The Summer Solstice (english version)

Script by: iop6000

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a script based on Nick Joaquin's story entitled "The Summer Solstice"

Open curtains, three boys are seen playing in the dining room. Doña Lupeng enters the room, constantly fanning herself.

Scene 1:

(Boys are talking all at once)

Boy 1: How long you have slept, Mama!

Boy 2: We thought you were never getting up!

Boy 3: Do we leave at once, huh? Are we going now?

(Boys are crowding their mother)

Doña Lupeng : Hush, hush I implore you! Now look, your father has a headache, and so have I. So be quiet this instant—or no one goes to Grandfather. (saying the last part as if trying to scare the boys)

(the boys went back to their former agenda)

(Doña Lupeng saw the children's care taker and went to her)

Doña Lupeng: And why is it you who are preparing breakfast? Where is Amada? (went outside through the back door without waiting for the children's care taker's explanation)

(She can hear a woman screaming)

Doña Lupeng: Oh my God! (then hurriedly went to Entoy) Not the closed coach, Entoy! The open carriage! (she shouted to Entoy as she comes nearer to him)

Entoy: But the dust, señora—

Doña Lupeng: (did not wait for Entoy to continue what he was saying) I know, but better to be dirty than to be boiled alive. (stop and pause for a while, then continues to talk) And what ails your wife, eh? Have you been beating her again?

Entoy: Oh no, señora: I have not touched her. (saying it as if scared)

Doña Lupeng: Then why is she screaming? Is she ill?

Entoy: I do not think so. But how do I know? You can go and see for yourself, señora. She is up there.

(Doña Lupeng went to Entoy's room)

(Doña Lupeng shocked at what she saw)

(The woman acts crazily, but has stopped screaming when Doña Lupeng entered the room)

Doña Lupeng: What is this Amada? Why are you still in bed at this hour? And in such a posture! Come, get up at once. You should be ashamed! (saying it as if she knows better than her)

(The woman just stared at her then began to laugh before acting crazy again)

(Entoy entered the room)

Doña Lupeng: Tell me, Entoy: has she had been to the Tadtarin?

Entoy: Yes, señora. Last night. (saying it with guilt)

Doña Lupeng: But I forbade her to go! And I forbade you to let her go! (getting angry but trying not to)

Entoy: I could do nothing.

Doña Lupeng: Why, you beat her at the least pretext!

Entoy:But now I dare not touch her.

Doña Lupeng:Oh, and why not? (saying it with sarcasm)

Entoy: It is the day of St. John: the spirit is in her.

Doña Lupeng: But, man?

Entoy: It is true, señora. The spirit is in her. She is the Tadtarin. She must do as she pleases. Otherwise, the grain would not grow, the trees would bear no fruit, the rivers would give no fish, and the animals would die.

Doña Lupeng: Naku, I did no know your wife was so powerful, Entoy.

Entoy: At such times she is not my wife: she is the wife of the river, she is the wife of the crocodile, she is the wife of the moon.

Scene 2

Doña Lupeng: (talking with her husband)"But how can they still believe such things?

(Don Paeng just gave Doña Lupeng a glance as he keep stroking his mustache)

Doña Lupeng: And you should have seen that Entoy (pause and faced her husband). You know how the brute treats her: she cannot say a word but he thrashes her. But this morning he stood as meek as a lamb while she screamed and screamed. He seemed actually in awe of her, do you know—actually afraid of her!

(Don Paeng didn't utter a single word as he sat beside his wife)

Doña Lupeng: Oh, look, boys—here comes the St. John! (referring to the procession)

(we can see many towns people coming in all different places)

Towns people 1: Here come the men with their St. John! (pointing to the coming procession)

Towns people 2: San Juan! San Juan! San Juan! (saying it in chorus as the procession went by)

Seminarians: That we, thy servants, in chorus, May praise thee, our tongues restore us... (saying it in chorus)

(Doña Lupeng standing in the stopped carriage and still looking at the procession as it passed by)

Don Paeng: Look, Lupeng, they have all passed now (Doña Lupeng just ignored her husband as she keeps on looking at the procession who are now at a distance)

Don Paeng: Do you mean to stand all the way? (saying it with a little bit of annoyance)

(Doña Lupeng looked around her and then sat down)

Don Paeng: Has the heat gone to your head, woman? (pause then continued) And did you see our young cousin Guido?

Doña Lupeng:Oh, was he in that crowd?

Don Paeng: A European education does not seem to have spoiled his taste for country pleasures.

Doña Lupeng: I did not see him.

Don Paeng: He waved and waved.

Doña Lupeng: The poor boy. He will feel hurt. But truly, Paeng. I did not see him.

Don Paeng: Well, that is always a woman's privilege.

Scene 3

(we see the three boys are playing with their grandfather while Don Paeng is playing cards with some other men)

(we can see Doña Lupeng talking with Guido)

Guido: But I adore these old fiestas of ours! They are so romantic! Last night, do you know, we walked all the way through the woods, I and some boys, to see the procession of the Tadtarin.

