''Ang mga Anak Dalita'' ("
heChildren of the Poor"
) is a 1911
Tagalog-language novel written by
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
novelist
Patricio Mariano
Patricio Mariano y Geronimo (17 March 1877 at Santa Cruz, Manila – 28 January 1935) was a Filipino nationalist, revolutionary, pundit, poet, playwright, dramatist, short story writer, novelist, journalist, violinist, and painter. Mariano wa ...
. The 73-page novel was published in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
by Limbagan at Aklatan Ni I.R. Morales (Printing Press And Library of I.R. Morales) during the
American era in
Philippine history (1898–1946). ''Ang mga Anak Dalita'' is a
political novel
Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...
that deals also with Filipino ideology, the socio-economic situation, the industrial upheaval, and the struggle of the oppressed Filipino working class in Manila during Mariano’s time.
[
]
Description
Mariano wrote ''Ang mga Anak Dalita'' in poetic form. The theme of the novel is about how the poor in the Philippines become poorer by being exploited by capitalists. According to literary critic Soledad Reyes
Soledad Sarmiento Reyes (born March 5, 1946) is a Philippine literature scholar, literary and art critic, author, anthologist, consultant, professor, instructor, editor, annotator, researcher, and essayist in the Philippines. Specializing in t ...
, there was a scene in the novel wherein Ata, the main female protagonist, narrates a story about how the Philippines (represented by the name "Mutya", meaning "pearl", "precious stone", or "charmstone"leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
"[ Based on Philippine history, the Philippines was colonized by Spain from 1521 to 1898, and then by the United States from 1898 to 1946.][
]
Plot
The characters of the novel include Ata, Teta, Pedro, and a factory owner. Ata is a poor woman. Teta is Ata’s daughter. Pedro is Ata’s lover. The factory owner in the novel is the “ avaricious” and “lust
Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...
ful" boss of Ata. The factory owner tried to rape Ata, but she was able to escape. During a conflict with the laborers, Ata’s daughter Teta saves the factory owner from being killed by the factory workers. In the end, Teta turns out to be the daughter of the factory owner. The theme of the novel is similar to Mariano’s other novel '' Ang Tala sa Panghulo'' ("The Bright Star at Panghulo").
References
External links
Ang mga Anak Dalita by Patricio Mariano
at Project Gutenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ang Mga Anak Dalita
Philippine novels
1911 novels
Tagalog-language novels
Political novels
Novels set in the Philippines