CAN THE FILIPINO SUBALTERN CHILD FEEL? AFFECTIVE SUBALTERNITY WITHIN PHILIPPINE POSTWAR REALITIES IN THE SELECTED SHORT STORIES OF GENOVEVA EDROZA-MATUTE

Junel GARSUTA

doi:10.5281/zenodo.21108910

Authors

Junel GARSUTA University of the Southeastern Philippines – Obrero Campus, Philippines Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21108910

Keywords:

Subaltern Studies, Postcolonial Theory, Affect Theory, Subaltern Childhood, Genoveva Edroza-Matute, War, Literature

Abstract

This study examines how affective responses shape subaltern positioning of child protagonists in Genoveva Edroza-Matute’s short stories Bangkang Papel and Paglalayag sa Puso ng Isang Bata, using Silvan Tomkin’s Affect Theory and Albert Memmi’s Postcolonialism. This research found that seven (7) out of nine (9) affects were present in the stories and that each affect demonstrates characteristics of the ‘colonized’ according to Memmi’s “The Colonizer and the Colonized”. Furthermore, the researcher found that affective subalternity is characterized by emotional silencing, internalized self-diminishment, and loss of agency and belonging. These findings show that the children's feelings are not just simple, personal reactions; they are deeply connected to the powerful structures that control how the children see themselves and the world around them. Their feelings, including sadness, fear, shame, and even brief, broken moments of joy, show exactly how these children manage to navigate a world where their voices are limited and their experiences are often dismissed by the powerful adults. Through these emotional patterns, this study reveals that the condition of being oppressed (subalternity) works not only in big social or political ways, but also in the most private place: their feelings. Their identities are being shaped by constant experiences of being ignored, pushed to the outside, and having their pain left unacknowledged. Ultimately, the study concludes that these feelings are crucial ways to understand how these young characters take in and embody the difficult reality of being marginalized in Matute’s stories.

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