Table of Contents
Introduction
Paz Latorena, a writer from the Philippines, is the author of “The Small Key.” A woman named Soledad and her husband Pedro Buhay is the subject of the story. They are rural dwellers. One morning, Soledad wakes up knowing the farm will yield abundantly, yet she still feels unsatisfied inside.
Some of her husband’s clothing, which was locked in a trunk, she intended to repair. Pedro pulled a rope with two keys—one big and shiny and the other little and rusted—out of his pocket.
Pedro and Soledad’s relationship
The marriage of Soledad and Pedro Buhay, an apparently happy couple, is at the heart of the narrative. As the narrative opens, Soledad returns home to find her husband, Pedro, enjoying a late lunch. Pedro tells his wife that he will be running late after work since he needs to pick up Tia Maria from their residence.
He said that he might have left the clothes in his trunk when Soledad asked him for the shirts she had ironed the day before. Pedro reaches inside his pocket and pulls out two keys that are connected by a crimson cord.While the small, rusted key safely slid back into his coat pocket, the husband gently unties this and offers the large key to his wife, which made Soledad warier of him.
Pedro adds that his wife appeared paler and more exhausted than normal before he departs the scene. She then offers him an explanation, saying that the intense heat is probably what caused her headaches. Pedro agreed to this and hastily left his coat with the key inside because he was in a rush.
Pedro’s backstory and how he came to be married to Soledad
Soledad found the little key in his coat as he eventually walked away. She had the key and used it to unlock the trunk, which contained Pedro’s late wife’s clothing. She torched them in the backyard and went back inside, believing Pedro wouldn’t notice if she pretended to be ill, driven by envy and the worry that he still loves his ex-wife.
Pedro didn’t suspect anything that fateful evening when he finally arrived home because he was only truly concerned for his ailing wife.He didn’t see a half-burned panuelo outside their house until he went outside to split some wood. He walked back inside to validate his suspicion because he didn’t want to draw any premature conclusions.
He sighed in exasperation at his wife for acting in such an absurd manner after discovering that his coat and the trunk were both empty. When the doctor eventually showed up, it was discovered that Soledad wasn’t even remotely ill. He advised a day of total rest and then left right away.
The importance of communication in a marriage
Pedro immediately turned to face his wife, trying desperately not to lose his temper with her. Even though what she did was wrong, he refrained from yelling at her because he was confident that she would eventually apologize and change her ways. Even then, though, he would still forgive her since, after all, he still loved her.
Nevertheless, he was aware that despite everything, they would always be haunted by this episode, which would live on in their memories as a memorable moment for the remainder of their married life.
Conclusion
The lesson of the tale is that trust is essential in any relationship. Because trust can be hard to provide, fear and trust are inextricably linked. Soledad burned the clothes she found in the trunk to make sure that her worries about Pedro’s continued love for his deceased wife don’t come true. As a result, their marriage suffered since she didn’t trust him enough to put those anxieties aside.
