Characters

  1. Connie Escovar – Unloved and forlorn child of Concha de Vidal. She wants to be different from other people due to her spoiled nature. She’s a witness of her mother’s sins that lead to her hallucination and imagination that she has two navels. She is a slave of love who is lacking and thirsting for it. She’s selfish in terms of destroying the family of Paco by wanting his love and influencing him to abandon his family just for her.
  2. Concha de Vidal – An attractive and seductive mother in her forties. She’s like a cougar that has a husband and children but still wanted to grab the attention of younger men. She’s acting younger than her age. She was described in the story for having a youthful appearance that anyone can be deceived in her age. In the point of view of a foreigner, she’s a saint whom people are fond of but on the dark edge, she’s hiding all of her sins through her friendly vibes.
  3. Pepe Monson – He’s a horse doctor. He grew up in Hong Kong. He’s one of the people who have rational thoughts since he never went to his homeland, the Philippines. He’s the one who knows most the story behind the conflict that Connie Escovar experienced.
  4. Doctor Monson – The father of Pepe and Tony Monson. He was a rebel and a patriot who was exiled and hiding in Hong Kong. He was one of the soldiers of President Aguinaldo. He desired a revolution against the Spanish and holds a grudge in the American’s authority. He’s one of the enlightened Filipinos who want to flee to another country instead of experiencing deprivation of liberty. He protected the minds of his two sons by not allowing them to witness the attitudes of the society in the Philippines.
  5. Paco Texeiras – He’s a Filipino – Portuguese bandleader who grew up in Hong Kong. He was described in the story as guileless cosmopolitan. His innocent mind was stained after his staying in the Philippines for almost two months. He has a wife and three children. He is the apple of the eye and center of rivalry of the mother and daughter – Concha de Vidal and Connie Escovar.
  6. Macho Escovar – In a young age, he raped a woman that was given to him by his father. Macho’s father influenced him in a bad way to portray his pride as a man by dominating women . He had an affair to Concha de Vidal. He is thirty years old and married Connie. He is a rich man that has an influence in the society.
  7. Manolo de Vidal – He is an abortionist and a sacred elder in the society that acts as a politician.
  8. Tony Monson – He’s the sibling of Pepe Monson. He is a priest who opened the eyes of Connie to the realities of life. He wanted to quit his position as priest because he realized that he influenced Connie to choose the bad thing instead of doing the right thing. In the end, his conscience is still provoking him.