MODULE 5 - THE LIFE OF JOSE RIZAL

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

1. discuss the family background, childhood, and early education of Rizal;

2. describe people and events that influenced the formation of his character; and
3. identify Rizal’s scholastic achievements and triumphs in life.

MODULE OUTLINE:

Introduction
Birth, Ancestry and Childhood (1861-1896)
Overview of Life in Calamba
Rizal’s Family Ancestry
Rizal’s Family
Formal Search for Knowledge
Hometown
Ateneo education
University of Santo Tomas
Education in Europe
The Travels of Jose Rizal
Rizal in Dapitan
Women in Rizal’s Life
The Propaganda Movement
The La Liga Filipina
Rizal’s Reaction to the Revolution
Trial and Execution
Rizal’s Body

Introduction

Why was Rizal considered a unique example of a many-splendored genius who became
the greatest hero of a nation?

It is because of the versatile gifts endowed by God to him, such that he ranked with the
world’s geniuses. To name a few of these gifts, he was a physician, poet, dramatist, essayist,
novelist, historian, zoologist, architect, surveyor, sanitary engineer, painter, sculptor, educator,
linguist, musician, etc. Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22
languages. These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew,
Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other
native dialects.

When he was on exile in Dapitan, he collected different kinds of species of animals.

Among them were the Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a species of flying dragon; Rachophorous

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Rizali (Boetger), a hithertho unknown species of toad; and Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small
beetle, which were later named after him.

Birth, Ancestry and Childhood

Overview of Life in Calamba

 Small agricultural town at the foot of Mt. Makiling sloping down to Laguna de
Bay
 Calamba named after a big native jar
 Sugar was the major product.
 Estates were owned by the Dominican friars.
 The scenic beauty helped develop Rizal’s poetic and artistic creativity.
 Their hardships as tenants developed his noble and heroic spirit.
 Rizal’s home was a 2-storey, rectangular house made of adobe stones and
hardwood; roofed with red tiles; had a cistern (reservoir), for water; had an
orchard and poultry of turkeys and chicken.

Rizal’s Family Ancestry

He was a product of the mixture of East and West races: Negritoes, Indonesian,
predominantly Malayan, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish.

 Paternal Lineage - Domingo Lamco from Fukien City who arrived in Manila in
1690, married a Chinese Christian: Ines de la Rosa. He assumed the name
MERCADO (he was a merchant), which meant “market”, in English, in order to
free the family from prejudice of Chinese name.
 RIZAL, a second surname given by the Spanish alcalde mayor (provincial
governor) of Laguna. Filipinos were required to have a second surname which
will come from the list of the Spanish words for ease in the pronunciation of the
words.
 RIZAL from the word ricial which means “greenfields” or a field where wheat,
cut while still green sprouts again.

Mercado was the original surname of the Rizal family. Domingo Lamco,
Jose's great-great-grandfather, adopted the name Rizal in 1731 and it became a
second surname of the family. In Jose's letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, he says:

"I am the only Rizal because at home my parents, my sisters my brother,

and my relatives have always preferred our old surname Mercado. Our family
name was in fact Mercado, but there were many Mercados in the Philippines who
are not related to us. It is said that an alcalde mayor, who was a friend of our
family added Rizal to our name. My family did not pay much attention to this, but
now I have to use it. In this way, it seems that I am an illegitimate son."

 Maternal Lineage - Manuel de Quintos, a Chinese mestizo from Lingayen,

Pangasinan, married to Regina Ursua (of Japanese ancestry) was a lawyer;
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  Their daughter Brigida married Lorenzo Alberto Alonso, an engineer.
 They had 5 children, including Teodora, Rizal’s mother;
 The Alonzo family produced lawyers, priests, engineers, and government
officials.

The family belonged to then privileged class, the principalia, a town aristocracy
in Spanish Philippines and one of the distinguished families in Calamba. Evidences of
their affluence were:

 Was able to build a stone house and still buy another one.
 They owned carriages (carruaje, a status symbol of the ilustrados) and horses
which were symbols of wealth and respectability.
 They also owned a private library with more than 1,000 volumes of books.
 They were able to send their children to college in Manila

Rizal’s parents believe in the maxim “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” The
family had a simple contended life with parents who love their children but they never
spoil them.

His great grandfather Francisco Mercado Sr., did have the chance to be elected as
the gobernadorcillo or Municipal Mayor of Biñan which was likewise true to his
grandfather, Juan Mercado who also became gobernadorcillo or Municipal Mayor of the
town.

Rizal’s mother descended from Lakandula, the last native king of Tondo. Her
great, great grandfather was of Japanese ancestry who married a Filipina named Benigna.
She had three brothers namely Gregorio, Manuel and Jose Alberto who had influences in
the life of Rizal.

 Jose Alberto – Artistic talent

 Manuel – physical exercises
 Gregorio – voracious reading; Aid of Divine Providence. A person may have
everything in life – brain, wealth and power, but without the aid of Divine
Providence, he cannot attain greatness.

Rizal’s Family

 Father: Francisco Mercado Rizal

 Mother: Teodora Alonzo y Realonda

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Francisco Mercado

- “A model of fathers” – Jose Rizal

- Born in Biñan, Laguna (May 11, 1818)
- Latin and Philosophy (Colegio de San Juan, Manila)
-Tenant-farmer of a Dominican owned hacienda in Calamba
- hardworking, independent minded who talked less but worked more, strong in body,
valiant in spirit.
- Died in Manila (January 5, 1898)

Teodora Alonzo y Realonda

“A woman of more than ordinary culture…” – Jose Rizal

- Born in Manila (November 8, 1826)
- Educated at Colegio de Santa Rosa
- The mother was a remarkable woman possessing refined culture, literary talent,
business ability and a fortitude of a Spartan woman.
- Died in Manila (August 16, 1911)

Brother and Sisters

 Saturnina – She was known as Neneng. Married to Manuel Hidalgo, a native &
one of the richest in Tanauan, Batangas

 Paciano (10 years older than Jose; Pilosopo Tasio in “Noli”; “most noble of
Filipinos; was a Maj. Gen. under Emilio Aguinaldo; tortured by Spaniards); he
later retired to his farm in Los Baños and led a quiet life until his death in 1930;

 Narcisa, musician and became a teacher in Morong; She married Antonio Lopez
who was a school teacher.

 Olimpia, also known as Ypia; married to Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator

who hailed from Manila. She died of childbirth in 1887.

 Lucia, married to Mariano Herbosa, who was the nephew of Fr. Casanas, Jose
Rizal's godfather. He was refused by the Catholic church a proper Christian
burial because of his affiliation as brother-in-law to Jose Rizal.

 Maria, nicknamed “Biang”; married to Daniel Faustino Cruz who hailed from
Laguna.

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 Jose

Was born June 19, 1861, on a Wed. between 11 PM-Midnight.

He Died on December 30, 1896.

He was the 7th of 11 children. Also known as Pepe.

His Mother made a vow to the Virgin of Antipolo to take the baby to the
sanctuary by pilgrimage; mother named him “Jose”, who was a devotee of St.
Joseph.

He was Baptized after 3 days by Fr. Rufino Collantes (he commented that he will
be a great man with the big head of the baby). his Godfather was Fr. Pedro
Casañas.

Rizal called his sisters Doña” or Señora ( if married) or Señorita ( if single)

Complete Name of Jose Rizal:

JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO y ALONZO REALONDA

 Concepcion, also known as Concha; died at 3 yrs.old when she fell severely ill;
Her death was Rizal’s first sorrow;

 Josefa, fondly called "Panggoy" and was an epileptic. She became a leader of
Women's section in Katipunan; died an old maid at 80 years old;

 Trinidad, the last of the family to die; died an old maid at 83;

 Soledad “Choleng” was the youngest of the Rizal children; married to Pantaleon
Quintero who hailed from Calamba.

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Rizal as a devoted son of the church

He began to take part in the family prayers at the age of 3 and at the age of 5 he was able
to read the Spanish family bible. He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in the novenas
and join the procession.

What was the first poem of Rizal?

Rizal wrote his first poem “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” at the age of eight. This poem reveals
his earliest nationalist sentiment. To him a people who truly love their native language will
surely strive for liberty.
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What was the first drama written by Rizal?

At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first drama which was a Tagalog comedy. It was
staged in a Calamba festival and was delightfully applauded by the audience. A gobernadorcillo
from Paete liked it and purchased it for two pesos.

What was the focus of instruction in Rizal’s times?

Rizal’s early education in Calamba and Biñan gave focus to the learning of the four R’s –
reading, writing, arithmetic and religion. Knowledge was forced using the memory method aided
by the teacher’s whip. It may be said that Rizal was born a physical weakling and rose to become
an intellectual giant.

Who were Rizal’s teachers?

The first teacher of Rizal was his mother who was a remarkable woman of good character
and fine culture. He learned at the age of three the alphabet and the prayers. As a tutor, Doña
Teodora was patient, conscientious and understanding. It was she who had discovered Rizal’s
talent in poetry.

As Jose grew, his parents employed private tutors to give him lessons at home. The
following were his private tutors: Maestro Celestino, Maestro Lucas Padua and Leon Monroy,
who was a former classmate of his father.

At 9 years old, he was sent to Biñan to study under Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz.

 Formal lessons in Latin & Spanish. Jose was the best student in class who surpassed all
his classmates in Spanish, Latin and other subjects. Some of his older classmates were
jealous of him because of his intellectual superiority so that they told lies to discredit him.

Developed his painting skills. Having spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio
(Juancho), he was given free lessons in painting in exchange of which, he became the old
painter’s apprentice. Referred to himself as a “fashionable” painter.

What was the injustice to the hero’s mother all about?

Before June of 1872, tragedy struck the Rizal family. Doña Teodora was just suddenly
arrested on a malicious charge that Teodora and her brother Jose Alberto, tried to poison the
latter’s wife. After arresting Doña Teodora, the sadistic Spanish lieutenant forced her to walk
from Calamba to Sta. Cruz (capital of Laguna province), a distance of 50 kms. She was placed at
the provincial prison where she languished for 2 ½ years until the Manila Royal Audiencia
(Supreme Court) acquitted her on the alleged crime. Rizal’s mother was defended in court by
Messrs. Francisco de Marcaida and Manuel Marzon, the most famous lawyer of Manila. She had
been acquitted and vindicated in the eyes of her judges, accusers and even enemies.

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How old was Rizal when he was sent to Manila and for what reason was he sent to Manila?

Jose was sent to Manila four months after the martyrdom of Gomburza. His mother was
still in prison and he has not yet celebrated his 11th birthday. He was supposed to continue with
his formal eductation in Manila.

Where was and how was he enrolled?

Jose took entrance examination at the College of San Juan de Letran and passed however,
he was enrolled at Ateneo de Manila at his father’s wish. He was at first refused admission for
two reasons: he was late for registration and he was sickly and undersized for his age. It was
upon the intercession of Father Manuel Xerez Burgos that he was admitted though reluctantly. It
was the surname Rizal that Jose adopted as he enrolled in this school.

What was the Jesuit system of education?

The system of education by the Jesuits in Ateneo was more advanced than that of other
colleges in that period. It trained the character of the student by rigid discipline and by religious
instruction. The students heard mass in the morning before the beginning of daily class. Classes
in every subject were opened and closed with prayers.

Students at the Ateneo were divided into two groups: the Roman empire consisting of the
internos (boarders) and the Carthaginian empire composed of the externos (non-boarders).
Within the empire, the students fought for positions.

How was Rizal’s first year at the Ateneo? (1872-1873)

On the first day in class in Ateneo, Rizal first heard mass at the College Chapel and
prayed fervently to God for guidance and success. Being a new comer and knowing little
Spanish, he was placed at the bottom of the class. He was an externo, hence he was assigned to
the Carthaginian empire occupying the end of the line. After the first week, Jose progressed
rapidly. At the end of the month, he became emperor. He was the brightest pupil in the class and
he was awarded a prize. By the end of the second half of his first year, he placed second. He did
not try to retain his academic supremacy because he resented some remarks of his professors.

How was his second year in Ateneo?

Jose repented having neglected his studies the previous year and so to regain his lost
leadership, he studied harder. Once more he became emperor. At the end of the school year, he
received excellent grades in all his subjects and a gold medal.

What was his teenage interest in reading?

Rizal began to take interest in reading novels. His favorite novel was “The Count of
Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas. His boyish imagination was stirred by the sufferings of
Edmond Dantes, the hero. In prison, his spectacular escape from Chateau d’ If, his finding a

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buried treasure on the rocky island of Monte Cristo, and his dramatic revenge on his enemies
who had wronged him.

Rizal was a voracious reader. He persuaded his father to buy him a costly set of Cesar Cantu’s
Universal History which was of great aid in his studies and enabled him to win more prizes in
Ateneo.

Later Rizal read Travels in the Philippines by Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German scientist-
traveler who visited the Philippines in 1859-1860. What impressed him in this book were: 1)
Jagor’s keen observations of the defects of Spanish colonization and 2) his prophecy that
someday Spain would lose the Philippines and that America would come to succeed her as
colonizer.

How was his third year in Ateneo?

Shortly after the opening of classes, Rizal’s mother arrived and joyously told him that she
was released from prison just as he had predicted during his last visit to her prison cell. He was
happy to see his mother a free woman.

How was his fourth year in Ateneo?

Rizal became an interno in his fourth year in Ateneo. One of his professors was Fr.
Francisco de Paula Sanchez, a great educator and scholar to whom Rizal had the highest
affection and respect. Rizal had considered him to be the best professor in Ateneo. He describe
this Jesuit professor as “model of uprightness, earnestness and love for advancement of his
pupils.” Rizal topped all his classmates in all subjects and won five medals at the end of the
school term.

How was his last year in Ateneo?

Rizal’s studies continued to fare well and he excelled in all subjects. The most brilliant
Atenean of his time, he was truly “the pride of the Jesuits.” He finished his last year at the
Ateneo in a blaze of glory having obtained highest grades in all subjects. Rizal who was 16 years
old, received from his Alma Mater, Ateneo Municipal, the degree of Bachelor of Arts with
highest honors.
There were only 12 students who graduated, 9 of them (including Rizal) got grades with
“excellent” marks.

What were the Extra Co-Curricular activities of Rizal in Ateneo?

Rizal was an emperor inside the classroom and a campus leader outside. He was an
active member of the Marian Congregation. He had great devotion to Our Lady of Immaculate
Concepcion, the college patroness. In his leisure hours, he cultivated his literary talent under
the guidance of Father Sanchez. He also devoted his spare time to fine arts. To develop his
weak body, he engaged in gymnastics and fencing.

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How was Rizal on poem writing while in Ateneo?

It was Doña Teodora who discovered the poetic genius of Rizal and who encouraged him
to write poems. However, it was Father Sanchez who inspired Rizal to make full use of his God-
given gift in poetry and improve this by the enriching influence of world literature. The first
poem he has written during his days in Ateneo was “Mi Primera Inspiracion” which was
dedicated to his mother on her birthday. He wrote this before he was 14 years old. Inspired by
Father Sanchez, he wrote more poems.

Segunda Katigbak: First Romance of Rizal

How was Rizal’s first romance?

After graduation, Rizal who was sixteen years old experienced his first romance – that
painful experience which comes to nearly all adolescence. The girl was Segunda Katigbak. She
was a Batangueña from Lipa. She was the sister of his friend Mariano Katigbak. He saw her
when he visited his grandmother who was a friend of the Katigbak family. He knew her
ultimately during his weekly visit to his sister Olimpia who was a close friend of Segunda. They
had fallen in love with each other and this was “a love at first sight.” Because of his talent in
painting, he was urged to draw Segunda’s portrait. His first romance however, was ruined by his
own shyness and reserve. The first girl whom he loved was lost forever. She returned to Lipa and
later married Manuel Luz. Rizal remained in Calamba, a frustrated lover, cherishing nostalgic
memories of a lost love.

University of Santo Tomas (1877-1882)

 Managed by the Dominican priests (Dominicans and Jesuits were rival educators)

Why a mother’s opposition to higher education?

After graduating with the highest honors from the Ateneo, Rizal had to go to the
University of Sto. Tomas for higher studies. The Bachelor of Arts course during Spanish times
was equivalent only to the High School and Junior College today. Both Don Francisco and
Paciano wanted Jose to pursue higher learning in the University. But Doña Teodora, who knew
what happened to Gomburza vigorously opposed son’s pursuit for higher learning that if he gets
to know more, they will cut off his head.

How was Rizal able to enter a University?

