"May Day Eve" is a short story written by Filipino National Artist Nick Joaquin. Written after World War II, it became one of Joaquin's “signature stories” that became a classic in Philippine literature in English. Together with Joaquin's other stories like The Mass of St. Sylvester, Doña Jeronima and Candido’s Apocalypse, May Day Eve utilized the theme of "magic realism" long before the genre was made a trend in Latin American novels. Published in 1947, it is a story originally intended for adult readers, but has later become a required and important reading material for Filipino students.

1. MAY DAY EVE
Nick juaquin

2. CHARACTERS IMPORTANT
EVENTS SOCIAL ISSUES

3. characters
CONTENT

4. Anastasia
• a mischievous old woman, who was called a
maga.
CONTENT

5. Agueda
• a beautiful young woman with long dark hair. She is
bold, liberated and a non-conformist.
CONTENT

6. Agueda
• as an old woman, she had a hard, bitter, vengeful
face with graying hair.
CONTENT

7. Agueda’s daughter
• a young girl with curly hair.
CONTENT

8. Don Badoy Montiya
• a young man with curly hair, a mustache and a scar on
his cheek. He is vain, promiscuous, a stereotypical man,
who intends to proves his machismo.
CONTENT

9. Don Badoy Montiya
• as an old man, he had turned very pale.
CONTENT

10. Voltaire
• grandson of badoy montiya.
CONTENT

11. Important events
• Agueda looks in the mirror during may day eve and sees
her future husband, badoy.
CONTENT

12. Important events
• Agueda marries badoy
CONTENT

13. Important events
• Resulted to a bitter marriage CONTENT

14. Social issues
• Gender inequality
CONTENT

15. Social issues
• Filipino superstitions
CONTENT

16. Social issues
• marriage without love
CONTENT

17. CONTENT