The Correspondence of the Two Young Ladies Urbana and Feliza

Modesto de CastroProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
228K words
Chapters
23

Tags

Foreign Language Books Women EducationSocial ConductMoral CultivationEpistolary FormPhilippine Literature

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Pag Susulatan nang Dalauang Binibini na si Urbana at ni Feliza by Modesto de CastroAuthor: Castro, Modesto de, 1819-1864,Language: Tagalog, Class: BJ: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Ethics, Social usages, Etiquette, Religion, Release Date: Jun 4, 2005

Editor's review

This epistolary work in Tagalog unfolds through letters exchanged between two young women, Urbana and Feliza, offering guidance on manners, conduct, and religious ethics. It is an important text for understanding nineteenth-century Philippine social norms and moral education. Its value lies not in dramatic plotting but in the advisory tone carried by the epistolary form: elder-like counsel and earnest reminders between sisters create a gentle yet clear structure of instruction. The original language is archaic, with sentence patterns shaped by the conventions of its era; today's readers can discern the outlines of ideas about women's education and appreciate the distinctive role of the letter form in moral transmission. Suitable as supplementary reading for Philippine literature, colonial social history, and ethics education, it is best read slowly and savored rather than rushed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Begin with the preface or introduction to understand the epistolary structure and character relationships, then read letter by letter.
  2. After each group of letters, summarize its moral theme in one sentence to grasp the overall thread.
  3. When encountering archaic expressions, consult annotations or translations; do not insist on word-for-word understanding.
  4. Read alongside background material on nineteenth-century Philippine society to situate the text historically.
  5. Compare the book's ideas of propriety with contemporary practices, noting differences and continuities.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23

FAQ

What language is this book written in? The original is in Tagalog, released as an electronic text by Project Gutenberg. Readers unfamiliar with the language should use a translation or annotations to accurately understand the ethical counsel and period language in the letters.
Why write it in epistolary form? The epistolary form allows the two young women to express their views in turn, creating a back-and-forth of counsel and response. This form grounds abstract rules of propriety in concrete situations, reading more like everyday conversation than a rigid list of doctrines.
Can I read it without relevant background knowledge? Yes, but depth of understanding will be affected. It is advisable to first learn about nineteenth-century Philippine society and education, then focus on the recurring themes of conduct, piety, and how to treat others; reading will be smoother.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Modesto de Castro Author · 1819–1864

Modesto de Castro (1819–1864) was an important early writer in Tagalog literature in the Philippines; public information about his life and education is limited. His best-known work is the epistolary novel Pag Susulatan nang Dalauang Binibini na si Urbana at ni Feliza, whose plot is carried by letters exchanged between two sisters and which deals with manners, moral cultivation, and family ethics, combining literary narrative with the character of a conduct guide. Written in clear, graceful language with natural dialogue, the book conveys its lessons through everyday matters and reflects nineteenth-century Philippine concerns about women's upbringing and family order. It long served as a Tagalog reader and moral textbook, exerting a lasting influence on later Philippine literature and language education, and for this reason Castro is regarded as one of the country's representative writers of epistolary and didactic literature.