Elena's Redemption

Running time: N/A

Since the beginning of civilization, cities have always lured the rural poor to its environs with the seductive dream of a better life. More often than not, however, that dream is cruelly shattered. Nowhere is this type of tragedy more evident than in the Philippines, where countless young women are sent from poor villages into Manila to work as maids--or worse--for the well-to-do. Frightened and reluctant to leave home, young Elena is nevertheless forced by her father to become the housekeeper for a wealthy woman doctor and her husband, himself a refugee from the country. Overwhelmed at first by her duties, Elena eventually adjusts to her new environment. But she mistakes the husband's kindness for love and a doomed affair between them begins. Without adequate birth control, Elena becomes pregnant. Further complicating the situation is the doctor's obsession with having a baby, despite being sterile. When she learns that Elena is pregnant--although completely ignorant that the father is her husband--she decides to adopt the baby as her own. But Elena's secret is soon exposed, resulting in tragedy for all three. Elena's Redemption provides a poignant human voice to those impoverished and defenseless women who, due only to their lower class, have no effective voice of their own. --Pete Crane