The main characters in the short story May Day Eve are Badoy, his wife Agueda, Agueda's daughter and Badoy's grandson. Badoy could be considered to be the central character in the story. He was a man of his time, committed to proving his manliness in order to impress women. After his youth, he became more mature and realized he was in fact very much in love with Agueda. Agueda was a woman with intelligence, unimpressed by shows of strength and macho character. However, when she learned she could see into the future and find out the identity of her future husband, she did so and saw the face of Badoy, which lead to them getting married.
• Agueda's daughter and Badoy's grandson
Agueda's daughter could be blamed for the failure of Badoy's and Agueda's marriage, as she told Badoy's grandson what Agueda had said about Badoy in her earlier years. She had described him as the 'devil', perhaps due to his immature mannerisms and constant attempts to impress the ladies around him. Badoy's grandson tells Badoy about this, which turns Badoy against his wife. He describes her to his grandson as a 'witch', and from then on their marriage turned bitter.
• Themes in May Day Eve
One theme of May Day Eve is love, and the difference that exists between love and passion. Badoy and Agueda were never truly in love, even if they did lust for each other. This inevitably led to the breakdown of their happy marriage. When they went through a rough patch, without love there was no way to repair the damage.
Another theme that exists is the maturity of characters throughout the story. Although Badoy seems to become more mature, he still fails to distinguish passion from lust. Agueda seems headstrong and wise, but she goes into a marriage simply because of her premonition, which again is immature.
• Agueda's daughter and Badoy's grandson
Agueda's daughter could be blamed for the failure of Badoy's and Agueda's marriage, as she told Badoy's grandson what Agueda had said about Badoy in her earlier years. She had described him as the 'devil', perhaps due to his immature mannerisms and constant attempts to impress the ladies around him. Badoy's grandson tells Badoy about this, which turns Badoy against his wife. He describes her to his grandson as a 'witch', and from then on their marriage turned bitter.
• Themes in May Day Eve
One theme of May Day Eve is love, and the difference that exists between love and passion. Badoy and Agueda were never truly in love, even if they did lust for each other. This inevitably led to the breakdown of their happy marriage. When they went through a rough patch, without love there was no way to repair the damage.
Another theme that exists is the maturity of characters throughout the story. Although Badoy seems to become more mature, he still fails to distinguish passion from lust. Agueda seems headstrong and wise, but she goes into a marriage simply because of her premonition, which again is immature.