Doña Lupeng: And was that romantic too?

Guido: It was weird. It made my flesh crawl. All those women in such a mystic frenzy! And she who was the Tadtarin last night—she was a figure right out of a flamenco!

Doña Lupeng: I fear to disenchant you, Guido—but that woman happens to be our cook.

Guido: She is beautiful. (saying it with sincere)

Doña Lupeng: Our Amada beautiful? But she is old and fat! (saying it with disbelief)

Guido: She is beautiful—as that old tree you are leaning on is beautiful

Doña Lupeng: Beautiful! Romantic! Adorable! Are those the only words you learned in Europe? (saying it with mockery in her voice)

Guido: Ah, I also learned to open my eyes over there—to see the holiness and the mystery of what is vulgar.

Doña Lupeng: And what is so holy and mysterious about—about the Tadtarin, for instance?

Guido: I do not know. I can only feel it. And it frightens me. Those rituals come to us from the earliest dawn of the world. And the dominant figure is not the male but the female.

Doña Lupeng: But they are in honor of St. John.

Guido: What has your St. John to do with them? Those women worship a more ancient lord. Why, do you know that no man may join those rites unless he first puts on some article of women's apparel and— (was not able to continue what he was about to say because Doña Lupeng cut in)

Doña Lupeng: And what did you put on, Guido?

Guido: How sharp you are! Oh, I made such love to a toothless old hag there that she pulled off her stocking for me. And I pulled it on, over my arm, like a glove. How your husband would have despised me!

Doña Lupeng:How sharp you are! Oh, I made such love to a toothless old hag there that she pulled off her stocking for me. And I pulled it on, over my arm, like a glove. How your husband would have despised me!

Guido: I think it is to remind us men that once upon a time you women were supreme and we men were the slaves.

Doña Lupeng: But surely there have always been kings?

Guido: Oh, no. The queen came before the king, and the priestess before the priest, and the moon before the sun.

Doña Lupeng: The moon?

Guido: —who is the Lord of the women.

Doña Lupeng:Why?

Guido:Because the tides of women, like the tides of the sea, are tides of the moon. Because the first blood -But what is the matter, Lupe? Oh, have I offended you?

Doña Lupeng:Is this how they talk to decent women in Europe?

Guido: They do not talk to women, they pray to them—as men did in the dawn of the world.

Doña Lupeng: Oh, you are mad! mad!

Guido: Why are you so afraid, Lupe?

Doña Lupeng: I afraid? And of whom? My dear boy, you still have your mother's milk in your mouth. I only wish you to remember that I am a married woman.

Guido: I remember that you are a woman, yes. A beautiful woman. And why not? Did you turn into some dreadful monster when you married? Did you stop being a woman? Did you stop being beautiful? Then why should my eyes not tell you what you are—just because you are married?

Doña Lupeng: Ah, this is too much now!

Guido: Do not go, I implore you! Have pity on me!

Doña Lupeng: No more of your comedy, Guido! (stands up and is about to leave but stops to face him again) And besides—where have those children gone to! I must go after them. (Guido grabbed the foot of Doña Lupeng and kissed its toes. Doña Lupeng look at Guido with disgust)

Scene 4

(inside the carriage as they are going home from granpa's house)

Don Paeng: Has young Guido been annoying you?

Doña Lupeng:Yes! All afternoon.

Don Paeng: These young men today—what a disgrace they are! I felt embarrassed as a man to see him following you about with those eyes of a whipped dog.

Doña Lupeng: (glanced coldly at Don Paeng) And was that all you felt, Paeng? embarrassed—as a man?

Don Paeng: A good husband has constant confidence in the good sense of his wife (saying it with pride)

Doña Lupeng: He kissed my feet (she told Don Paeng disdainfully)

Don Paeng: Do you see? They have the instincts, the style of the canalla! To kiss a woman's feet, to follow her like a dog, to adore her like a slave— (Doña Lupeng cuts him off)

Doña Lupeng: Is it so shameful for a man to adore women?

Don Paeng: A gentleman loves and respects Woman. The cads and lunatics—they 'adore' the women.

Doña Lupeng: But maybe we do not want to be loved and respected—but to be adored.

Scene 5

(we can see Doña Lupeng sitting in the sofa inside the house)

Don Paeng: How can you bear those hot clothes, Lupeng? And why the darkness? Order someone to bring light in here.

Doña Lupeng: There is no one, they have all gone to see the Tadtarin.

Don Paeng: A pack of loafers we are feeding!

(Doña Lupeng stood up and went to the window to look outside. Don Paeng came to her and kissed her neck but ignored him)

Doña Lupeng: Listen, Paeng. I want to see it, too. The Tadtarin, I mean. I have not seen it since I was a little girl. And tonight is the last night.

Don Paeng: (lets go of Doña Lupeng) You must be crazy! Only low people go there. And I thought you had a headache?

