Wife vs querida

Abstract This study examines the representations of women in two Filipino short stories, The Chieftest Mourner and Talunang Manok , written by Aida Rivera Ford and Marivi Soliven Blanco, respectively. Using feminist stylistics in analysing syntactic prominence in transitivity processes, the study unveils how the authors construct the identities and agency of the female protagonists—the wife and the querida . The analysis reveals that the wife is depicted with greater agency through material processes, while the querida is assigned passive roles though behavioural processes. Furthermore, the narratives relegate the female characters to stereotypical and oppressive roles in domestic spaces where their actions are limited to catering to male needs. By foregrounding patriarchal ideology through syntactic patterns, Ford and Blanco challenge the structures that reinforce patriarchal values, propagate gender stereotypes, and place women in adversarial roles, signifying the paradox of female authors navigating male-dominated discourses.