A Review of Dead Stars

    

    “Love moves in mysterious ways,” others say. But, how can love be so mysterious when in the first place, it was all sort of an illusion? That was how the plot of Dead Stars looked like. I admired how the author described the characters and how she looked on the other side of love. Reading the story brought me mixed emotions: happiness, sadness, and confusion. The main character, Alfredo Salazar had a fiancé named Esperanza. Unfortunately, she met a beautiful woman named Julia Salas whom he fell in love with. However, in the end, things happened on how it’s supposed to be, but the love faded and withered along with time.

   He knew he would be happier with Julia. He was torn between doing what's right and what his heart wants. But when Julia Salas knew about the marriage of Alfredo and Esperanza, she left him and came back to her hometown.

  Paz Marquez Benitez showed some of the traits of Filipinos in the story. Sometimes, we tend to be careless at making decisions; particularly in love. We choose to love someone so quickly without realizing it wasn't love at all, it's just infatuation. Then, we see ourselves being put in a situation where we hurt the ones who truly love us. 

   In the end, Alfredo still married Esperanza. They were happily married for 8 years, but Alfredo's mind was still full of Julia's memories. He can't let go of her love, the what if's played distinctly and he wanted to see Julia. When he went on a business trip to her hometown, he had the chance to meet her. But when they finally met again, Alfredo realized something. He was not deeply in love anymore. It was like the magic faded away, nowhere to be found. He suddenly thought of how he was contented with his life, and with his wife, Esperanza.

   I imagined myself being in the situation of Esperanza. If I were her, would I do the same? Would I still love the man who loved someone else before our marriage? Or would I even stay for a long time even though I know that I am not the one he truly loves? Probably, yes. I would do the same. I would still love and stay with the man I love because that is what my heart wants. But if I see that      the man I'll be marrying soon is not happy with me, I will not force him to spend his whole life          imprisoned in a love he did not choose. Instead, I will set him free. 

   The story was written in 1925 when people did not accept broken relationships and marriages. For me, it was connected with the story because Alfredo still married Esperanza in spite of his love for Julia. Benitez also emphasized some of the cultures of Filipinos when it comes to marriage. A Filipina or Filipino should marry and have children before reaching the age of 30 years old.

   At first, I wondered why it was entitled Dead Stars. In the end, I realized it had a great symbolism. Dead Stars refers to Alfredo's dreams of being broken. His love for Julia was gone. The light that once sparkled in his world slowly lost its brightness. Just like the stars that die in the galaxy. It's always there, but it can't be brought back to life anymore. Just like Alfredo’s love for Julia, it cannot be brought back anymore, because it is now lifeless.