, maligned, and marginalized at varying points in her difficult but ultimately redeeming life.
Juanita's rationality and intellect are not th