Liberal, radical and social feminism in the selected short stories of Albina Pecson-Fernandez

Abstract

This study was composed to analyze the principles upheld by liberal feminism, social feminism and radical feminism in three selected short stories of Albina Peczon-Femandez entitled ‘Twilight’, ‘The Pimple’ and ‘Coming Home’ respectively. The short stories were randomly chosen using the fishbowl method. The study used the descriptive method in locating principles upheld by the three feminist frameworks, interpreting the themes and meanings of the short stories and critiquing the literary techniques employed in terms of their effectiveness in advocating feminism. The study made the following conclusions: liberal, social and radical feminism are all evident in the three selected short stories of Albina Peczon-Femandez. The 21st Philippine society, especially in Luzon, views a woman as somebody who must take charge of the household management. Women who belong to higher social classes and are able to obtain education have a greater chance of being treated equal with men, until they marry. Domestic violence towards females can happen both in wealthy and poor families, with sex viewed as a wife’s obligation to her husband. The Philippine society is democratic enough to provide possibilities and opportunities for women to use their “household management” skills to become fulfilled. It can also be induced from this research that a short story can push for feminism without being dogmatic and that it is possible for one feminist to hold feminist ideas from different and usually conflicting feminist frameworks.