In April 1877, Rizal who was then 16 years old, matriculated in the University of Sto.
Tomas, taking the course of Philosophy and Letters. He enrolled in this course for two reasons:
1) His father liked it. 2) He was uncertain as to what career to pursue. He had written to Fr. Pablo
Ramon, Rector of Ateneo who had been good to him, to ask for advice on the choice of a career.
It was during the following term that Rizal received Fr. Rector’s advice to study medicine. After
1 year, he took up Medicine to help the failing eyesight of his mother.

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Where did he finish his Surveying course? (1877-1878)?

During the first school term in the University of Sto. Tomas, Rizal also studies in Ateneo.
He took the vocational course leading to the title Perito Agrimensor (expert surveyor). He, as
usual, excelled in all subjects, in the surveying course, obtaining gold medals in agriculture and
topography. At the age of 17, he passed the final examination in the surveying course, but he
could not be granted the title as Surveyor because he was below age. The title was issued to him
in 1881 when he was 21 years old.

How was Rizal’s romances with other girls?

After losing Segunda Katigbak, he courted a young woman in Calamba called “Miss L.”
After visiting her in her house several times, he suddenly stopped his wooing, and the romance
died a natural death. He gave two reasons forhis change of heart namely: 1. the sweet memory of
Segunda was still fresh, 2. his father did not like the family of Miss L. During his sophomore
year at the University of Sto. Tomas, he again courted the next door neighbor named Leonor
Valenzuela. He sent her love notes written in invisible ink. This consisted of common table salt
and water. But he had stopped short of proposing marriage to Orang. His next romance was with
another Leonor, Leonor Rivera his cousin from Camiling. She was the daughter of his landlord
uncle Antonio Rivera. They became engaged and Leonor in her letters signed her name as
Taimis.

How did he happen to become a victim of Spanish Officer brutality?

One dark night in Calamba, during summer vacation in 1878, he was walking in the
street. He dimly perceived the figure of a man while passing him. He failed to salute nor say a
courteous “Good evening.” With a snarl he turned upon Rizal whipped out his sword and
brutally slashed the latter at the back. The wound was not serious but it was painful. Rizal
reported this incident to General Primo de Rivera, the Spanish gobernadorcillo of the Philippines
at that time. But nothing came out of his complaint because he was an Indio while the abusive
officer was a Spaniard.

To what contest was the poem “To The Filipino Youth” submitted and how did it fare in
the contest?

In the year 1879, the Liceo Artistico-Literario (Artistic Literary Lyceum) of Manila held
a literary contest. It offered a prize for the best poem by a native or a mestizo. Rizal who was
then 18 years old, submitted his poem entitled A La Juventud Filipina (To The Filipino Youth).

The Board of Judges, composed of Spaniards, was impressed by Rizal’s poem and gave it
first prize which consisted of a silver pen, feather-shaped and decorated with gold ribbon. The
poem was the first great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino, whose merit was recognized by
Spanish literary authorities. It expressed that the Filipinos, were the “fair hope of the Fatherland
and not the foreigners.”

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To what contest was the entry “The Council of the Gods” submitted?

The following year (1880), the Artistic Literary Lyceum opened another literary contest
to commemorate the fourth centennial of the death of Cervantes, Spain’s glorified man-of-letters
and famous author of Don Quixote. The contest was opened to both Filipinos and Spaniards.
Many writers participated in the contest – priests, newspapermen, scholars and professors. Rizal
submitted an allegorical drama entitled El Consejo de los Dioses (The Council of the Gods) The
judges of the contest were all Spaniards who awarded the first prize to Rizal’s work because of
its literary superiority over the others. The Spanish community in Manila, spearheaded by the
Spanish press, howled in great indignation against the decision because the winning author was
an Indio. Despite all objections, the prize was awarded to Rizal, a gold ring which was an
engraved bust of Cervantes.

How was Rizal called the Champion of Filipino students?

Rizal was the champion of the Filipino students in their frequent fights against the
arrogant Spanish students, who often called them “Indio, chongo (monkeys)!.” In retaliation, the
Filipino students called them “Kastila, bangus (milkfish)!.”

In 1880, Rizal founded a secret society of Filipino students in the University of Sto.
Tomas called Compañerismo (Comradeship), whose members were called “Companions of
Jehu” after the valiant Hebrew general who fought the Arameans and ruled the Kingdom of
Israel. This led Filipino students into combats against Spanish students in street fights. In one of
their fierce encounters with Spanish students, Rizal was wounded in the head, and it was Leonor
Rivera who tenderly washed and dressed his wound.

Why Rizal had unhappy days at the UST?

Rizal found the atmosphere at the UST suffocating to his sensitive spirit. He was
unhappy at this Dominican institution because:

1) the Dominican professors were hostile to him

2) the Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the Spaniards
3) the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.

Because of the unfriendly attitude of his professors, Rizal, the most brilliant graduate of
Ateneo, failed to win high scholastic honors. Although his grades in the first year of the
Philosophy course were all excellent, they were not impressive in the four years of his medical
course.

How the decision to study abroad was finally made possible?

After finishing the four years of his medical course, Rizal decided to study in Spain. He
could no longer endure the rampant bigotry, discrimination and hostility in the University of Sto.
Tomas. His older brother and two sisters, Saturnina and Lucia including his uncle Antonio
Rivera, the Valenzuela family and some friends approved of his going to Spain. For the first
time, Rizal did not seek his parents’ permission and blessings to go abroad. He did not bring his
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beloved Leonor to his confidence either. Thus Rizal’s parents, Leonor, and the Spanish
authorities knew nothing of his decision to go abroad in order to finish his medical studies in
Spain, where the professors were more liberal than those of University of Sto. Tomas.

Paciano advised him to go to Europe

 To seek more knowledge on Western medicine;

 Help the Filipino cause;
 Observe the life and culture, language, commerce, government, laws in Europe to liberate
the people.

He left for Europe on May 3, 1882 (SS Salvadora)

Education in Europe

 On November 3, 1882, he enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid;

 On June 21, 1884, he was given the license in medicine by the Universidad Central de
Madrid;
 He studied and passed all subjects leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine

Reasons why he was not awarded his Doctor’s Diploma:

 He did not present the thesis required for graduation.

 He did not pay the corresponding fees.

(M.D. was conferred to him posthumously – in 1961 – 100 years after his birth!).

June 19, 1885 (Rizal’s 24th birthday):

 He was awarded the degree of licentiate in Philosophy & letters by the Universidad
Central de Madrid with the rating of “EXCELLENT” (Sobresaliente)

 He also became qualified to be a professor in humanities in any Spanish Universities.

 He became a full-pledged physician & qualified to practice medicine.

The Travels of Jose Rizal

Rizal’s Secret Mission:

The mission which Rizal conceived with the approval of his older brother Paciano was to
observe keenly the life and culture, languages and customs, industries and commerce, and
governments and laws of the European nations in order to prepare himself in the mighty task of
liberating his oppressed people from Spanish tyranny.

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Secret Departure for Spain

Purpose: to avoid detection by the Spanish authorities and friars. Even his own parents did not
know because he knew they would not allow him to go, especially his mother. Paciano, his only
brother, knew about his secret departure for Spain.

To Singapore:

 Departure: May 3, 1882 on board Spanish Steamer Salvadora and arrived in Singapore on
May 9, 1882
 Registered at: Hotel de La Paz (and stayed for 2 days there)

From Singapore to Colombo:

 He boarded the ship Djemnah (French Steamer) on May 11, 1882. On May 18, 1882, he
reached Colombo, capital of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
 He had a brief stop-over at Aden, proceeded to city of Suez, the Red sea terminal of the
Suez Canal and passed by Port Said, to see the interesting sights.

To Europe:

 He reached Naples on June 11, 1882. On June 12, 1882, his ship docked at French
harbor, Marseilles where he spent 21/2 days; he visited the famous Chateau d’ If, the
prison house of Dantes in “The Count of Monte Cristo.
 On June 15, 1882, left Marseilles by train and reached Barcelona by June 16.
 He wrote his first article “Amor Patrio” at Plaza de Cataluña where his friends gave him a
welcome party.

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Two Sad news he received:

 cholera was ravaging Manila a and the provinces ccording to Paciano’s letter dated
September 15. Many people had died and more were dying daily.
 Chengoy (Jose M. Cecilio) – his close friend recounting the unhappiness of Leonor
Rivera who was getting thinner because of his absence.

Life in Madrid:

 On November 3, 1882, he enrolled in the Universidad Central de Madrid.

 He enrolled in Medicine, Philosophy & letters all at the same time.
 Consuelo Ortiga y Perez – his woman in Madrid
 He wrote A La Señorita, a poem dedicated to C.O. y P.; written on August 22, 1883.
 Eduardo de Lete – his friend who was in love with Consuelo
 He led a Spartan (disciplined life): tight budget, spent most of his time reading; his only
extravagance was on lottery tickets.
 Dr. Miguel Morayta – professor of history; his address in which he proclaimed “the
freedom of science and the teacher” resulted in student demonstrations
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  March 1883 – joined Masonic Lodge

Why did Rizal join masonry?

In Spain, Rizal came in close contact with prominent liberal and republican
Spaniards, who were mostly Masons. He was impressed by the way these Masons openly
and freely criticized the government policies and lambasted the friars, which could not be
done in the Philippines. In March 1883, he joined the Masonic lodge called Acacia in
Madrid. His reason for becoming a mason was to secure Freemasonry’s aid in his fight
against the friars in the Philippines. Since the friars used the Catholic religion as a shield
to entrench themselves in power and wealth and to persecute the Filipino patriots, he
intended to utilize Freemasonry as his shield to combat them.

 Rizal’s financial worries in Spain

After Rizal’s departure for Spain, things turned from bad to worse in Calamba.
The harvests of rice and sugarcane failed on account of drought and locusts. Added to
this, the Dominican-owned hacienda rentals of the lands cultivated by the Rizal family
had been increased. Due to this hard times in Calamba, the monthly allowances of Rizal
in Madrid were late in arrival and there were times when they never arrived.

 Rizal’s Salute to Luna & Hidalgo

National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid: Spolarium – by Juan Luna won first prize;
Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace – by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won second
prize

First Visit to Paris

 June 17-August 20, 1883 - journeying to Paris

Paris to Berlin (1885-1887)

 November, 1885 – left Paris

 Rizal went to Paris & Germany to specialize in ophthalmology. Reason: he wanted to
cure his mother’s eye ailment. German scientists he met: Dr. Feodor Jagor, Dr. Hans
Meyer, Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, and Dr. Rudolph Virchow
 Visited his friend Maximo Viola, in Barcelona, a medical student & a member of a rich
family of San Miguel, Bulacan.
 Rizal served as an assistant to Dr. Louis de Wecker, French ophthalmologist (1852-1906)
 Outside of his working hours at Dr. Wecker’s clinic, Rizal relaxed by visiting his friends:
a. Family of Pardo de Taveras (Trinidad, Felix and Paz,)
b. Juan Luna – engaged to Paz Pardo de Tavera – a pretty girl.
c. Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo

16
Historic Heidelberg:

 February 1, 1886 – left gay Paris for Germany

 Worked at the University Eye Hospital under Dr. Otto Becker – distinguished German
Ophthalmologist
 July 31, 1886 – Rizal wrote his first letter in German to Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt,
director of the Ateneo of Leitmeritz, Austria
 Leipzig- was cheapest in Europe; so he stayed two months & a half (2 ½)
 Worked as proof-reader in a publisher’s firm (because of his knowledge of German,
Spanish & other European languages)
 October 29, 1886 – left Leipzig for Dresden where he met Dr. Adolph B. Meyer –
director of the Anthropological & Ethnological Museum.
 November 1, 1886 – left Dresden by train reaching Berlin in the evening

Rizal Welcomed in Berlin’s Scientific Circles

 He met for the 1st time Dr. Feodor Jagor, a German scientist-traveler & author of Travels
in the Philippines
 Dr. Jagor introduced Rizal to Dr. Rudolph Virchow, a famous German anthropologist;
son of Dr. Hans Virchow
 He worked in a clinic of Dr. Karl Ernest Schweigger; a famous German opthalmologist.

Rizal lived in this famous Capital of Unified Germany for 5 reasons:

1. to gain further knowledge of ophthalmology

2. to pursue his studies of sciences & languages
3. to observe that the economy had political conditions of the German nation
4. to associate with famous German scientists & scholars
5. to publish his novel, Noli Me Tangere

By day, he worked as an assistant in the clinic of Dr. Schweigger, a German

ophthalmologist; at night – he attended lectures in the University of Berlin

Rizal’s darkest winter: On the bleak winter of 1886, he experienced the following:

 He lived in poverty at Berlin; the diamond ring which his sister, Saturnina gave was
pawned.
 He could not pay his landlord.
 He ate only once a day (bread & water or some cheap vegetable soup).
 His clothes were old and threadbare. He washed his own clothes because he could not
afford to pay laundry.
 Paciano was delayed in raising necessary funds. Rizal starved in Berlin and shivered with
wintry cold; began to cough & feared that he was going to be sick with tuberculosis.

Brought him great joy after enduring so much suffering because his 1st novel Noli Me
Tangere came off the press in March, 1887.
17
  Noli Me Tangere published in Berlin (1887), dedicated to the Philippines, “To my
Fatherland ”
 The idea of writing a Novel on the Philippines was inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 On January 2, 1884, at a reunion of Filipinos at the Paterno residence in Madrid, Rizal
proposed the writing of a novel about the Philippines by a group of Filipinos.
Unfortunately, Rizal’s project did not materialize because almost everybody wanted to
write on women and his companions wasted their time gambling or flirting with Spanish
señoritas. So, Rizal wrote the novel alone.
 February 21, 1887 – Noli is finally finished and ready for printing.

Rizal suspected as French spy:

1. Chief of police in Berlin visited Rizal’s boarding house asking for passport. Rizal had
none. Chief told him to secure a passport within four days.
2. Rizal, accompanied by Viola, went to the Spanish ambassador, the Count of Benomar.
But the ambassador failed to keep his promise because he had no power to issue the
required passport.
3. Rizal presented himself at the office of the German police chief at the expiration of the
four-day ultimatum.
4. Police chief received intelligence reports that Rizal has frequent visits to villages & little
towns in the rural areas. Resided there where he was apparently a lover of France.
(France & Germany relationship was strained on account of Alsace-Lorraine)
5. Rizal, fluent in German told the police chief that he was not a French spy but a Filipino
physician, an ethnologist.

Rizal’s Grand Tour in Europe with Maximo Viola (1887)

 Dr. Maximo Viola was his companion during his tour in Europe
 In Teschen (now Decin, Czechoslovakia or Czech Republic) the first meeting with Prof.
Blumentritt
 It was during their tour in Europe, an Exposition of the Philippines was also held in
Madrid, Spain. The primitive Igorots were exhibited in this exhibition.

His First Homecoming (August 5, 1887-1888)

Rizal’s Plans of Homecoming

 As early as 1884, Rizal wanted to go back to the Philippines
- Financial difficulties in Calamba
- Dissatisfaction with his studies in Madrid
- Desire to prove that there is no reason to fear going home.
- His belief that the Spanish regime will not punish the innocent.
 The stunning beauty of the European lands did not stop Rizal from continuously adoring
his native land.

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Decision to return home
 After 5 years of his memorable sojourn in Europe, Rizal returned to the Philippines.
 However, Rizal was warned by the following not to return to the Philippines because his
Noli Me Tangere angered the friars:
- Paciano (Rizal’s adviser and only brother)
- Silvestre Ubaldo (Rizal’s brother-in-law; husband of Olimpia)
- Jose Ma. Cecilio (Chenggoy) one of Rizal’s closest friends.
 He returned to Calamba despite the many warnings he received from friends and
relatives.
 In his trip back to Manila: rode Djemnah, same boat he rode on 5 years earlier
 Reasons why he returned to the Philippines:
1. To operate on his mother’s eyes
2. To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants
3. To find out for himself how the Noli and his other writings were affecting
Filipinos and Spaniards in the Philippines
4. To inquire why Leonor Rivera (his girlfriend) remained silent

In Calamba
 Rizal established a medical clinic.
 Doña Teodora was Rizal’s first patient. Rizal treated her eyes but could not perform any
surgical operation because her cataracts were not yet ripe.
 He painted several beautiful landscapes in Calamba.
 Rizal opened a gymnasium for the young people to introduce European sports,
gymnastics, fencing, and shooting to discourage them cockfighting and gambling.

Sad moments while Rizal was in Calamba

 Leonor Rivera – Rizal tried to visit her in Tarlac but his parents forbade him to go
because Leonor’s mother did not like him for a son-in-law.
 Olimpia Mercado-Ubaldo – died because of childbirth.

