The Pretenders

Introduction

The Pretenders tells the story of Antonio Samson, a Harvard Ph.D., who returns to the Philippines and marries into a wealthy industrial family. His growing sense that he has not only been betrayed by his new family but has also betrayed his own people and beliefs lead to suicide. His life and death leave an indelible mark on his wife's family, and she publishes his thesis, which influences the next generation of revolutionaries.

Setting

In the Philippines,

Characters:

Mrs. Antonio Samson

A widow who is a pessimist and does not believe easily. She doesn't want to believe in her husband's death. She tried to understand it but it all led to her deafening, her doctors say that she's deaf because she doesn't want to face reality, she doesn't want to believe in her husband's death.

Mr. Tony Samson

The late husband of Mrs. Antonio Samson. He was known for his honesty, he couldn't keep anything from his wife. He would always say everything to his wife. He wasn't really mentioned in the story due to his death.

Dean Lopez

Carmen Villa

The mestiza who's bound to marry Tony. She's rich like all of the other Villa's

Summary

The Pretenders tells of the life of Tony Samson, grandson of Istak. The story begins by narrating his death by suicide and then proceeds to recount why this occurred. Tony has risen from his peasant beginnings and from the squalor of his room in Manila and traveled on scholarship to the United States, obtaining his doctorate from Harvard. Tony's father is in Bilibid prison for having killed his landlord (the father of the narrator in Tree) during the Colorum uprising. Tony Samson has written a dissertation criticizing the role of the ilustrados in the Philippine Revolution.

Tony marries a rich mestiza, daughter of the industrialist