did not complain.  However her body was now shapeless and thin from bearing so many children and from the hard work of caring for them and the household.  Even though she loved Dudong, she cried and wished that she had not married so young. There had been another suitor, Lucio, who was nine years older than Dudong. She chose Dudong because he was so much younger. Lucio had married after she married Dudong, however, he was childless. She wonders if she had married Lucio, would she be childless? She feels that would have been a better lot in life.  But she loves Dudong, even though life has made him old and ugly.

One night Dudong goes outside and thinks about his life.  He wants to have the wisdom to know why life does not fulfill Youth's dreams. Why did life forsake you after love?  He never finds the answer.

When Blas turns 18, he comes home and tells Dudong that he wants to marry Tena.  Dudong at this time is only 36 years old, but he is portrayed as a much older man. Dudong does not want Blas to marry so young. He asks the same question his father asked him.  Does Blas have to marry Tena?  He does not want him to make the same mistake he did. Blas also reacts with resentment.   Dudong realizes that he is dealing with Youth and Love, and they will triumph over this situation.  After that, comes real life. He gives his consent, feeling sad and sorry for his son.

He called this "Footnote to Youth" because a footnote is an additional comment or reference on the content of the text. He is telling youth to pay attention to the lesson of this story.

"Footnote to Youth" is a short story written by Jose Garcia Billa in 1933. The setting is not explicitly stated, but it is in a rural area where they work as farmers. The story takes place around the same time it was written, and it tells of a couple that gets married at a young age.

Although Dodong's, the husband's, father warned him that he was too young to get married, he still gave Dodong his blessing. Dodong believed that, at 17, he was a mature adult and ready for marriage. Nine months later, with the birth of his first child, he realizes that he is young and becomes troubled with his life.

He and his wife continue to have more children, and the difficult life begins to wear on Dodong and his wife. When his first son turns 18, he approaches Dodong and asks for his permission to marry. Dodong sadly looks at his son while realizing that he is making the same mistake he himself once made.

Jose Garcia Villa (August 5, 1908–February 7, 1997) was a Filipino writer and artist. He was born in Manila to a prosperous family and attended high school in Manila and studied at the University of the Philippines. He then graduated from the University of New Mexico and continued postgraduate studies at Columbia University. He continued to live in New York City, where he combined writing and university teaching careers.

Villa's 1933 short story "Footnote to Youth" is set in the "contemporary" period (i.e., at approximately the time when it was written). While the particular location of the story is not specified, the cultural and physical context are those of the Philippines, with local traditions, foods, and terms creating a sense of place.

The focus of the story is on the characters and how they are trapped in a cycle of traditional lives and roles and the way marriage narrows their choices and possibilities. The setting, in a village or rural area, gives a sense that the cycle of marriage and children is echoed by the cyclical nature of agricultural work. The very lack of specificity of setting emphasizes the universality of the story.