Reading Guide: Religion and Morality

Gendered Piety

“Spirit and Matter” by Emmanuel M. D’Exploits

  1. In the text, what are the values that D’Exploits praises in women? Cite examples of the language used. 
  2. Despite the societal expectation of marriage, why does the author “accept” Rosa’s rejection of marriage? How is she martyrized? Is there a higher sense of moral “duty” for women aside from marriage and motherhood (two key Catholic values)? 
  3. What are D’Exploits criticisms of society during his era and the role of Catholicism in it? 
  4. How does D’Exploits create a type of Catholic, female exceptionalism in his descriptions of Rosa? Why do you think he introduces Rosa in this manner: “The orphan, Rosa, though not a beauty…” and finished the story: “After a while, her soul, too big and beautiful to continue being imprisoned…”? 

“The Outside Heart” by Linda Ty-Casper

  1. How does Marita both embrace and defy the archetype of Maria Clara? *Examine the ending of the story closely.)
  2. How does Marita reckon with the intimate relationship between her family and faith? 
  3. Would you describe Marita as a non-believer? Why or why not? 

Comparison questions:

  1. How are Rosa and Marita similar? How does Ty-Casper’s description of her protagonist differ with that of D’Exploits? 
  2. How is the rejection of material goods a recurring theme throughout the two stories?

Religious Reform

“From the Forbidden Tree” by Fatima Lim

  1. How is Eve portrayed as both the victim and a protagonist in her own right in the text?
  2. With what tone does Lim write an alternate version of the biblical Story of Creation? Do you think that she is more secular or religious? Why or why not? 
  3. How is religious freedom explored within the confines of religious canon? (Note the line: “Perhaps she felt a shared companionship with the snack who had only sought a true and absolute wisdom.”
  4. How does Lim shed light on the issue of sexual assault in general and in Filipino-Catholic society?
Thematic Question:
1) How is Catholicism deeply entrenched in Filipino womanhood? What values have stayed and which have remained?