Lilia Momple's "Stress"

My favorite of the stories was Lilia Momple's "Stress". I could not connect to the characters, could not see myself in them, but I think that this made it more enjoyable. First, there's the woman, or the major-general's lover. She is a woman, so therefore I cannot relate to her much, but on another level, I cannot see anything of value in her from a man's perspective. She is everything in a woman I hate; self-involved, greedy, showy, and the need to butter herself up. She dresses up and puts on all sorts of feminine beauty products and all she does all day is sit around and wait for the major-general, whom at first I thought was his wife, but upon finding she was his mistress, my dislike for her grew even more. She has nothing to offer society, and it is no wonder she is a mistress and not a wife.

Although I disliked the major-general's lover, I did understand one aspect of her; how she has the uncontrollable desire for the man in the balcony. It is something she has no control of. She desires a man for reasons unknown, and I can relate to that because I often find myself attracted to certain women for no reasons. Well there are sometimes reasons, but they do not matter because it is an inner feeling that cannot be swept away, even if other interests catch the eye. But beyond that minor similarity, I cannot sympathize with her character because she is a selfish and sad creature.

As far as the teacher character goes, I sympathize with what happened. Before the murder, I saw him as a character of good qualities. Sure he sits around and drinks all Sunday, but who wouldnt want to do that? He is a good person underneath, wanting to be a teacher and help people. He cant help that he cannot afford to feed and clothe his children. Maybe it is something he should have worked to do, but all the same, I thought of him as a good moral character.