Storm over the Noli Me Tangere

 Governor General Emilio Terrero sent him a letter, requesting him to come to
Malacañang Palace. Somebody had whispered to his ear that the Noli contains subversive
ideas.
 Rizal explained to him that he merely exposed the truth, but did not advocate subversive
ideas.
 Gov. Terrero was pleased by Rizal’s explanation and curious about the book, he asked for
a copy of the novel.
 Rizal had no copy that time but promised to send one for him.
 Eight Pamphlets (Questions of Supreme Interest) to blast the Noli and other anti-Spanish
writings written by Fr. Rodriguez were sold daily in the churches after Mass.
 Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade, assigned body guard for Rizal to protect him by the
generosity of Gov. Gen. Terrero who knew that Rizal’s life was in jeopardy because the
friars were powerful.

19
  One failure in his trip: He was not able to see Leonor Rivera
 Anonymous threats in Rizal’s life alarmed his parents, siblings, Andrade his bodyguard,
friends, and even Terrero, thus they all advised him leave the Philippines to avoid danger.

Rizal’s Second Trip Abroad

Rizal’s Stay in Hong Kong and Macao

 He left Calamba on February 3, 1888, at 27 years old; only stayed in the Philippines for 6
months
 He was 27 years old when he left. He stayed at Victoria Hotel.
 Jose Ma. Basa, welcomed Rizal in his house
 Jose Sainz de Varanda – shadowed Rizal’s movement in Hong Kong.

Romantic Interlude in Japan (1888)

 His stay in Japan lasted 45 days (1 ½ months)

 Juan Perez Caballero, secretary of Spanish Legation, invited him to live at the Spanish
Legation
 He agreed for 2 reasons: to economize and because he had nothing to hide from the
Spanish authorities
 Met Seiko Usui (O Sei-San) – an ideal girl for Rizal
 Negative impression: Rickshaws (carts pulled by men)

Visit to United States

 He arrived on April 28, 1888

 Positive Impressions of America:
1. Material progress of the country as shown in the great cities, huge farms,
flourishing industries and busy factories;
2. Drive and energy of the American people;
3. Natural beauty of the land;
4. High standard of living; and
5. Opportunities for better life offered to poor immigrants

 Negative Impression of America:

Lack of racial equality; “America is the land par excellence of freedom but only
for the whites.”

London (1888-1889)

 On May 16, 1888, he left New York for Liverpool

 On May 24, 1888, he arrived at Liverpool, England
 On May 25, 1888, he went to London

20
 Three Reasons why he chose to live in London:
1. To improve his knowledge of the English language
2. To study and annotate Dr. Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, a
rare copy of which he heard to be available in the British Museum.
3. Safe place for him to carry on his fight against Spanish tyranny.

Other activities in London:

 completed annotating Morga’s book
 wrote many articles of La Solidaridad
 penned a famous letter to the young women of Malolos
 carried on his voluminous correspondence with Blumentritt and relatives
 romance with Gertrude Beckett
 He came to know Dr. Reinhold Rost, librarian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
he called Rizal, “a pearl of a man”

Bad news from home:

1. Persecution of the Filipino patriots who signed the “Anti- Friar Petition of 1888”
2. Persecution of the Calamba Tenants
3. Furious attacks on Rizal in Spanish newspapers
4. Manuel T. Hidalgo was exiled by Gov. Gen. Weyler to Bohol without due process of law.
5. Laureano Viado was arrested and jailed in Bilibid Prison.

Good news:

 Rev. Vicente Garcia’s defense of the Noli against the attacks of the friars.

* On December 11, 1888, he went to Spain visiting Madrid & Barcelona and met Marcelo H. del
Pilar & Mariano Ponce for the first time
* On February 15, 1888, Graciano Lopez Jaena founded La Solidaridad in Barcelona
* On December 31, 1888, inauguration of Asociacion La Solidaridad; chosen as honorary
President
* He wrote La Vision del Fray Rodriguez (The vision of Fray Rodriguez), a pamphlet in defense
against the attack on his Noli and used the pen name “Dimas Alang” in Barcelona
* March 19, 1889, he bade goodbye to London

Paris

 On March 19, 1889, he arrived in Paris

 He organized a society called Kidlat Club; its members pledged to excel in the
intellectual & physical prowess in order to win the admiration of the foreigners,
particularly the Spaniards
 He published his annotated editions of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
 Founded 3 Filipino societies, the Kidlat club, Indios Bravos, RDLM (RDLM Society –
founded by Rizal in Paris during the Universal Exposition). According to Dr. Leoncio
Lopez-Rizal – the grand nephew of the hero, the society has a symbol or countersign

21
 represented by the circle divided into 3 parts by 2 semi-circles placed outside an upper,
lower, left, & right sides of the circle. RDLM is believed to be stand for Redencion de los
Malayos (Redemption of the Malays)
 He wrote Por Telefono,” a satire (i.e. to ridicule; make fun of) against Fr. Salvador Font,
a reply to another slander

Belgium

 On January 28, 1890- left Paris for Brussels, capital of Belgium

 Wrote his 2nd novel which was a continuation of his Noli
 Wrote articles for la Solidaridad and letters for his family & friends
 Bad news from home:
1. The Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse.
2. Dominican order filed a suit in court to dispose the Rizal family of their lands in
Calamba
3. Paciano, Antonio Lopez & Silvestre Ubaldo were deported to Mindoro.
 He planned to go home but something happened that made him change his mind (They
lost the case against the Dominicans in Manila, but they appealed it to the Supreme Court
in Spain.)
 Romance with petite Susanne Jacoby, pretty niece of his land lady
 Left toward the end of July, 1890 for Madrid.

Madrid (1890-1891)

 Leonor Rivera (his longtime girlfriend) married a British engineer

 Failure to get justice for family
 Unfortunate deportees were arrested in Calamba and shipped out in manila in September
6, 1890.
 Towards the end of August 1890, Rizal attended a social reunion of the Filipinos in
Madrid.
After drinking so many glasses of wine, the guests became more loquacious and
the conversations flow freely. One of them, Antonio Luna, became drunk. At that time,
Luna was bitter because of his frustrated romance with Nellie Boustead. Rizal heard him
and they had a duel. And then Luna realized that he made a fool of himself and
apologized for his bad remark which was accepted by Rizal and they became good
friends again.
 Del Pilar, the fearless lawyer and journalist, was gaining prestige in Madrid for his
vigorous editorials in La Solidaridad, which he came to own.
Aims of La Solidaridad:
1. Portray vividly the deplorable conditions of the Philippines
2. Work peacefully for political and social reforms
3. Combat the evil forces of medievalism and reaction
4. Advocate liberal ideas and progress;
5. Champion the legitimate aspirations of the Filipino people for democracy and
happiness

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 Contributors and their pen names:

Rizal: Dimasalang
Del Pilar: Plaridel
Lopez Jaena: Diego Laura (Del Pilar’s editor)
Jose Ma. Panganiban: Jomapa
Antonio Luna: Taga Ilog
Mariano Ponce: Naning Tigbalang, Kalipulako
 The editorial policy of La Solidaridad under Del Pilar’s management enhanced
the cleavage between Rizal and Del Pilar.
 January 1, 1891, New Years day- It was decided a meeting for a leader to be
called RESPONSABLE – be chosen to direct the affairs of the Filipino
community and to determine the editorial policy of La Solidaridad.
 It was agreed that responsible should be elected by a 2/3 vote of the Filipino
community. Rizal was elected to become the Responsible. Rizal wrote a brief
note thanking his compatriots for electing him as Responsible. But sadly, he was
leaving for Biarritz.

Biarritz Vacation and Romance with Nelly Boustead (1891)

 It was in Biarritz where he had a romance with Nellie and finished the last chapter of his
second novel, El Filibusterismo.
 As a family guest, he was treated with friendliness and hospitability
 February 4, 1891 – Del Pilar learned him about changing the “o” in Noli to “e”, which
turns Noli to Nelly!
 Antonio Luna – who had previously loved and lost Nelly, encouraged Rizal to woo and
marry her.
 Rizal’s marriage proposal failed for two reasons:
1. He refused to give up his catholic faith and be converted to protestant, as Nelly
demanded. Nelly Boustead, being a good protestant, wanted Rizal to espouse
Protestantism before their marriage.
2. Nelly’s mother did not like Rizal as a son-in-law.
 On March 29, 1891, the eve of his departure from Biarritz to Paris, he finished the
manuscript of El Filibusterismo.

* By the middle of April, 1891, Rizal was back in Brussels, where he was happily received by
Marie and Suzanne Jacoby (his landladies) and above all by Petite Suzanne (the Belgian girl
who loved him)
* Rizal retired from the Propaganda Movement or reform crusades.
* Rizal ceased writing articles for La Solidaridad; M.H. Del Pilar himself realized the need for
Rizal’s collaboration in both propaganda movement and in the La Solidaridad newspaper
because the enthusiasm for the reform crusades in Spain was declining. August 7, 1891, he
wrote to Rizal begging forgiveness for any resentment and requesting him (Rizal) to resume
writing for the La Solidaridad.
* In Brussels, Rizal worked day after day revising the finished manuscript of El Filibusterismo
and readied it for printing; the revision was completed on May 30, 1891

23
* Two Reasons why he left Europe:
1. Political differences with Del Pilar and other Filipinos
2. To be nearer the Philippines and his family

Hong Kong (1891-1892)

 He worked as an ophthalmic surgeon in Hong Kong

 On October 3, 1891, Rizal left Europe for Hong Kong
 On November 20, 1891, Rizal arrived in Hong Kong
 Family Reunion in Hong Kong; before Christmas in 1891
 Dr. Lorenzo P. Marquez, a Portuguese physician, helped in build a wide clientele for
Rizal
 Borneo Colonization: Borneo was willing to give 100 acres of land, a beautiful harbor,
and a government for 999 years, free of charge. He visited the place and by April 20 he
was back in Hong Kong
 May, 1892 – made up his mind to return to Manila for the following purposes: confer
with Gov. Despujol about the Borneo colonization; establish La Liga Filipina; to disprove
Eduardo de Lete’s accusation that he was comfortable in Hong Kong and abandoned the
country’s cause.
 Last Hong Kong Letters: 1. Addressed: To my Parents, Brethren and Friends; 2. To The
Filipinos. They were kept by a friend for safekeeping “to be opened after his death.”

Manila

 Arrival in Manila (with sister Lucia): June 26, 1892; Gov. Eulogio Despujol set a trap
for him and ordered his exile to Dapitan
 On July 3, 1892, he formed La Liga Filipina
 On July 6, 1892, he went to Malacañang and was arrested. He was charged for the
following:
1. Bringing anti friar pamphlets
2. For dedicating his 2nd novel to the 3 priests who had been proven traitors but were
extolled as martyrs
 On July 14, 1892, he sailed into exile in Dapitan
 On July 17, 1892, Sunday, he reached Dapitan

Rizal in Dapitan

 Dapitan is a small provincial town

 He won in the lottery which he used to buy some property in Dapitan
 He introduced modern agricultural methods in planting coconut, sugarcane, corn , coffee,
cacao, and fruit trees
 Wrote a tagalog grammar
 He continued his artistic pursuits
 Served as a doctor to the rich and poor
 He taught 16, selected boys in his school
 He partnered with Father Sanchez in remodeling the town Plaza to enhance its beauty
24
  He set up a cooperative association to minimize the monopoly of the Chinese merchants
 He stayed in Dapitan for four years and thirteen days.

Women in Rizal’s Life

1. Segunda Katigbak

 First crush; referred to as “K”

 His puppy love
 Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be married to a town mate – Manuel Luz
which made it difficult for Rizal to make advances.

2. Leonor Valenzuela
 “The winsome Orang”
 Tall girl from Pagsanjan
 Love notes sent to her were written in invisible ink that could only be deciphered over the
warmth of the lamp or candle
 Rizal visited her on the eve of his departure for Spain and bade her a last goodbye

3. Leonor Rivera
 Immortalized as Maria Clara
 His sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in
love with other women during his travel.
 Code name: “Taimis,” “The Little Landlady”
 Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s relationship with Rizal,
who was then a known filibuster. She hid from Leonor all letters received from Rizal.
Leonor thought he had forgotten all about her agreed to marry the Englishman, Henry
Kipping, her mother’s choice.
 Her father (whom Rizal calls "Uncle Antonio" in his letters) is a cousin of Rizal's father,
Francisco Mercado.

4. Consuelo Ortigas y Perez

 The prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with him.
 He dedicated to her a poem entitled “A La Señorita C.O. y R.” which became one of his
best poems.
 He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because he
wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy his friendship
with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.

5. Suzanne Jacoby
 In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels,
he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters.
 In time, they fell in love with each other.
 Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid.
 “Petite Suzanne”

25
6. Seiko Usui/O Sei San
 The girl from the “Land of Cherry blossoms”
 A Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie.
 She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language.
 If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and
intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish
legation there offered him a lucrative job.

7. Nellie Boustead also called Nelly

 The girl from London; Rizal entertained the thought of courting her having lost Leonor
Rivera
 He had a rival, Antonio Luna; Luna uttered unsavory remarks against Nellie that
prompted Rizal to challenge him into a duel; Luna apologized
 Their love affair was not successful because Rizal refused to be converted to the
Protestant faith and Nellie’s mother did not approve of the relationship who was not
willing to have a penniless physician for a son-in-law
 He found her to be “A real Filipina”

8. Gertrude Beckett
 Affectionately called “Gettie”
 Rizal met her in London while he was annotating Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in
the Philippine Islands)
 She fell in love with Rizal and helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal
suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.
 Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters. He
gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.
 He did not pursue this relationship since he had to finish his 2nd novel

9. Josephine Bracken
 An 18 year old petite Irish girl
 The adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek
Rizal for eye treatment.
 Rizal was physically attracted to her. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an
agent of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.
 Rizal tried to arrange with Fr. Antonio Obach, their marriage but he refused to; he wanted
a retraction as a precondition before marrying them.
 Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as
his wife even without the Church blessings.

Rumors:

Josephine was a bar girl in Hong Kong; Maria Rizal was suspicious from the very
start, simply because Josephine and her blind stepfather, George Taufer, arrived with a
certain Manuela Orlac, mistress of someone in the Manila Cathedral and a suspected
church spy.

26
 According to Austin Coates, who did research in Hong Kong, Josephine’s church
records were tampered with. She was an illegitimate daughter of an Irishman named
Joseph Bracken and an unknown Chinese mother. The social stigma of being Eurasian in
the 19th century Hong Kong was worse than being illegitimate. Coates said that George
Taufer and his wife could not have children because they were syphilitic. The Taufers
stayed in Manila before going to Dapitan. Sarah, Josephine’s stepsister, ran off with a
husband. Coates hints at sexual abuse from the stepfather to explain why Josephine clung
to Rizal in an effort to leave Taufer. Mr. Taufer attempted to commit suicide when he felt
he was being abandoned by Josephine.

The Propaganda Movement

Objectives:

1. Equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the laws

2. Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain
3. Restoration of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes
4. Filipinization of the Philippine parishes and expulsion of the friars
5. Human rights for Filipinos such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to meet
and petition for grievances.
 The propaganda movement itself was a peaceful campaign that promoted reforms. The
movement itself began in 1872 when Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto
Zamora were executed. The movement ended on December 30, 1896, the day Jose Rizal
was executed.

The La Liga Filipina

Objectives:

1. Unite the whole archipelago

2. Have mutual protection in every want and necessity
3. Have defense against all violence and injustice
4. Encourage infrastructure, agriculture, and commerce
5. To study and appreciate reforms

Rizal’s Reaction to the Revolution

 Pio Valenzuela visited him in Dapitan to convince him to join the revolution.
 He was not agreeable to the plan of the KKK to rescue him from Dapitan.
 He expressed his desire to volunteer as a military doctor to Cuba in order to observe the
techniques of the citizens there hoping he could learn from them which he can use in their
fight for freedom in the Philippines.
 The Filipinos are not yet ready
 It would be a veritable suicide due to the lack of arms
 He suggested that if the revolution ever breaks out they should make Antonio Luna the
military leader

27
  Ask the support of the rich in Manila

* Gov. Gen. Blanco approved his request to serve as a military doctor in Cuba. He was on board
“Isla de Panay” when he was arrested for the outbreak of the revolution in the Philippines.

