Paz Latorena Famous Works and "The Small Key" Summary

Here’s the summary of “The Small Key” by Paz Latorena including some of her famous works.

PAZ LATORENA FAMOUS WORKS – These are just a few of the famous works of Filipino English Write Paz Latorena.

One of the foremost writers of the first generation of Filipino English writers is Paz Latorena. She has the pseudonym Mina Lys, a name that has a romantic significance to her. Her story called “The Small Key” has won the third prize in Jose Garcia Villa’s Roll of Honor for the Best Stories of 1927. And under her said pseudonym, she wrote poems “Insight” and “My Last Song”.

Here are some of the best and most famous works of Paz:

“Sunset” from Jose Garcia Villa’s anthology Philippine Short Stories in 1929
“The Small Key” in Philippine Herald, 1927
“Myrrh”in Graphic, 1931
“Years and a Day” in Tribune, 1936
“Desire” in Literary Apprentice, 1937

Meanwhile, 35 of her stories have been collected and compiled in a single volume called Desire and Other Stories edited by Eva V. Kalaw.

Here’s a summary of “The Small Key”

THE SMALL KEY
(A Summary)

Married couple Soledad and Pedro Buhay live on a farm. Soledad, despite knowing that the farm will produce plenty still felt a bit discontented. And to fill this kind of feeling, she decided to mend some of her husband’s shirts, which were in a locked trunk.

Pedro took out from his pocket two keys, a large and small key – he gave the large key to his wife to open the large trunk where his clothes can be found putting back the small key to his jacket’s pocket. Feeling hot that morning, he took off his jacket, and when Soledad attempted to fold the jacket neatly, the small key fell to the floor.

It’s obvious to her that the small key holds great value to her husband. She tried hard to keep her mind off the small key but curiosity ate her up. She opened it and was pained to see that it contained the old clothes of his first wife. She wondered why he was still keeping it and feared that her husband is still in love with his deceased first wife. Soledad got worried that this may destroy their relationship.

Pedro returns home to Soledad who was pretending to have a fever. The next morning, he discovered the pile of ashes and half-burnt clothing in the backyard. He then realized what Soledad did. He rushed to the small trunk and his hunches were confirmed. He got angry and he is expecting Soledad to talk about it with him and explain why she did it. Within him, he knows he can eventually forgive but he is also aware of how this would impact their lives.

Paz Latorena Famous Works and “The Small Key” Summary

Here’s the summary of “The Small Key” by Paz Latorena including some of her famous works.

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