The Mistress

QUERIDA: THE MISTRESS

The role played by the mistress is essentially also that of wife and mother. In many cases the mistress is preferred over the wife because the former is a better wife to a man than the latter. There is usually much rivalry between her and the wife, not on bedroom matters, but on who cooks better and who takes better care of the husband.

The Filipino mistress is really more like a second wife and is regarded as such by her partner. Often she has children by him whom he supports and considers as important as his legitimate children. Many Filipinos have two or more support them all. Of course these families are not recognized by the predominantly Catholic society but the mistress still considers herself as her partner's wife and claim rights over him which naturally gives rise to conflicts with the legitimate wife.