Arrest and Trial

By 1896, the rebellion fomented by the Katipunan, a militant secret society, had become
a full-blown revolution, proving to be a nationwide uprising. Rizal had earlier volunteered his
services as a military doctor in Cuba and was given leave by Governor-General Ramon Blanco
to serve in Cuba to minister to victims of yellow fever. Rizal and Josephine left Dapitan on
August 1, 1896, with letter of recommendation from Blanco. Rizal was arrested en route to Cuba
via Spain and was imprisoned in Barcelona on October 6, 1896. He was sent back the same day
to Manila to stand trial as he was implicated in the revolution through his association with
members of the Katipunan. During the entire passage, he was unchained, no Spaniard laid a hand
on him, and had many opportunities to escape but refused to do so.

 Testimonial and documentary evidences were presented against him

 He chose a lawyer to defend him, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade
 He was tried under the military court
 Gov. Gen. Camilo de Polavieja signed his execution
 Rizal was charged with sedition, rebellion, and insurrection

Sedition is the illegal act of inciting people to resist or rebel against the
government in power. Rebellion is an act of violent or open resistance to an established
government. Insurrection is a violent uprising against an authority or government.

Execution

Moments before his execution on December 30, 1896, by a squad of Filipino soldiers of
the Spanish Army, a backup force of regular Spanish Army troops stood ready to shoot the
executioners should they fail to obey orders. The Spanish Army Surgeon General requested to
take his pulse: it was normal. Aware of this the Sergeant commanding the backup force hushed
his men to silence when they began raising “vivas” with the highly partisan crowd of Peninsular
and Mestizo Spaniards. His last words were those of Jesus Christ: “consummatum est” – it is
finished.

* Age of Dr. Jose Rizal when he died on December 30, 1896

35 years, five months and 11 days

28
 Original photo before the execution of Rizal on December 30, 1896

RIZAL’S BODY

Burial wishes

The Rizal Monument, originally called “Motto Stella” (“Guiding Star”) stands 14 meters
high from its platform in Rizal Park. The hero did not ask for a tall memorial to honor his death.
The question then may be asked whether he wrote any burial wishes and whether they were
honored.

Rizal was sentenced to die in the early morning of Dec. 29, 1896. With knowledge of
certain death, he wrote from Fort Santiago an undated letter to his family.

He said: “Dear parents, brother, sisters: Give thanks to God who has kept me tranquil,
before my death…. Bury me in the earth, put a stone on top, and a cross. My name, the date of
my birth, and that of my death. Nothing more.

If later you wish to surround my grave with a fence, you can do it. No anniversary
celebrations! I prefer Paang Bundok.”

29
 “Paang Bundok” was the cemetery north of Manila, now known as the North Cemetery.

But the Rizal family never received the letter.

Doña Teodora sought from one official to another permission to take care of her son’s
body after the execution. All refused except the mayor of Manila, Manuel Luengo. Hesitantly, he
agreed but only on his own account.

Search for body

A coffin and a hearse were ordered. On the day of the execution, the family stayed home,
waiting in silence and in prayer, until it was over.

To their disappointment and sorrow, they discovered that the body had been taken away
from the Luneta shortly after the execution, with no one willing or able to say where it had been
taken.

After the execution, Rizal’s body was brought to San Juan de Dios Hospital.

A long search in suburban graveyards, including Paang Bundok, yielded no burials that
day. Narcisa, Rizal’s sister, finally came, late that afternoon, to the old and unused Paco
Cemetery. And there, from a distance and unnoticed, she saw Mayor Luengo and several army
officers inspecting a grave.

Manila Mayor Luengo reneged on his promise and prevented the family from taking the
body. He had it buried secretly in the relative seclusion of the unused and walled Paco Cemetery
where it could be more easily watched.
Narcisa was certain it contained her brother’s body. When the authorities left, she
approached and found the freshly dug grave. It was unmarked.

Requesting permission from the cemetery guard, she asked that a small, simple marble
slab be placed on the grave. She marked the plot with the letters R.P.J. (Rizal’s initials in
reverse).

For close to two years, the grave remained in relative anonymity. But on Aug. 13, 1898,
Spain lost the mock battle for Manila and Commodore George Dewey of the United States took
command of the city.

Narcisa lost no time. Four days later, she had the grave in Paco Cemetery dug. She found
that her brother had been buried uncoffined, his clothes still recognizable. But his shoes had
already disintegrated and whatever letter he said was inside was lost forever.

Cleaned and placed on an ivory urn, Rizal’s remains stayed with the family in Narcisa’s
house in Binondo where their mother Teodora was also staying. Only 14 years later, in 1912,
were they interred in the base of the “Motto Stella.”

30
 The remains of Rizal, after exhumation on August 17, 1898, were kept in the Rizal family
house in Binondo until they were brought to their final resting place in Luneta. On December 30,
1912, a solemn ceremony was held to finally bury the remains in the base of the monument
dedicated in memory of Rizal.

In the evening of Dec. 29, 1896, during the family’s last visit to Fort Santiago, Rizal gave
to Trinidad, another sister, his small alcohol burner. Softly, the hero whispered to Trinidad in
English, which she knew, that something was inside.

Immediately upon returning home, she and Maria, another sister of Rizal, rattled the
burner and heard something inside. Using a hairpin, they pried out a small piece of paper through
the narrow opening for the wick. It was a poem, untitled and undated. It came to be known as the
“Mi Ultimo Adios” (My Last Farewell).

In an old photo obtained by the Knights of Rizal, Doña Teodora was seen cradling the
urn containing Rizal’s bones. She was said to have shown the remains to visitors while reciting
Rizal’s poem “Mi Ultimo Adios.”

Foreigners would cry even though they didn’t understand Spanish because of the evident
anguish of a mother who lost a son.

Unfortunately, Doña Teodora died before Rizal’s remains were given a proper funeral in
1912.

31
Rizal’s alcohol burner, a gift from the Pardo de Taveras where he hid his last poem.

32
Reinterment of Rizal’s remains at Rizal Park – December 30, 1912

33
MODULE 6 - THE NOVELS OF JOSE RIZAL

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

1. explain the context, theme and purpose of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo;
2. identify the characters of the two novels and their symbolism; and
3. analyze the major components of the two novels.

MODULE OUTLINE:

Noli Me Tangere
El Filibusterismo
The Search for the Third Novel

NOLI ME TANGERE and EL FILIBUSTERISMO

The Theme and the Purpose of the Novels

The two novels are portraying a people faced with social problems and political enigmas.
Many of the predicaments presented have contemporary relevance and the novels provide an
inexhaustible source of inspiration for solutions to current conditions and problems.

Noli Me Tangere literally means, “touch me not.” It sketches a wound painful even to the
healer’s touch causing more agony than relief. The concerned healer reveals the actions that a
frustrated society resorts to in the moment of despair. Such despair could force the oppressed to
insurgence, as El Filibusterismo suggests.

Rizal did not advocate revolution. He warned however that a revolution would become
inevitable if a government would continue to ignore the people’s cries for justice and fairness.

NOLI ME TANGERE

Introduction

The title Noli Me Tangere is a Latin phrase which means “Touch me not” or “Social
Cancer of the Philippines.” Rizal, writing to Felix R. Hidalgo in French on March 5, 1887 said:
“Noli Me Tangere,” words taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, signify “do no touch me.” In
citing the biblical source, Rizal made a mistake. It should be the Gospel of St. John 20: 13-17.
According to St. John, on the first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene visited the sepulcher, and the
Lord Jesus just raised from the dead said: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father; but got to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father;
and to my God, and your God.”

1
According to Rizal:

“Noli Me Tangere . . . signifies ‘do not touch me.’ The book contains things which no
one among ourselves has spoken up to the present; they are so delicate that they cannot be
touched by anybody . . . I have endeavored to answer the calumnies which for centuries had been
heaped on us and our country; I have described the social condition, the life, our beliefs, our
hopes, our desires, our grievances, our grieves . . . The facts I narrated are all true and they
actually happened; I can prove them.” Rizal used his pen name Laong-laan.

Where did Rizal get his idea of writing a novel on the Philippines?

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by: Harriet Beecher Stowe – this book which portrays the brutalities
of American slave owners and the pathetic conditions or abuse of the unfortunate Negroes and
slaves, inspired Rizal to write a novel that would accurately depict the miseries of his people
under the Spanish tyranny.
 On January 2, 1884 (another reference says January 6, 1884), a reunion of Filipinos in
the Paterno residence in Madrid, Rizal proposed the writing of a novel about the
Philippines by a group of Filipinos, which was unanimously approved by those present
(Pedro Paterno, Maximo Paterno, Antonio Paterno, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Euaristo
Aguirre, Eduardo De Lete, Julio Llorente, Melecio Figueroa, Valentin Ventura).
 The project did not materialize because Rizal’s compatriots did not contribute anything,
so he was determined to write the novel alone.
Aims of the Noli Me Tangere

1. To awaken the feelings of his countrymen

2. To depict a series of typical Filipino scenes
3. To describe the classical types in the country during that era, including the Spanish peninsular
with their virtues and vices
4. To reveal his excellent gift of observations
5. To attack especially the Dominicans and the Franciscans

Significance of Noli Me Tangere

1. An instrument in cheating the racial Filipino identity and consciousness as many Filipinos
identified with their respective regions to the advantages of Spanish authorities.
2. It lampooned (i.e. ridicule, satirize) caricatured (misinterpretation) and exposed various
elements in colonial society.
3. Gave a cross-section of the Philippine society during Rizal’s time.
4. The reader gets acquainted with the social forces which oppose each other, thus preventing the
realization of Rizal’s aspiration for the Filipinos to regain their human rights, especially
human dignity, justice and freedom.
5. It opens the eyes of the Filipino people to reality.
6. Forms a part of the intellectual heritage of the Filipinos.

2
The reasons why Rizal wrote the Noli Me Tangere

1. To disprove the wrong accusations of the Spaniards to the Filipinos and to the Philippines
2. To express the sad conditions of the society, the beliefs, hopes, dreams and the cry of the
Filipino people
3. To express everything about the wrong use of religion or the exploitation of the word of God
which the friars used for them to benefit and corrupt people
4. To explain the differences between the reel and the real religion
5. To expose all the corruption and abuses in the government
6. To describe the wrong works, violence, cruelty and suffering of the Filipinos due to the
slavery and poverty

Theme of the Noli: Use and abuse of power

Author’s dedication:

Rizal dedicated his Noli Me Tangere to the Philippines – “ To My Fatherland”

The Preface:

In the annals of human diversity, there is etched a cancer, of a breed so malignant that the
contact exacerbates it and stirs it in the sharpest of pains. And thus, many times amidst the
cultures I have wanted to evoke you, sometimes for memories of you to keep me company, other
times, to compare you with other nations – many times your beloved image appears to me
afflicted with a social cancer of similar malignancy.

Desiring your well-being, which is our own, and searching for the best cure, I will do
with you as the ancients of old did with their afflicted: expose them on the steps of the temple so
that each one who would come to evoke the Divine, would propose a cure for them.

And to this end, I will attempt to faithfully reproduce your condition without much ado. I
will lift part of the shroud that conceals your illness, sacrificing to the truth everything, even my
own self-respect, for as your son, I also suffer the defects and failings.

Rizal’s preface echoes the thematic passage running through the novel. Like the ancient
Greeks, who brought their patients to the steps of the temple that others may see and offer cure,
he was to reveal his people’s agony in the open that their miseries may earn attention and
alleviation, even at the cost of his life! The preface shows that Rizal anticipated the price he had
to pay for his exposé (Daquila, 49).

3
The Cover of the Noli Me Tangere

4
Meaning of the different symbols

 The title prominently crosses the cover. The style of the print is as if they are written in
blood that represents the pain and sufferings of the character described in the novel.

Upper Triangle
This represents Rizal's past life.

5
 Lower Triangle
This represents Rizal's current
situations.

 Silhouette of a Filipina
- believed to be Maria Clara or as the "Inang Bayan" or Motherland to whom Rizal
dedicates the novel
 Cross/Crucifix
- represents the Catholic faith as it rises above Inang Bayan and Filipinos (shows
dominance)
- it also symbolizes sufferings and death
 Pomelo Blossoms & Laurel Leaves
- they represent faith, honor and fidelity, which are the values Rizal aspires to be
embodied by Filipinos
- pomelos are used to scent their air commonly during prayers and cleansing rituals
- laurel leaves are used as crowns during Greek Olympics for honoring the best
 Burning Torch
- refers to the Olympic torch
- pertains to the awakening of Filipino consciousness
- it also sheds light to the text of the manuscript
 Sunflower
- it symbolizes a new beginning
- it is compared to the happiness of which appears to be always bowing down
 Feet
- it symbolizes the power of the friars
- it is placed on the base of the triangle (foundation) because without friars, the Filipinos
cannot stand on their own

6
  Shoes
- it represents wealth
- it is also the footprints left by friars in teaching Catholicism
 Hairy Legs
- it symbolizes the Legend of the Wolf
- the wolf shape shifts just like how friars hide their true nature and character
 Helmet of a Guardia Civil
- it represents the arrogance of those in authority
 Whip
- it represents the abuses and cruelties done by the Spaniards and friars as depicted in the
novel
 Flogs (Suplina)
- it is used for self-flagellation
- just like the whip, this also symbolizes the cruelties of the Guardia Civil
 Chain
- it symbolizes slavery and imprisonment
 Rizal's Signature
- it shows that Rizal experienced and witnessed the ills and abuses that happened during
his time
 Bamboo Stalks
- it represents Filipino resiliency
- despite the sufferings, Filipinos can still stand tall and firm

Writing of Noli
 1884 – towards the end of 1884, Rizal began writing the novel in Madrid (while studying
medicine) & finished one-half of it
 1885 – he went to Paris after completing his studies in the Central University of Madrid
& finished ½ of the 2nd half of it
 April-June 1886 – He wrote the last 4th of the novel in Germany, writing the last few
chapters in Wilhelmsfeld.
 Rizal put finishing touches on Noli after the Christmas season. He deleted some
passages, including a whole chapter (Elias and Salome missing chapter of Noli) to save
printing expenses.
 Vicente Blasco Ibañez – a well-known writer volunteered his services as proof reader and
consultant.
 February 1886 – Rizal made the final revisions of Noli.

