Marriage as Power
The Phillipines is a nation characterized by sometimes extreme poverty. Women in this culture have a particularly difficult time because they have less economic power and opportunity, so they often seek to improve their circumstances through marriage. Marriage is especially important to the Filipinos because it involves familial honor, a system of status in which women are often used as prizes in alliance marriages between wealthy families. Sometimes women like Isabal are able to marry into more prestigious families and thus gain more wealth and power by association. Women in these positions are expected to remain polite and beautiful at all time and to run their husband's households. More like trophy wives than anything else, these women generally retain only cosmetic power in their homes, but some take advantage of their marriages to elevate their social power and use their influence to bring about social change.
Anarchy
The main conflict in this book is of a political nature. In the face of an oppressive and corrupt government, many like Senator Avila attempt to resist being controlled by responding with anarchist tendencies. The political atmosphere of Manila threatens the safety of every citizen because neither the authorities nor those who oppose them can be trusted. Many of the characters of the novel favor the cause of anarchism because its liabilities seem favorable when compared to the very real oppressive power of the currently established government. The anarchists, however, are responsible for just as much violence as the government. They ritually carry out assassinations and revolutions which result in the shedding of much innocent blood. For their part, the members of the government assassinate leftist sympathizers and humanitarians like Senator Avila to send a message to insubordinate citizens. They also sometimes from the left for their own violence.
Physical Beauty as a Political Tool
Many of the characters in this novel use their physical beauty as a means of gaining power. In an impoverished country, people have few choices when it comes to acquiring wealth. Those greedy enough to desire great power and wealth will resort to whatever means necessary. This leads to a general cultural atmosphere which values aesthetic physical beauty over integrity. Characters like Dolores, Joey Santos, and Orlando Rosales all rely upon their appearances for income, whether that be in an official capacity like in Joey's case or surreptitiously like Romeo. Romeo in particular demonstrates the cultural values because he believes that he deserves wealth based upon his physical appearance alone. Consequently he puts no effort into his relationship with Trinidad but readily uses her paycheck to subsist.