Doña Lupeng: But I want to go! My head aches worse in the house. For a favor, Paeng. (saying it with plea)

Don Paeng: I told you: No! go and take those clothes off. But, woman, whatever has got into you! (moved to a corner near the sofa to get a cigar)

Doña Lupeng: Very well, if you do want to come, do not come—but I am going. (saying it firmly)

Don Paeng: I warn you, Lupe; do not provoke me! (as if trying to threaten her)

Doña Lupeng: I will go with Amada. Entoy can take us. You cannot forbid me, Paeng. There is nothing wrong with it. I am not a child.

Don Paeng: (giving a sigh of defeat) Yes, the heat has touched you in the head, Lupeng. And since you are so set on it—very well, let us go. Come, have the coach ordered!

Scene 6

(we can see many towns people are gathered, mostly women to witnessed the Tadtarin)

Towns man 1: Here they come now!

Towns man 2: Here come the women with their St. John!

(women comes out and dances in the street)

(the people crowded the women)

(we can see a woman at the center of the dancing women)

(they danced like crazy)

(Doña Lupeng was amazed by what she saw)

Don Paeng: Come, let us go now (trying to grab the hand of his wife)

(Doña Lupeng ignored her husband as she watched at the dancers with fascination)

(without second thought Doña Lupeng loosened her hair and followed the dancers ignoring completely the command of her husband)

(Don Paeng went after his wife to grab her and take her back home but instead he got trapped at the dancing crowd)

Don Paeng: Lupeng! Lupeng! Lupeng! (cried her name many times as he tries to get out from the crowd)

Dancer 1: Hoy you are crushing my feet!

Dancer 2: And let go of my shawl, my shawl!

Dancer 3: Stop pushing, shameless one, or I kick you!

Don Paeng: Let me pass, let me pass, you harlots! (still struggling to get out)

Dancer 4: Abah, it is a man!

Dance 5: How dare he come in here?

Dancer 6: Break his head!

Dancer 7: Throw the animal out!

Dancers: (saying in unison) Throw him out! Throw him out!

(Don Paeng was helplessly beaten by the dancers)

Entoy: But what has happened to you, Don Paeng?

Don Paeng: Nothing. Where is the coach? (saying it while trying to stop his anger)

Entoy: Just over there, sir. But you are wounded in the face!

Don Paeng: No, these are only scratches. Go and get the señora. We are going home. (get inside the carriage)

Doña Lupeng: (inside the carriage Doña Lupeng noticed the bruise and tattered clothes on her husband) What a sight you are, man! What have you done with yourself?

(Don Paeng did not answer and just ignored her because of his anger)

Doña Lupeng: Why, have they pulled out his tongue too?

Scene 7

(we see them inside their bedroom)

(they started to argue)

Doña Lupeng:What are you going to do, Rafael?

Don Paeng: I am going to give you a whipping.

Doña Lupeng: But why?

Don Paeng: Because you have behaved tonight like a lewd woman.

Doña Lupeng: How I behaved tonight is what I am. If you call that lewd, then I was always a lewd woman and a whipping will not change me—though you whipped me till I died.

Don Paeng: I want this madness to die in you.

Doña Lupeng: No, you want me to pay for your bruises.

Don Paeng: How can you say that, Lupe?

Doña Lupeng:Because it is true. You have been whipped by the women and now you think to avenge yourself by whipping me.

Don Paeng: If you can think that of me— (cuts him off)

Doña Lupeng: You could think me a lewd woman!

Don Paeng: Oh, how do I know what to think of you? I was sure I knew you as I knew myself. But now you are as distant and strange to me as a female Turk in Africa

Doña Lupeng: Yet you would dare whip me— (cuts her off)

Don Paeng: Because I love you, because I respect you

Doña Lupeng: And because if you ceased to respect me you would cease to respect yourself?

Don Paeng: Ah, I did not say that!

Doña Lupeng: Then why not say it? It is true. And you want to say it, you want to say it!

Don Paeng: Why should I want to?

Doña Lupeng: Because, either you must say it—or you must whip me

Don Paeng: No, I cannot whip you!

Doña Lupeng: Then say it! Say it! (pause then continues) Why suffer and suffer? And in the end you would only submit.

Don Paeng: Is it not enough that you have me helpless? Is it not enough that I feel what you want me feel?

Doña Lupeng: Until you have said to me, there can be no peace between us.

Don Paeng: I adore you, Lupe (saying it with defeat)

Doña Lupeng: What? What did you say?

Don Paeng: That I adore you. That I adore you. That I worship you. That the air you breathe and the ground you tread is so holy to me. That I am your dog, your slave...

Doña Lupeng:Then come, crawl on the floor, and kiss my feet!

(Don Paeng crawled to the floor ready to kiss her feet)

(Doña Lupeng raised her skirt)

(Don Paeng kissed her feet without any hesitation)

(Doña Lupeng gave a look of success)

(close curtains)

Submitted: January 26, 2010

Literary Fiction