7
  December 1886 – the novel was almost finished but Rizal desperately despondent
because he saw no hope of having it published for he was penniless. In desperation, Rizal
had almost thrown Noli into the flames.
 February 21, 1887 – the Noli was finally finished and ready for printing.
 Fernando Canon – Rizal’s friend that he sent a letter to him about his desperation.
“From the first,” writes Leon Ma. Guerrero, “Rizal was haunted by the fear that his novel
would never find its way into print, that it would remain unread. He had little enough money for
his own needs, let alone the cost of the Noli’s publication . . .” Characteristically, Rizal would
not bear of asking his friend for help. He did not want to compromise with them.
Savior of Noli Me Tangere
Maximo Viola insisted on lending him the money (P300 for 2,000 copies); Rizal at first
demurred . . . Finally Rizal gave in and the novel went to press. The proofs were delivered daily,
and one day the messenger, according to Viola, took it upon himself to warn the author that if he
ever returned to the Philippines he would lose his head. Rizal was too enthralled by seeing his
work in print to do more than smile.
The printing apparently took considerably less time than the original estimate of five-
months for Viola did not arrive in Berlin until December and by the 21st March 1887, Rizal was
already sending Blumentritt copy of “my first book.”
Rizal, himself, describing the nature of the Noli Me Tangere to his friend Blumentritt,
wrote, “The Novel is the first impartial and bold account of the life of the Tagalogs. The
Filipinos will find in it the history of the last ten years . . .”
 Rizal and Viola went to different printing shops in Berlin to find one with the lowest
charge.
 Berliner Buchdruckrei-Alktiengesellschaff, Setzerinner-Shule des Letter-Verein – the
printing shop that charged the lowest rate – 300 pesos for 2,000 copies.
Printing of the Noli Finished:
 March 21, 1887 – the Noli Me Tangere came off the press in Berlin. Rizal sent the first
copies to his close friends.
 March 29, 1887 – Rizal gave Viola the galley proofs of Noli rolled around the pen he
used in writing it and complimentary copy with the inscription – “To my dear friend
Maximo, the first to read and appreciate my work.”
Attackers of Noli Me Tangere
 Fray Salvador Font – Ordered the circulation of Noli be absolutely prohibited
 Fr. Jose Rodriguez – Augustinian Friar, assisting Fr. Font in his aim to discredit Noli; in
his pamphlet entitled “Caiingat Cayo” (Beware). He warned the people that in reading
the book they “commit mortal sin” considering it was full of hearsay.
 Vicente Barrantes – Assailed the novel as “anti-Catholic, Protestant, socialist”

8
Defenders of Noli Me Tangere
 Ferdinand Blumentritt – He was the first who received a copy of Noli sent by Rizal. He
said that the Noli was the greatest literary work ever written by a Filipino about the
Philippines and written with the patriot’s blood.
 Marcelo H. del Pilar – Circulated a publication that negated the effect of Fr. Rodriguez’
“Caiingat Cayo” His piece “Caiigat Cayo” (be slippery as an Eel), deceiving similar
forms to Rodriguez.
 Jose Ma. Cecilio – He described Noli as the Filipino Don Quijote de la Mancha.
 Pardo de Tavera – Said that the success of the Noli was due to the fact that Rizal had
uncovered the evils that afflicted the Filipinos by means of living description.
 A. Regidor, E. de Lete, G. Lopez Jaena – Friends of Rizal, sent him a letter similarly
praising his work.
 Fr. Francisco Sanchez – Rizal’s beloved Jesuit professor defended the Noli in public and
said that the former President of the Council of Ministers liked it very much.
 Rev. Vicente Garcia – a Filipino Catholic priest scholar, a theologian of the Manila
Cathedral and a Tagalog translator of the famous Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis.
He became a brilliant defense from an unexpected source. He used the pen name Justo
Desiderio Magalang – wrote a defense of Noli, which was published in Singapore; he
blasted the arguments of Fr. Rodriguez.
 Later Rizal learned of the brilliant defense of Father Garcia and cried because his
gratitude was overwhelming.
 During the days when the Noli was the target of controversies, all copies were
sold out and the price per copy reached unprecedented level.
 According to Rizal, the price he set per copy was five pesetas (equivalent to one
peso), but the price later rose to fifty pesos per copy.
Important Notes in Noli Me Tangere
1. The reception at Capitan Tiago’s house given in honor of Crisostomo Ibarra
2. The tragic story of Sisa
3. The picnic at the lake
Two unforgettable incidents at the picnic:
a. The saving of Elias’ life by Ibarra
b. The rendering of a beautiful song by Maria Clara
4. The hunting of Elias
Elias was hunted for:
a. Assaulting Padre Damaso
b. Throwing the Alferez into the mud hole
5. Ibarra’s attempt of killing Padre Damaso
Ibarra’s attack on Padre Damaso produced 2 results:
a. His engagement to Maria Clara was broken
b. He was excommunicated
6. The story of Elias
 The missing Chapter of Noli Me Tangere: “Elias and Salome”
 Why did Rizal delete the chapter? Because of his financial situation in Berlin

9
Characters of Noli Me Tangere

 Ibarra Juan Crisostomo y Magsalin

A rich young man who studied in Europe, only son of Don Rafael Ibarra; As an
ideal of humanity he desires the education of his people; a loyal son, courageous, civic-
minded, liberty loving and patriotic
- Dr. Jose Rizal
- Intellectuals and patriots

 Elias

Although he is not the “persecuted” he comes from the family of the persecuted.
He is humble, courageous, thoughtful, and farsighted. He is bent on vindicating the
common people who are victims of injustices and thus becomes a vehement enemy of the
authorities.

He believes that justice can be obtained only through revolution—he symbolizes

the very root of the Filipino culture before the coming of the Spaniards, which remained
strong and unbroken by the Spaniards.
- Jose Rizal
- Symbolizes the common tao; Intellectuals and patriots

 Pilosopo Tasio (Don Anastasio, The Lunatic)

Wise old man whose ideas were too advanced for his times so that people don’t
understand him; one who is called the sage by the cultured & the lunatic by others who
do not know him because of his peculiar ideas.
- Paciano
- Intellectuals and patriots. Tasio however has grown bitter and has ceased to believe that
change would be possible in an utterly corrupt society. He has lost the fervor of his
idealism when dreams collapsed one by one.

 Maria Clara

Beautiful lover of Ibarra, daughter of Pia Alba and Father Damaso; Represents a
type of Filipino womanhood brought up in convent and educated along religious lines.
- Leonor Rivera (in real life became unfaithful)
- Innocence, submissiveness and passivity of a Philippine society that has allowed itself
to be abused

 Don Rafael Ibarra

Crisostomo’s father; represents a rich landlord with a social conscience because

he is a philanthropist; His confidence in the law and hatred of things that are not legal is
admirable.

10
 Father Damaso Verdolagas

Franciscan friar who had been parish priest of San Diego; biological father of
Maria Clara; anti-hero in Noli; Received an exorbitant fee (P200.00)for his sermon in San
Diego; Represents the social class which does not like liberalism
- Typical domineering, arrogant, immoral and anti-Filipino friars
- Hypocrisy, cruelty, self-centeredness and promiscuity

 Father Bernardo Salvi

Parish priest who replaced Father Damaso. A misguided priest who was in love
with Maria Clara or had hidden desires for Maria Clara.
- Padre Antonio Piernavieja, the hated Augustinian friar in Cavite, killed by the patriots
during the revolution
- Deceit, covetousness, hypocrisy and promiscuity

 Fr. Hernando Sybila

His conversation with an old priest reveals that monetary gains and not the
salvation of a people were their main concern.
- Trader’s mentality; arrogance of religious orders or institutions

 Capitan Tiago

Friend of Don Rafael Ibarra who acted as the father of Maria Clara; ready to
please the authorities because he finds them useful in carrying out some of his activities,
e.g. making contract in feeding the prisoners, supplying zacate to several government
establishments & securing appointment in tax collection; his control of the opium
monopoly brings him huge profit; Represents the Filipino who is subservient to the
authorities because his personal interests must be secured.
- Captain Hilario Sunico of San Nicolas
- Social climber Filipino, who would go to a great extent to attain power and social status
like bribery and giving lavish parties and gifts
 Doña Victorina
Flamboyantly dressed wife of henpecked Spanish quack doctor; uses the title
Donya Victorina de de Espadaña, doubling the “de” to stress her imagined social rank;
disdains what is Filipino and imitates what is Spanish; The paragon of colonial mentality;
Conscious of her appearance (she is actually 45 yraes old), she claims to be only 32. She
uses rice powder to appear “mestiza” but the powder only gives her a ghastly look. Her
masculine frame, heavy make-up, wig and ribbons make her appear ridiculous. Claro M.
Recto was right when he said that even some of our defects are borrowed. We aspire to
be what we are not for we prefer to change what we are to what we cannot be and aspire
to own what we cannot have.
- Donya Agustina Medel.
- Alienated Filipina woman bent on marrying one with prestige and high station in life; a
social climber, her fanatical adulation of the Spaniards leads her to imitate the very

11
 actions and attitude of the Spanish women. She symbolizes the Filipino in our society
who are ashamed of their own race and nationality.

 Don Tiburcio De Espadaña

Husband of Donya Victorina; a quack Spanish physician who treated Maria Clara
when she became ill after the fiesta in San Diego.

 Doña Consolacion

Vulgar mistress of Alferez; inspiration of the Alferezes and civil guards;

imprudent and quarrelsome
- Pretended as Spanish who did not know how to speak Tagalog and holds Filipinos in
contempt; social climber

 Basilio and Crispin

Sons of Sisa, they are sacristans in the church of San Diego.

- Crisostomo Brothers of Hagonoy
- Children of abuse and broken dreams

 Sisa

Formerly, a responsible rich girl, who became poor because of marrying a

gambler and irresponsible man; Illustrates the lack of concern by society in trying to help
her solve her problems – the maltreatment of her two sons and the indignities she suffers
which finally drive her to mental derangement
- Externalizes vicious cycle of poverty. Her shortsightedness made her give up freedom
in pursuit of temporary desires.

 Lt. Guevara

Elderly & kind Lieutenant of the Guardia civil; revealed the story of Don Rafael’s
death to Ibarra

 Don Alfonso Linares de Espadaña

Cousin of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña and godson of Padre Damaso’s brother-in-

law; A penniless and jobless, fortune hunter who came to the Philippines in search of a
rich Filipino heiress; He was introduced to Maria Clara to be her Fiancé but the latter did
not respond because she loved Ibarra.

 Doña Pia

She is wife of Capitan Tiago and Ma. Clara’s mother.

- She is a symbol of unquestioning blind obedience to authority. She died upon giving
birth to Ma. Clara, her child by Padre Damaso.

12
 The contrast between right and might is seen on Don Rafael Ibarra and Capitan Tiago.
 The former, rich and possessed of a liberal mind was a victim of persecution while the latter,
shrewd and opportunistic, was an influence-peddler.

Synopsis of Noli Me Tangere

 The novel Noli Me Tangere contains 63 chapters and epilogue.

It begins with a reception given by Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) at his house in
Calle Anloague (now Juan Luna Street) on the last day of October.

The reception or dinner is given in honor of Crisostomo Ibarra, a young and rich Filipino
who had just returned after seven years of study in Europe.

Ibarra was the only son of Don Rafael Ibarra, friend of Capitan Tiago, and a fiancé of
beautiful Maria Clara, supposed daughter of Capitan Tiago.

Among the guests during the reception were Padre Damaso, a fat Franciscan friar who
had been parish priest for 20 years of San Diego (Calamba), Ibarra’s native town; Padre Sybila, a
young Dominican parish priest of Binondo; Señor Guevara, an elderly and kind lieutenant of the
Guardia Civil; Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, a bogus Spanish physician, lame, and henpecked
husband of Doña Victorina; and several ladies.

Ibarra, upon his arrival, produced a favorable impression among the guests, except Padre
Damaso, who was rude to him. In accordance with a German custom, he introduced himself to
the ladies.

During the dinner the conversation centered on Ibarra’s studies and travels abroad. Padre
Damaso was in bad mood because he got a bony neck and a hard wing of the chicken tinola.
He tried to discredit Ibarra’s remarks.

After dinner, Ibarra left Capitan Tiago’s house to return to his hotel. On the way, the kind
Lieutenant Guevara told him the sad story of his father’s death in San Diego. Don Rafael, his
father, was a rich and brave man. He defended a helpless boy from the brutality of an illiterate
Spanish tax collector, pushing the latter and accidentally killing him. Don Rafael was thrown in
prison, where he died unhappily. He was buried in consecrated ground, but his enemies, accusing
him being a heretic, had his body removed from the cemetery. On hearing about his father’s sad
story, Ibarra thanked the kind Spanish lieutenant and vowed to find out the truth about his
father’s death.

The following morning, he visited Maria Clara, his childhood sweetheart. Maria Clara
teasingly said that he had forgotten her because the girls in Germany were beautiful. Ibarra
replied that he had never forgotten her. After the romantic reunion with Maria Clara, Ibarra went
to San Diego to visit his father’s grave. It was All Saint’s Day.

At the cemetery, the grave digger told Ibarra that the corpse of Don Rafael was removed
by order of the parish priest, to be buried in the Chinese cemetery; but the corpse was heavy and

13
it was a dark and rainy night so that he (the grave-digger) simply threw the corpse into the lake.
Ibarra was angered by the grave-digger’s story. He left the cemetery.

On the way, he met Padre Salvi, Franciscan parish priest of San Diego. In a flash, Ibarra
pounced on the priest, demanding redress for desecrating his father’s mortal remains. Padre Salvi
told him that he had nothing to do with it, for he was not the parish priest at the time of Don
Rafael’s death. It was Padre Damaso, his predecessor, who was responsible for it. Convinced of
Padre Salvi’s innocence, Ibarra went away.

In his town Ibarra met several interesting people, such as the wise old man, Tasio the
philosopher, whose ideas were too advanced for his times so that the people, who could not
understand him, called him “Tasio the Lunatic;” the progressive school teacher, who complained
to Ibarra that the children were losing interest to their studies because of the lack of proper
school house and the discouraging attitude of the parish friar towards both the teaching of
Spanish and of the use of modern methods of pedagogy; the spineless gobernadorcillo, who
catered to the wishes of the Spanish parish friars; Don Filipo Lino, the teniente-mayor and leader
of the cuadrilleros (town police); and the former gobernadorcillos who were prominent citizens
Don Basilio and Don Valentin.

A most tragic story in the novel is the tale of Sisa, who was formerly a rich girl but
became poor because she married a gambler, and a wastrel at that. She became crazy because she
lost her two boys, Basilio and Crispin, the joy of her wretched life. These boys were sacristans
(sextons) in the church, working for a small wage to support their poor mother. Crispin the
younger of the two brothers was accused by the brutal sacristan mayor (chief sexton) of stealing
the money of the priest. He was tortured in the convent and died. Basilio, with his brother’s
dying cries ringing in his ears, escaped. When the two boys did not return home, Sisa looked for
them everywhere and, in her great sorrow, she became insane.

Capitan Tiago, Maria Clara, and Aunt Isabel (Capitan Tiago’s cousin who took care of
Maria Clara, after her mother’s death) arrived in San Diego. Ibarra and his friends had a picnic at
the lake. Among those present in this picnic, were Maria Clara and her four girl friends the merry
Siñang, the grave Victoria, the beautiful Iday, and the thoughtful Neneng; Aunt Isabel, chaperon
of Maria Clara; Capitana Tika, mother of Siñang; Andeng, foster sister of Maria Clara; Albino,
the ex-theological student who was in love with Siñang; and Ibarra and his friends. One of the
boatmen was a strong and silent peasant youth named Elias.

An incident of the picnic was the saving of Elias’ life by Ibarra. Elias bravely grappled
with a crocodile which was caught in the fish corral. But the crocodile struggled furiously so that
Elias could not subdue it. Ibarra jumped into the water and killed the crocodile, thereby saving
Elias. After the crocodile incident, was the rendering of a beautiful song by Maria Clara who had
a sweet voice as they went ashore. They made merry in the cool, wooded meadow. Padre Salvi,
Capitan Basilio (former gobernadorcillo and Siñang’s father) the alferez (lieutenant of the
Guardia Civil) and the town officials were present. The luncheon was served, and everybody
enjoyed eating.

The meal was over, Ibarra and Capitan Basilio played chess, while Maria Clara and her
friends played the “Wheel of Chance”, a game based on a fortune-telling book. As the girls were
enjoying their fortune-telling game, Padre Salvi came and tore to pieces the book, saying that it

14
was a sin to play such game. Shortly thereafter, a sergeant and four soldiers of the Guardia Civil
suddenly arrived, looking for Elias, who was hunted for assaulting Padre Damaso and throwing
the alferez into a mud hole. Fortunately Elias had disappeared, and the Guardia Civil went away
empty-handed. During the picnic also, Ibarra received a telegram from the Spanish authorities
notifying him the approval of his donation of a schoolhouse for the children of San Diego.

The next day Ibarra visited old Tasio to consult him on his pet project about the
schoolhouse. He saw the old man’s writings were written in hieroglyphics. Tasio explained to
him that he wrote in hieroglyphics because he was writing for the future generations who would
understand them and say, “Not all were asleep in the night of our ancestors!” Tasio was
pessimistic about the project of Ibarra to build a school house at his own expense. However, the
construction of the schoolhouse continued under the supervision of the architect called Nor Juan.

Meanwhile San Diego was merrily preparing for its annual fiesta, in honor of its patron
saint San Diego de Alcala, whose feast day is the 11th of November. On the eve of the fiesta,
hundreds of visitors arrived from the nearby towns, and there were laughter, music, exploding
bombs, feasting and moro-moro. The music was furnished by five brass bands (including the
famous Pagsanjan Band owned by the escribano Miguel Guevara) and three orchestras.

In the morning of the fiesta there was a high mass in the church, officiated by Padre
Salvi. Padre Damaso gave the long sermon, in which he expatiated on the evils of the times that
were caused by certain men, who having tasted some education spread pernicious ideas among
the people. After Padre Damaso’s sermon, the mass was continued by Padre Salvi. Elias quietly
moved to Ibarra, who was kneeling and praying by Maria Clara’s side, and warned him to be
careful during the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone of the schoolhouse because there
was a plot to kill him. Elias suspected that the yellowish man, who built the derrick, was a paid
stooge of Ibarra’s enemies. True to his suspicion, later in the day, when Ibarra, in the presence of
a big crowd, went down into the trench to cement the cornerstone, the derrick collapsed. Elias,
quick as a flash, pushed him aside, thereby saving his life. The yellowish man was the one
crushed to death by the shattered derrick.

At the sumptuous dinner that night under a decorated kiosk, a sad incident occurred.
The arrogant Padre Damaso, speaking in the presence of many guests, insulted the memory of
Ibarra’s father. Ibarra jumped to his seat, knocked down the fat friar with his fist, and then
seized a sharp knife. He would have killed the friar, were it not for the timely intervention of
Maria Clara.

Ibarra’s attack on Padre Damaso produced two results: 1. his engagement to Maria
Clara was broken and 2. he was excommunicated. Fortunately, the liberal-minded governor
general visited the town and befriended Ibarra. He told the young man not to worry. He
persuaded Capitan Tiago to accept Ibarra as son-in-law and promised to see the Archbishop of
Manila to lift the ban of excommunication.

The fiesta was over, Maria Clara became ill. She was treated by the quack Spanish
physician, Tiburcio de Espadaña, whose wife, a vain and vulgar native woman, was a frequent
visitor in Capitan Tiago’s house. This woman had hallucinations of being a superior Castillan,
and, although a native herself, she looked down on her own people as inferior beings. She added
another “de” to her husband’s surname in order for it to sound more Spanish. Thus she wanted to

15
be called “Doctora Doña Victorina de los Reyes de De Espadaña.” She introduced to Capitan
Tiago a young Spaniard, Don Alfonso Linares de Espadaña, cousin of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña
and godson of Padre Damaso’s brother in law. Linares was a penniless and jobless, fortune
hunter who came to the Philippines in search of a rich Filipino heiress. Both Doña Victorina and
Padre Damaso sponsored his wooing of Maria Clara, but the latter did not respond because she
loved Ibarra.

A touch of comedy in the novel was the fight between two ludicrous señoras – Doña
Consolacion, the vulgar mistress of the Alferez, and Doña Victorina, the flamboyantly dressed
wife of a henpecked Spanish quack physician. Both insulted each other in gutter language and
not satisfied with their verbal warfare, they squared off to come to blows. The timely arrival of
Padre Salvi stopped the fight, much to regret of the curious onlookers.

The story of Elias like that of Sisa, was a tale of pathos and tragedy. He related it to
Ibarra. Some 60 years ago, his grandfather, who was then a young bookkeeper in a Spanish
commercial firm in Manila, was wrongly accused of burning the firm’s warehouse. He was
flogged in public and was left in the street, crippled and almost dead. His wife was pregnant,
begged for alms and became a prostitute in order to support her sick husband and their son.
After giving birth to her second son and the death of her husband, she fled, with her to sons to
the mountains. Years later the first boy became a dreaded tulisan named Balat. He terrorized the
provinces. One day he was caught by the authorities.His head was cut off and was hung from a
tree branch in the forest. On seeing this gory object, the poor mother (Elias’ grandmother) died.
Balat’s younger brother, who was by nature kindhearted, fled and became a trusted laborer in the
house of rich man in Tayabas. He fell in love with the master’s daughter. The girl’s father,
enraged by the romance, investigated his past and found out the truth. The unfortunate lover
(Elias’ father) was sent to jail, while the girl gave birth to twins, a boy (Elias) and a girl. Their
rich grandfather took care of them, keeping secret their scandalous origin, and reared them as
rich children. Elias was educated in the Jesuit College in Manila, while his sister studied in La
Concordia College.They lived happily, until one day, owing to certain dispute over money
matters, a distant relative exposed their shameful birth. They were disgraced. An old male
servant, whom they used to abuse, was forced to testify in court and the truth came out that he
was their real father.

Elias and his sister left Tayabas to hide their shame in another place. One day the sister
disappeared. Elias roamed from place to place, looking for her. He heard later that a girl
answering to his sister’s description, was found dead on the beach of San Diego. Since then,
Elias lived a vagabond life, wandering from province to province – until he met Ibarra.

Ibarra’s enemies left no stone unturned to bring about his ruin. They engineered an attack
on the barracks of the Guardia Civil, at the same time warning the Alferez to alter his men that
night. They deceived the attackers by telling them that that the mastermind was Ibarra so that
when the attack failed and the surviving attackers were caught, Ibarra was blamed for the
catastrophe. Ibarra was implicated in a plot to overthrow the government and was arrested.

Elias, learning of Ibarra’s arrest, burned all the papers that might incriminate his friends
and set Ibarra’s house on fire. Then he went to prison and helped Ibarra escape. He and Ibarra
jumped into a banca loaded with zacate (grass). Ibarra stopped at the house of Capitan Tiago to
say goodbye to Maria Clara. In the tearful last scene between the two lovers, Ibarra forgave

16
Maria Clara for giving up his letter to her to the Spanish authorities who utilized them as
evidence against him. On her part, Maria Clara revealed that those letters were exchanged with a
letter from her late mother, Pia Alba which Padre Salvi gave her. From his letter, she learned that
her real father was Padre Damaso. After bidding Maria Clara farewell, Ibarra returned to the
banca. He and Elias paddled up the Pasig River toward Laguna de Bay. A police boat, with the
Guardia Civil on board, pursued them as their banca reached the lake. Elias told Ibarra to hide
under the zacate. As the police boat was overtaking the banca, Elias jumped into the water and
swiftly toward toward the shore. In this way, he diverted the attention of the soldiers on his
person, thereby giving Ibarra a chance to escape. The soldiers fired at the swimming Elias, who
was hit and sank. The water turned red because of his blood. The soldiers thinking that they
killed the fleeing Ibarra returned to Manila. Thus, Ibarra was able to escape.

Elias, seriously wounded, reached the shore and staggered into the forest. He met a boy,
Basilio, who was weeping over his mother’s dead body. He told Basilio to make a pyre on which
their bodies (his and Sisa’s) were to be burned to ashes. It was Christmas eve, and the noon
gleamed softly in the sky. Basilio prepared the funeral pyre.

As life’s breath slowly left his body. Elias looked toward the east and murmured: “I die
without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land.” You, who have it to see, welcome it!
And forget not those who have fallen during the night.

The novel ends with Maria Clara, an unhappy nun in Santa Clara nunnery – forever lost
to the world.

The novel has an epilogue which recounts what happened to the other characters.

 Maria Clara, out of her loyalty to the memory of Ibarra, the man she truly loved, entered
the Santa Clara nunnery. Padre Salvi left the parish of San Diego and became a chaplain
of the nunnery.
 Padre Damaso was transferred to a remote province, but the next morning he was found
dead in his bedroom.
 Capitan Tiago the former genial host and generous patron of the church became an opium
addict and a human wreck.
 Doña Victorina, still henpecking poor Don Tiburcio, had taken to wearing eye-glasses
because of weakening eyesight.
 Linares, who failed to win Maria Clara’s affection, died of dysentery and was buried in
Paco cemetery.
 The alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the barracks, was promoted
major. He returned to Spain, leaving behind his shabby mistress, Doña Consolacion.

17
EL FILIBUSTERISMO

El Filibusterismo was Rizal’s second novel published in Ghent, Belgium in 1891 with the
financial help of Valentin Ventura. It is a sequel to his first novel, Noli Me Tangere.

Title and Theme

 El Filibusterismo means a dangerous patriot; it literally means The Revolution; to the

Spaniards, the word Filibuster means a traitor or a double faced person; it pertains to one
guilty of treasonous acts against the state.
 In the 19th century – a person tagged as filibustero is marked for death.
 Greed for power is the moving force in El Filibusterismo

Writing of El Filibusterismo

 He began writing it in October 1887, while practicing Medicine in Calamba

 In 1888, in London he made some changes in the plot and corrected some chapters
already written
 Wrote more chapters in Paris and Madrid
 He finished the manuscript in Biarritz on March 29, 1891
 It took him 3 years to write his 2nd novel.
 According to Jose Alejandrino, a friend of Rizal who became a General in the Philippine
Revolution, the Fili manuscript was completed in Brussels, Belgium.
 Rizal planned to make Fili twice as long as Noli but ended up with less Noli having 64
chapters while Fili having 38 chapters because he was then undergoing trying
circumstances: he was short of cash, depressed, homesick, and worrying about his family
back home who were being persecuted due to agrarian problems in Calamba, He even
considered throwing the manuscript in the fireplace.

Printing of El Filibusterismo

 F. Meyer Van Loo Press, No. 66 Viaanderin Street (publisher) was willing to print
Rizal’s book in installment basis.
 It was Jose Alejandrino who canvassed printers and recommended F. Meyer Van Loo in
Ghent. He played messenger between Rizal and the printers, delivering proofs and
corrections, thus making him the first to read the Fili.
 For the service, Rizal gave Alejandrino the corrected proofs of the novel together with
the pen he had used in working out his corrections. Unfortunately, these mementos were
either lost or destroyed during the revolution (Ocampo, 91).
 Rizal received some money from Basa and P200 from Rodriguez Arias for the copies of
Morga’s Sucesos sold in Manila. But these funds were also used up, and much more
needed to pay the printer.
 On July 1891, Rizal wrote Basa from Ghent.
 On August 6, the printing had to be suspended due to lack of funds to the printer. On this
date, Rizal wrote to Basa in Hong Kong about his financial situation.
 The manuscript is now in the National Library (measuring 23x36 cms. with 279 leaves
comprising the novel itself and four leaves for title page, introductions, etc.)
18
  The manuscript was bound by Rizal himself, with Alejandrino sitting on the paper while
Rizal passed twine through the lattice-work of a chair into the spine of the manuscript.

Savior of El Filibusterismo

 Valentin Ventura, who generously loaned Rizal the funds he needed to finish the printing
of the novel.
 In gratitude, Rizal donated his original manuscript and an autographed printed copy to his
friend, Valentin Ventura in Paris.

El Filibusterismo comes off the Press

 El Filibusterismo came off the press on September 18, 1891.

 Rizal immediately sent on this date two printed copies to Hong Kong – one for Basa and
the other for Sixto Lopez.
 Rizal sent other complimentary copies to Blumentritt, Mariano Ponce, G. Lopez Jaena,
T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Antonio and Juan Luna and other friends.
 All copies of the first edition (Ghent edition) of El Filibusterismo were place in wooden
boxes and shipped to Hong Kong, but almost all the books were confiscated and the
books were lost. The book became rare, and the few were sold at a very high price,
reaching as high as 400 pesetas per copy.

El Filibusterismo is dedicated to Gom-Bur-Za

 The novel is dedicated to the three martyrs, Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr.
Jacinto Zamora who were executed in their attempts to effect reforms.
 Paciano told the heroic story of these three martyrs to Rizal who has then nearly eleven
years old.
 Rizal made historical inaccuracies in his dedicatory note. "To the memory of the priests,
Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto
Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February,
1872." Rizal’s memory seemed to have failed him, though, for Father Gomez was then 73
not 85, Father Burgos 35 not 30 Father Zamora 37 not 35; and the date of execution 17th
not 28th.
 Rizal addressed them as “don” instead of “father.” While “don” might imply high status,
it could be deduced also that they were defrocked and ex-communicated. The dedication
clears the three martyrs from their “crime.”

The Manuscript of the Book

 The original manuscript of El Filibusterismo in Rizal’s own handwriting is now

preserved in the Filipiniana Division of the Bureau of Public Libraries, Manila.
 The Philippine Government acquired it from Ventura for P10,000.
 It consists of 279 pages of long sheets of paper.
 Two features in the manuscript do not appear in the printed book to save printing cost:
a. Foreword – appears just before the dedicatory page.
b. Warning – found on the other side of the dedication.

19
  A comparison of the Noli and Fili will reveal that Fili had more erasures, corrections and
deletions. Rizal erased 47 pages from the 279-page manuscript with brush and ink (unlike
Elias and Salome in Noli where some translators took the liberty to include in their
editions)

Translating the book's title in English language, it means The Reign of Greed. Compared
to the book cover of Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo's cover is plain, as designed by Jose
Rizal. The plain cover conveys a fresh start for the Philippines and Filipinos without the trace of
symbols from the events and situations in Noli Me Tangere.
20
 Facsimile copy of the first page of the manuscript of El Filibusterismo

The original title has an inscription of Ferdinand Blumentritt, which is not found in the
English translations.

Inscriptions on the Title Page

The title page of El Filibusterismo contains an inscription written by Ferdinand

Blumentritt. This inscription is not found in many published English translation.

21
“Noli” and “Fili” compared

NOLI FILI
A romantic novel A political novel
“A work of heart” “A work of the head”
“A book of feeling” A book of the thought”
Light, comical & biting Grim (bleak, gloomy, depressing),
mysterious, and sinister (threatening, disturbing);
has little humor;
more revolutionary;
more tragic
There is aspiration, beauty, It contains bitterness,
romance, and mercy hatred, and antipathy (antagonism, hostility)
It has freshness, color, humor, Contains pain, violence & sorrow
lightness and wit.
Has 64 chapters (including the Has 38 chapters
epilogue)

 Fili is considered as the “Greatest Philippine Document” or “Gospel for Philippine

Nationalism”
 The original intention of Rizal was to make the Fili longer than the Noli. As printed, it
was shorter than Noli.
 Rizal had to cut the Fili drastically owing to lack of funds

Which is the superior novel – the Noli or the Fili?

 Friends of Rizal and Rizalists differ in opinion as to which is the superior novel
 Rizal, Del Pilar, and Retana considered Noli as superior to Fili
 Blumentritt, Lopez Jaena, and Rafael Palma considered Fili as superior to Noli
 The issue of which is the superior novel
is purely academic:
Both are good novels from the point of view of history.

 Both depict with realistic colors the actual conditions of the Philippines and the Filipinos
during the days of Spanish regime
 Both are instrumental in awakening the spirit of nationalism
 Both are responsible in paving the ground for the Philippine revolution
 Neither the Noli or the Fili is superior to one another
According to Mariano Ponce, El Fili is a true twin of the Noli.

Characters of El Filibusterismo

 Round characters (protagonists): Simoun, Isagani, Cabesang Tales, Fr. Florentino

 Flat characters (antagonists): Fr. Salvi, Fr. Camorra, Fr. Sybila, Fr. Irene

22
 Simoun

The hero of Fili; a rich jeweler; Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli; After barely
escaping with his life, he returns as a totally different man, both in appearance and
character.

He is often referred to as the “Brown cardinal or the “Black Eminence because of

his great influence in Malacañang or close relations as a good friend and an adviser to the
governor-general.

Outwardly, he is a friend of Spain, but deep in his heart, he is bitter and ruthless,
secretly planning a revolution against the Spanish authorities.

He encourages corruption to be done so as to arouse the people’s anger against the

government. If Ibarra advocated change through peaceful means, Simoun advocated
revolution.
- Jose Rizal
- Speaks on nationalism & stresses the necessity of radical means

 Maria Clara

Sweetheart of Simoun who died in the nunnery.

 Basilio

The elder of the two sons of the late Sisa, he is a promising medical student
whose medical education is financed by his patron, Capitan Tiago; lover of Juli.

At first he refuses to join Simoun’s plan of overthrowing the Spanish government.

He is a young man with a simple dream that his education will improve his social and
economic status in the future.

He is indifferent and selfish, thus his character represents the young educated
Filipinos who are apathetic to the needs of the society.
- Indifferent, selfish, opportunist; typifies the youth with simple dream that his
education will improve his social and economic status in the future

 Isagani

A poet nephew of Father Florentino; lover of Paulita. He was disheartened when

Paulita left him for a wealthy man. He forgot ideals in favor of personal gains. He
symbolizes the youth who, despite their being very aggressive and idealistic, cannot be
relied on in times of adversity.
- Vicente Ilustre, Batangueño friend of Rizal in Madrid

23
 Father Florentino

A retired scholarly and patriotic Filipino priest

- Father Leoncio Lopez, Rizal’s friend and priest of Calamba

 Paulita Gomez

Beautiful niece of Doña Victorina; Lover of Isagani but married Juanito Pelaez
- Leonor Rivera
- Personifies an aristocrat who yields to the habit of ethnico – political selection in
marriage; Stands for vanity

 Señor Pasta

The old Filipino lawyer, who refused to help the Filipino students in their petition
to the Government for educational reforms. He represents the part of the society that is
only generous and sympathetic to the rich and powerful.
- Indifferent, selfish, opportunist

 Placido Penitente

From Batangas, becomes discontented with poor method of instruction in the

University of Sto. Tomas.

 Juanito Pelaez

Favorite student of the professors, belonged to the upper class of the society, he
was married to Paulita Gomez.

 Basilio, Isagani, Placedo Penitente, Juanito Pelaez

Represent the students who openly express criticism of the educational system.
The friars brand the students as subversives or filibusteros.

 Cabesang Tales

Dispossessed of his land in Tiani; he later becomes the dreaded and menacing
outlaw, Matanglawin, after he loses his farm to the friars and civil authorities.
- Personifies the typical Filipino who is content with living a simple life; an explanation
why Filipinos turned rebels

 Doña Victorina

The ridiculously pro-Spanish native woman who was going to Laguna in search
of her henpecked husband, Tiburcio de Espadaña, who left her.
- Hypocrisy; symbol of colonial mentality

24
 Ben Zayb

A Spanish journalist who writes silly articles about the Filipinos.

- Personifies a corrupted media

 Macaraig

A rich student and leader of the Filipino students in their movement to have an
academy where they could learn Spanish.
- Signifies the exception among the tyrannical Spaniards

 Father Fernandez

A good Dominican friar and friend of Isagani.

- Exemplifies the pedantic professor

 Don Custodio

A pro-Spanish Filipino holding a high position in the government.

- Represents a composite picture of Spanish officials in the Philippine society

 Tandang Selo

Grandfather of Juli; father of Cabesang Tales; shot by his own grandson Tano

 Father Salvi

Thin Franciscan friar and former cura of San Diego

 Father Camorra

Parish priest of Tiani town; asked Capitan Basilio for a gift, a pair of lady’s
earrings

 Father Sibyla

Vice Rector of University of Santo Tomas

 Father Irene

A kind friar who was a friend of the Filipino students. Supports the students who
appeal to the government for an academy of Spanish language. He embodies the few
Spaniards who are sympathetic to the Filipinos.

 Father Millon

A physics teacher in the University of Santo Tomas without scientific

experiments.
25
 Juli

Daughter of Cabesang Tales; Sweetheart of Basilio; Killed herself rather than be

dishonored by Padre Camorra. Chose death over the loss of honor and dignity.
- She represents the Philippines, which would rather suffer with pride and honor.

 Hermana Penchang

A rich and religious woman served by Juli

 Quiroga

A rich Chinese merchant, who wants very much to be a Chinese consul of Manila

 Hermana Bali

Provoked Juli in asking for help from Father Camorra

 Mr. Leeds

Mr. American impresario who owned the sideshow at the fair of Quiapo
exhibiting an Egyptian mummy

 Imuthis

The magical head in Mr. Leed’s show

 Capitan Tiago

Basilio’s patron

 Sandoval

Spanish student who supported the cause of the Filipino students to propagate the
teaching of Spanish.

 Don Tiburcio De Espadaña

Husband of Doña Victorina, who has deserted her.

 Pecson

One of the Filipino students who agitates for the teaching of Spanish

 Cabesang Andang

Parent of Placido Penitente

26
  Pepay

Pretty dancer and mistress of Don Custodio

 Don Timoteo

Father of Juanito Pelaez

 Tano

Son of Cabesang Tales; brother of Juli

 Chichay

Silversmith who made the bridal earring for Paulita Gomez

Synopsis of El Filibusterismo

 This novel is a sequel to the Noli. It has a little humor, less idealism, and less romance
than the Noli Me Tangere.
 It is more revolutionary and more tragic than the first novel.

The main character of El Filibusterismo is a rich jeweler from Cuba named Simoun. He
was Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli, who, with Elias’ help, escaped from the pursuing soldiers at
Laguna de Bay, dug up his buried treasure, and fled to Cuba where he became rich and made
friends with many Spanish officials.

After many years, he returned to the Philippines in disguise. He has become so powerful
he is an adviser adviser of the governor-general. On the outside, Simoun is a friend of Spain. But
deep in his heart, he is secretly planning a bitter revenge against the Spanish authorities. His
obsessions are: 1) to incite a revolution against the Spanish authorities and 2) to rescue Maria
Clara from Sta. Clara convent.

The novel begins on board the dipper-shaped steamer,Tabo. This steamer is sailing
upstream the Pasig from Manila to Laguna de Bay. Among the passengers are Simoun, the rich
jeweler; Doña Victorina, the ridiculously pro-Spanish native woman who is going to Laguna in
search of her henpecked husband, Tiburcio de Espadaña, who has deserted her; Paulita Gomez,
her beautiful niece; Ben-Zayb (anagram of Ibañez), a Spanish journalist who writes silly articles
about the Filipinos; Padre Sibyla, vice-rector of the University of Santo Tomas; Padre Camorra,
the parish priest of the town of Tiani; Don Custodio, a pro-Spanish Filipino holding a high
position in the government; Padre Salvi, thin Franciscan friar and former cura of San Diego;
Padre Irene, a kind friar who was a friend of the Filipino students; Padre Florentino, a retired
scholarly and patriotic Filipino priest; Isagani, lover of Paulita; he is a poet and a nephew of
Padre Florentino; and Basilio, the elder of the two sons of Sisa, he is a promising medical
student, whose medical education is financed by his patron, Capitan Tiago.

27
 Simoun,wealthy and mysterious is a close friend of the Spanish governor general (No
one suspects that Simoun is the fugitive Ibarra. Only Basilio knows the secret but even Basilio
finds it difficult to reconcile the dreamer and the diealist that was once Ibarra to the shrewd sly
schemer that is Simoun). He was nicknamed the “Brown Cardinal” or the “Black Eminence”
because of his great influence in Malacañang. By using political influence and wealth, he
encourages corruption in the government, promotes the oppression of the masses, and hastens the
moral degradation of the country so that the people may become desperate and fight.

He smuggles arms into the country with the help of a rich Chinese merchant, Quiroga,
who wants very much to be Chinese consul of Manila. His first attempt to begin the armed
uprising did not materialize because at the last hour he hears the sad news that Maria Clara died
in the nunnery. In his agonizing moment of bereavement, he did not give the signal for the
outbreak of hostilities.

After a long time of illness brought about by the bitter loss of Maria Clara, Simoun
perfects his plan to overthrow the government.

On the occasion of the wedding of Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez, he gives a wedding
gift to them a beautiful lamp. Only he and his confidential associates, Basilio (Sisa’s son who
joined his revolutionary cause), know that when the wick of his lamp burns lower, the
nitroglycerine hidden in its secret compartment, will explode, destroying the house where the
wedding feast is going to be held killing all the guests, including the governor general, the friars,
and the government officials. Simultaneously, all the government buildings in Manila will be
blown by Simoun’s followers.

As the wedding feast begins, the poet Isagani, who has been rejected by Paulita because
of his liberal ideas, is standing outside the house, watching sorrowfully the merriment inside.
Basilio, his friend, warns him to go away because the lightened lamp will soon explode. Upon
hearing the horrible secret of the lamp, Isagani realizes that his beloved Paulita was in grave
danger. To save her life, he rushes into the house, seizes the lightened lamp, and hurls it into the
river, where it explodes.

The revolutionary plot was thus discovered. Simoun was cornered by the soldiers, but he
escaped. Mortally wounded, and carrying his treasure chest, he sought refuge in the home of
Padre Florentino by the sea. The Spanish authorities, however, learns of his presence in the
house of Padre Florentino. Lieutenant Perez of the Guardia Civil informs the priest by letter that
he would come at eight o’clock that night to arrest Simoun.

Simoun eluded arrest by taking poison. As he is dying, he confesses to Padre Florentino,

revealing his true identity, his dastardly plan to use his wealth to avenge himself, and his sinister
aim to destroy his friends and enemies. The confession of the dying Simoun is long and painful.

It is already night when Padre Florentino, wiping the sweat from his wrinkled brow, rises
and begins to meditate. He consoles the dying man saying: “God will forgive you Señor Simoun.
He knows that we are fallible (imperfect). He has seen that you have suffered, and in ordaining
that, the chastisement for your faults should come as death from the very ones you have
instigated to crime, we can see His infinite mercy. He has frustrated your plans one by one, the

28
best conceived, first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of preparation, then in some
mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him thanks!”

Father Florentino, watches Simoun die peacefully with a clear conscience and at peace
with God. He falls upon his knees and prays for the dead jeweler. He takes the treasure chest and
throws it into the sea; as the waves close over the sinking chest.

The “Noli” was acquired from Soledad Rizal in 1911 for P25,000 and the “Fili” was
acquired from the heirs of Valentin Ventura in 1925 for P10,000.

Facsimile copies of Noli Me Tangere and El filibusterismo are displayed at the

Filipiniana Division's reading room. The original copies are kept in a special double-combination
vault at the room's rare documents section.

The Search for the Third Novel

 Gregorio Zaide’s version: On September 22, 1891, four days after the Fili came off the
press, he wrote to Blumentritt:

“I am thinking of writing a 3rd novel in the modern sense of the word but this
time politics will not find much space in it, but ethics will play the principal role. I shall
deal mainly with the habits of the Filipinos, and only two Spaniards, the friar curate and
the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil will be there. I wish to be there. I will to be humorous,
satirical and witty, to weep and to laugh amidst tears, that is, to cry bitterly.”

29
  He began writing the 3rd novel during his voyage in the steamer Melbourne from
Marseilles bound for Hong Kong. He continued writing in Hong Kong but for some
reason was unable to finish it.
 The unfinished novel has no title, consisting of 44 pages (33 cm. x 21 cm.), in his
handwriting, still in manuscript, preserved in the National Library.

The story of the unfinished novel starts with the burial of Prince Tagulima, Son of Sultan
Zaide of Ternate, on Malapad-na-Bato, a big rock on the bank of Pasig River. Sultan Zaide with
his royal family and retainers was taken prisoner by the Spaniards during the wars in the
Moluccas and brought to Manila. The old sultan, his children, and followers were promised good
treatment, but the Spaniards forgot their promise and let them die one by one in misery.

The hero of the novel was Kamandagan, a descendant of Lakandula, last king of Tondo.
He plotted to regain the lost freedom of his father. One day he saved his two beautiful
grandaughters, Maligaya and Sinagtala, from the lustful Spaniards – the cura and the
encomenderos of Bay, Laguna.

It is said that Rizal was fortunate not to have finished this novel, because it would have
caused greater scandal and more Spanish vengeance on him.

 Ambeth Ocampo’s version: He began his third novel “Makamisa” in 1892 only to give up
and switch to Spanish before abandoning the project.
 After Fili came off the press in 1891, some of his friends were already asking for a third
novel.
 His reason for writing a 3rd part was because his rival Marcelo H. Del Pilar said he was
not impressed with Fili.
 According to Petronilo Bn. Daroy, Rizal’s 3rd novel is an untitled and unfinished work in
Spanish later given the title “Tagalog Nobility.” However, this may not quite be accurate
based on his letter to Blumentritt where he mentioned the following:

1. That he would want to write a novel written in Tagalog since the work will be
dedicated to them.
2. It would deal with the Tagalog customs, exclusively of the usage, virtues, and
defects of the Tagalog.
3. It will be nonpolitical (“This time I want to sacrifice politics and everything for
art”).
4. Another characteristic is that it would be anti-clerical.

 The 3rd novel seems to be the “Makamisa.” an undated manuscript, actually with 2
chapters in Tagalog, now in the National Library, which deals with a scene after mass. It
describes the superstitious parishioners and a certain cura parroco, Father Agaton, as the
main character.
 The contemporary of Rizal, Mariano Ponce, says that Makamisa is not the title of the
unfinished novel but is simply the title of a single chapter in an unfinished Tagalog novel.

30
 However, in another letter to Blumentritt, Rizal said that he has given up the idea of
writing the 3rd part in Tagalog, for it would not be appropriate to write a work in two
languages as they would be like the sermons of the friars, so he decided to write it in
Spanish.
 Ocampo’s statement: “While working on one unpublished manuscript, I wondered who
this Padre Agaton was, until I realized that this was the same character in Makamisa. The
character along with the fact that the work dealt with the Tagalog customs and is the only
unfinished work of Rizal with both Tagalog and Spanish parts convinces me that this
definitely is what Rizal referred to his letters to Blumentritt as the 3rd part of Noli and
Fili.”
 The Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission at the National Historical Institute
Records Section has failed to have this published for the possible reasons given by
Ocampo:

1. Because it is one of the most anti-clerical of Rizal’s writings, the commission did
not find it suitable for publication.
2. Since it was unpublished, people would not know if it was missing at all.
3. Some satirical details would not be taken lightly by the Catholic church that has
lost its fight to keep Rizal’s work out of the schools in the 1950’s
Examples: San Sebastian was compared to a bailarin, San Miguel was shown as
dancing and executing a difficult pass around the head of the devil

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MODULE 7 - RIZAL’S PHILOSOPHIES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

1. explain Rizal’s philosophies as revealed in his novels and other writings;

2. examine the conditions of the Philippine society through Rizal’s philosophies; and
3. identify Filipino values and beliefs manifested in Rizal’s novels.

MODULE OUTLINE:

Rizal’s Thoughts on Filipino Culture

Rizal’s Thoughts on the Family
On Religion and the Church
The School and Education
The Motherland
The Concept of World Brotherhood
Rizal’s Philosophies as Shown in Three Essays
Rizal’s Idea on What a Government Should Be
Rizal’s Thoughts on Revolution
Rizal’s Thoughts on Human Dignity
Rizal’s Challenge to The Youth

Introduction

Rizal wrote the novels for the noble purpose of redeeming his people from their
miserable conditions. His main purposes were to expose the social malady affecting the country,
and to awaken and develop the national consciousness of the people.

The Noli Me Tangere (Social Cancer) and the El Filibusterismo boldly exposed and
criticized Philippine social life during the 19th century. The novels exposed the symptoms of the
cancer that were eroding Philippine society; the abuses of the friars and the civil guards, the
corruption in the government, defective educational system, the hypocrisy and apathy of some
Filipinos and the decadence of social order.

In the Noli, Rizal portrayed the substance and character of the contemporary situation in
the Philippines. He told his friend Blumentritt, “The Filipinos will find in Noli the history of the
last 100 years. The events that I have recounted are all true and have actually happened.”

Dr. Jose Rizal stresses the need to understand a people’s history and culture, trace their
development and pinpoint the barriers to their growth. A country can be analyzed by looking into
its major institutions: the family, the school, the church and the state. Rizal maintains that in
order to read the destiny of a people, it is necessary to open the book of its past.

1
Rizal’s Thoughts on Filipino Culture

Socrates once said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” This statement calls for
one to evaluate his weaknesses and strength before attempting to comprehend his surroundings.

Rizal’s first novel is an exposé. It is his idea to present each social institution on the
pedestal of scrutiny as a means of evaluating the nation’s values, which strengthen it, and its
vices, which contribute to its weaknesses.

Some Filipino values and beliefs manifested in Dr. Rizal’s novels are:
 Non-rationalism. A philosophy in life that revolves around the idea that man has to
adopt himself to nature and to forces outside of himself.
It is an uncritical acceptance, reverence and protection of tradition and rituals.
Non-rationalism includes resistance to scientific methods, unswerving loyalty to the
group, and unquestioning obedience to authority.
 Rationalism. A frame of mind, which is scientific, future-oriented and continuously
guided by experimentation. It puts premium to self-expression and creativity over group
conformity and security.
 Personalism. An attitude of taking personal factors that guarantee intimacy, warmth,
security of kinship and friendship in getting things done.
 Impersonalism. This is a depersonalized, standardized or institutionalized function of
position and not the person occupying it.
 Particularism. An individual’s devotion to sub-groups comprising of relatives, friends,
colleagues, associates, religious affiliates or members of his ethnic or regional group.
 Universalism. This pertains to an advancement of collective or national good over
personal, or regional welfare.
Rizal’s Thoughts on the Family

The family is the foundation of society. From this institution, a child absorbs positive and
negative values and attitude that act upon his survival, socio-economic status and social mobility.
Here are some of Dr. Rizal’s thoughts on the family:
 The tragic accounts of Elias, Capitan Pablo, Sisa, Don Rafael and Ma. Clara point to a
common factor that can drive an individual to commit acts that are either good or bad.
Strong family ties is a value typical of Filipinos.
 Capitan Pablo was a peaceful man from a middle-class family. His daughter was abused
by a priest and in avenging the injustice suffered by her, Pablo and his sons became
outlaws. When they were caught, both brothers were tortured and killed. Pablo became
the leader of the tulisanes.
 When one or more members of the family is wronged, the next of kin cry out for revenge.
Don Rafael’s imprisonment, death, exhumation, the desecration of his remains, the
denigration of his memory impelled Ibarra to hit Father Damaso, nearly killing him.
 Elias’ grandparents were social outcasts.
 The rise of Balat as the dreaded outlaw is attributed to the murder of his uncle and the
rape-slaying of his sister.

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  Sisa’s account is the most unfortunate of all. Having married a drunkard and a gambler,
she lost all her fortune so she was left with no choice but to send her children to work in
the parish. Crispin, the younger son was accused of stealing from the treasury, was
tortured and killed. Sisa in turn became insane.
On Religion and the Church

Man in his limitations tries to find meaning in life. He tries to explain such things as
death, the meaning of life and death. Man searches the destiny that awaits him after his death and
he works hard in pursuit of happiness. He assigns to mysteries and miracles events beyond his
comprehension.

Religion came from the Latin term religare which means to bind again. For Christians,
religion makes man reconcile or be reunited with his creator.

Rizal believes in the necessity of bringing out the best in society but he also exposes how
religion kept men ignorant and in abject slavery. Ultimately, it is religion that corrupts the
leaders of places like San Diego.

The classical philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle show how religion
interlinks with politics while modern political thinkers segregate politics from religion and seek
to uncover one’s ulterior motives behind religion.

Voltaire departed from the teachings of Socrates which was highly ethical, to one which
is pragmatic and empirical. He whetted away at speculations, imaginations and emotions. He
recognized the effectiveness of religion as a tool for unity of a state or as an instrument for the
easy conquest of a nation. He said, “If God doesn’t exist, then we would have invented him.”

Karl Marx considered religion as the opium of the masses. Bakunin went further by
saying, “If God really exists, it would be necessary to abolish him.” He justified his stand by
citing that religion debases and corrupts people. For him, religion destroys reason (the necessary
instrument for human emancipation) and reduces man to imbecility which is the essential
condition to slavery.

San Diego is a showcase of conflict between the church and the state. Like any
community, the people are peace-loving, simple and naïve to social and political issues. They are
ultra-religious to the point of fanaticism. They also have their share of carpet-baggers, lackeys
and nonconformists with the latter branded as filibusteros or loco.

At the laying of the cornerstone of the school-house, Tasio mused:

“…in those remote ages, men showed faith in some beings who professed to be ministers of God
and who established a direct communication between the Creator and his creation. These men
assigned to themselves the letters M.R.P. (Muy Reverendo Padre). They are always right. They
were a group by themselves who professed to be able to cause God to come down to earth by
uttering some mysterious words. They made the rest of the people believe, that their words were
God’s and that they enjoy a daily meal of his flesh and blood and cause the people to do the same
occasionally.”

3
 How friars enriched themselves can be gleaned in the conversation between Fr. Sibyla
and his superior. They were discussing their sales of religious objects and indulgences when the
old priest said. “We will enjoy power while the people believe in us.” It was clear from the
beginning that the friars were playing on the people’s ignorance.

No example is more appropriate than what happened to Doña Pia. Having no child with
Capitan Tiago, she was told by Padre Damaso to make daily novenas and devotions to different
saints. A “miracle” happened when she gave birth to a baby girl. Everyone of course knew that
the child she conceived was that of Father Damaso’s. This is a classic example of blind
allegiance.

Although Rizal pointed to religion as the cause of the many sufferings of his people, and
he was disappointed with the hypocrisies and corruption of the friars he remained steadfast in his
faith.

In Noli Me Tangere, he portrays Tasio entering the church when nobody was around,
fervently praying to God without the aid of religious objects.

Here are some reaffirmations of Rizal’s faith expressed through some Noli characters:
 Through Ibarra: “… the priest I forgive, on account of the institution he represents which
I wish respected because it elevates society.”
 Through Elias: “… but, I believe in Him… there has been great necessity in my life to pin
my faith in God since I have lost faith in man…”
 Through Tasio as he prays amidst the thunder and storm, “Oh God, I know that you are
not cruel. I know that you are just. I know that you are the ultimate God.”
The School and Education

Rizal affirmed his commitment to education through the character of Ibarra who went
abroad in search of it. Ibarra then comes back to among others, establish a school for the people
of San Diego.

Ibarra said, “I desire the country’s welfare, therefore I will build a schoolhouse. I seek it
by means of instruction, by progressive advancement, without light there is no road.”

Rizal’s literary works and private correspondence abound with remarkable ideas on
education. He believes that education was a lighthouse that guided men to enjoy freedom and
prosperity. To raise the level of education in his country, Rizal constantly advised his
countrymen and the members of his family to acquire more knowledge.

In a letter to one of his sisters, he said, “it is regrettable that there in our country, the
main ornament of women almost always consists in dresses and luxury but not in education.”

One of the projects Rizal wished to establish was a college that would respect academic
freedom and develop the potential of the students. He stressed that education would liberate the
Filipinos from ignorance and prepare them for the reforms and freedom they had been aspiring
for.

4
 In a manifesto he wrote while confined in Fort Santiago, he emphasized the value of
education when he said, “I place as a prior condition the education of the people, that by means
of instruction and industry, they may have a personality of their own and make themselves
worthy of these liberties.”

Here are excerpts from two poems he wrote as a high school student:
 “Wise education is a mother of virtues. Where the youth are wisely educated, they
become vigorous and their ideas are exalted. They become intolerant of error, break the
neck of vice, halt crime, tame the barbarous nation, and raise the savage nations to a
sober station.”
 “Wise education lights the living flame of virtue. When education is nourished by the
principles of religion, she may walk toward the good and spread everywhere the fruits of
virtue. The country progresses because of those whose goodness comes from a Christian
education.”
 “Wise education is complete and true, there is no human suffering we cannot overcome.
The educated citizen spreads his blessings among his fellowmen. His examples make
others climb the height of honor. He faces the problems of his country and guides its
destiny. Through wise education, arts and science are born and enduring peace is given to
the motherland. Wise education exalts the human mind, enlightens the motherland, lifts
her to lofty seat of glory and offers her endless glow.”

He further said in the Noli, “the school is the basis of society; the school is the book on
which is written the future of the nation. Show us the schools of people and we shall show you
what people they are.”

The Motherland

In a conversation with Elias at the lake, Ma. Clara asks whether herons have nests or not.
Elias’ allegorical answer was “they must have their nests or they may be so unfortunate.”

The longing for a country one can call his own finds expression in the Song of Maria
Clara:

In one’s dear land are the hours so sweet.

All things smile at them the sunbeams greet.
Soft cooling breezes waft their fragrance meet;
Even death is sweet when love in full measures heat.
By soft arms circle in blissful rest;
One’s cheeks and eyes smile and waking life is blessed.
For one’s own native land even death is sweet,
Here all things smile as them the sunbeams greet;
Dead is all beauty, away the sunbeams flit,
Without home, without land, one’s life is incomplete.

The Concept of World Brotherhood

Through Basilio Rizal said, “Science is more eternal, more human, more universal!… in
a few centuries when humanity will be enlightened and freed, when there will be no longer
5
tyrants nor slaves, colonies nor metropolis, when justice will reign and man will be a citizen of
the world, only the cult of science will remain, the word patriotism will sound like fanaticism and
whoever will praise patriotic virtues will be isolated no doubt like a dangerously sick person, a
menace to social harmony.”

Through Simoun he said, “… yet to reach that state, it is necessary that there are no
tyrants nor slaves. It is necessary that man is free wherever he goes, that he knows how to
respect the right of any man to his own individuality, and for this, it is necessary that the social
conscience be horrified, it will declare the individual conscience free.”

“Neither obscurantism and fanaticism nor oppression or superstitions ever bind nor have
they ever bound peoples. On the other hand, liberty, rights and love group distinct races around
the same standard, one aspiration, one destiny.” (The Rizal-Blumentritt Correspondence)

Rizal’s Philosophies as Shown in Three Essays

The Philippines a Century Hence

It is an essay written by Rizal to forecast the future of the country within a hundred
years. Rizal felt that it was time to remind Spain that the circumstances that ushered in the
French Revolution could have a telling effect in the Philippines.

This essay, published in La Solidaridad starts by analyzing the various causes of the
miseries suffered by the Filipino people.

One question Rizal raises in this essay is whether or not Spain can indeed prevent the
progress of the Philippines.

What Rizal had envisioned in his essay came true. In 1898, the Americans wrestled with
Spain to win the Philippines, and eventually took over the country. Theirs was a reign of
democracy and liberty. Five decades after Rizal’s death, the Philippines gained her long-awaited
independence. This was in fulfillment of what he had written in his essay. “History does not
record in its annals any lasting domination by one people over another, of different races, of
diverse usages and customs, of opposite and divergent ideas. One of the two has to yield and
succumb.”

La Indolencia de los Filipinos

It is more popularly known in its English version, The Indolence of the Filipinos,” is an
exploratory essay written by Rizal to explain the alleged idleness of his people during the
Spanish colonization. He admits the existence of indolence among the Filipinos, but it could be
attributed to a number of reasons. He traces its causes to factors such as the climate and social
disorders.

He defends the Filipinos by saying that they are not indolent by nature because in fact,
even before the arrival of Spaniards, Filipinos have been engaged in economic activities such as
agriculture and trade. Indolence therefore has more deeply rooted causes such as abuse and
discrimination, inaction of the government, rampant corruption and red tape, wrong doctrines of

6
the church and wrong examples from some Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which
ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipino values. In the end, Rizal sums up the main causes
of indolence to the limited training and education Filipino natives receive and to the lack of
national sentiment and unity among them. Education and liberty, according to Rizal, would be
the cure to Filipino indolence

On The Role Women Play in Society

Rizal’s Letter to the Young Women of Malolos

This famous letter was written in Tagalog when he was residing in London (Sa Mga
Kababayang Dalaga sa Malolos).
In his letter, he expresses great joy and satisfaction over the battle they had fought. It is
obvious that his ultimate desire was for women to be offered the same opportunities as those
received by men in terms of education.
The story behind this letter: On December 12, 1888, a group of 20 (Zaide p.323; Romero,
in her book, mentions 21 young women, p.117; Capino claims 22, p. 182) young women,
daughters of well-to-do citizens (Capino, p.182) of Malolos petitioned Gov. Gen. Valeriano
Weyler (successor of Gov. Gen. Terrero) for permission to open a “night school” so that they
might study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko.

The Spanish parish priest, Fr. Felipe Garcia, objected so that the Gov. Gen. turned down
the petition. However, the young women, in defiance to the friar’s wrath, bravely continued their
petition for putting up the school – a thing unheard of in the Philippines during those times.

They finally succeeded in obtaining government approval to their project on condition

that Señorita Guadalupe Reyes should be their teacher. This incident caused a great stir in the
Philippines and in far away Spain.

Del Pilar, writing in Barcelona on February 17, 1889, requested Rizal to send a letter in
Tagalog to the brave women of Malolos, to give them a boost in their task of promoting their
country’s welfare.

Accordingly, Rizal, although busy in London annotating (i.e., explain, add footnotes to
Morga’s book) penned his famous letter and sent it to Del Pilar for transmittal to Malolos.

In a letter dated February 22, 1889, he congratulated the young women of Malolos for
their exceptionally courageous behavior. He delineated his profound (i.e., deep, reflective) ideas
of the Filipino women (Romero, p. 118).

Rizal praised the gentle manners of the young Filipino women but he lamented their
meekness and submission to the commands and caprices of those who called themselves “fathers
of souls.” This fault he attributed to “excessive goodness, humility, or perhaps ignorance.”

And like other Filipinos in Europe, he was happy to learn that at last a group of young
women in his country had emerged to seek identity and dignity. They had realized that goodness
did not consist in blind obedience to the whims of the friars but in pure consciousness of good
7
judgment that would “only obey what is reasonable and just.” Besides giving needed advice to
the ladies, Rizal said he hopes that they would do everything they could to follow his advice
because it was they who could open the men’s mind.

Here are some timely good pieces of advice given by Rizal (Capino, p. 182):

1. Important indeed are the duties that women must fulfill in order to relieve the country of
her sufferings, but they are not beyond the strength and character of the Filipino women
to perform.
2. If she is a young woman, let the young man love her not only for her beauty or the
sweetness of her disposition but also for the firmness of her character, her lofty ideas that
invigorate and encourage the weak and timorous men or arouse brilliant ideas.
3. The young woman should ask the man she is going to love for a noble and honorable
name, a manly heart that can protect her weakness, a noble mind that will not permit him
to be the father of slaves. She must instill in his mind activity and industry, noble
behavior, worthy sentiments and not surrender her young womanhood to a weak and
timid heart.
4. When she becomes a wife, she should help her husband in every difficulty, encourage
him, share with him all perils, console him and drive away his woes, always bearing in
mind that a heroic heart can endure any suffering and no legacy is as bitter than the
legacy of infamy and slavery. One can see in these words the image of Rizal’s own
mother and those of his sisters who bravely shared their husbands; misfortunes as well as
their triumphs.
5. The women must raise their children close to the image of the true God. Whatever the
mother is, he said, so would her son become. He further said the following: “The mother
who can teach nothing else but how to kneel and kiss the hand should not expect any
other kind of children but stupid ones or oppressed slaves.
6. They must awaken and prepare the mind of every child for very good and desirable idea -
love, honor, sincere and firm character, clear mind, clean conduct, noble action, love of
one’s fellowmen, respect for God. Teach these to your children.
7. Because life is full of sorrows and perils, they must fortify the character of their children
against any difficulty, strengthen their hearts against any danger.
8. They must teach their children to guard and love their honor, to love their native land,
and perform their duties. They must repeatedly tell them to prefer death with honor to a
life with dishonor.
9. Rizal stressed that the country should not expect honor and prosperity as long as the
education of the child is defective, so long as the women who raise the children are
enslaved and ignorant.
10. Nothing can be drunk in a turbid and bitter spring. No sweet thing can be picked from
sour seed.
Thoughts on the Letter:

First. That the tyranny of some is possible only through cowardice and negligence on the part of
others. What makes one contemptible is lack of dignity and abject (hopeless) fear of him who
holds one in contempt.

8
Second. Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; a man who does not think for
himself and allowed himself to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast led by a
halter (i.e., bridle or strap).

Third. He who loves his independence must first aid his fellowman, because he who refuses
protection to others will find himself without it; the isolated rib in the body is easily broken, but
not so the broom made of the ribs of the palm bound together.

Fourth. If the Filipina will not change her mode of being, let her rear no more children, let her
merely give birth to them. She must cease to be the mistress of the home; otherwise, she will
unconsciously betray husband, child, native land, and all.

Fifth. All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor
did he endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked or adorn him with reason to have
him deceived by others. It is not fatuous (i.e. stupid) to refuse to worship one's equal, to cultivate
one's intellect, and to make use of reason in all things. Fatuous is he who makes a god of him,
who makes brutes of others, and who strives to submit to his whims (i.e. impulses) all that is
reasonable and just.

Sixth. Consider well what kind of religion they are teaching you. See whether it is the will of
God or according to the teachings of Christ that the poor be succored (be helped) and those who
suffer alleviated (i.e., lightened). Consider what they are preaching to you, the object of the
sermon, what is behind the masses, novenas, rosaries, scapularies, images, miracles, candles,
belts, etc; which they daily keep before your minds; ears and eyes; jostling, shouting, and
coaxing; investigate whence they came and whiter they go and then compare that religion with
the pure religion of Christ and see whether the pretended observance of the life of Christ does
not remind you of the fat milk cow or the fattened pig, which is encouraged to grow fat nor
through love of the animal, but for grossly mercenary motives.
 This letter constitutes a moral and civic code, not only for women, but also for the men, the
family, and for all Filipinos.
Rizal’s Idea on What a Government Should Be

Through Isagani, Rizal said, “governments are made for the good of the people, and in
order to accomplish this purpose properly, it has to follow the suggestions of the citizens who are
the ones who know best their needs. An immoral government corresponds to a demoralized
people, to an administration without a conscience, to rapacious and servile citizens in the towns,
bandits and robbers in the mountains! Like master, like slaves. Like government, like country.”

Through Elias, “we should consider well to whom we give such unlimited power and
authority. So much power placed in human hands of ignorant and willful men, men without
moral training, without proven honesty, is a weapon placed in the hands of a madman let loose in
an unarmed crowd. I admit, and I want to believe like you (Ibarra) that the government needs this
strong right arm, but it should choose well from among the most worthy on itself rather than
receive it from the people, let it at least show that it knows how to do so.”

“If you continue the system of banishments, imprisonments, and sudden assaults for
nothing, if you will punish the Filipinos for your own faults, you will make then desperate, you
9
take away from them the horror of revolutions and disturbances, you harden them and excite
them to fight…Treat the people well, teach them the sweetness of peace so that they may adore it
and maintain it.” (Political and Historical Writings).

Rizal’s Thoughts on Revolution

To the Marxists, revolution is a tragic necessity, unavoidable because they believe that
the ruling class will never give up without a fight.

As a realist, Rizal has been misconceived by his detractors as indecisive.

His novels sanctioned reforms even when he had predicted and warned his readers on the
inevitability and necessity of revolution if pleas for reform went unheeded.

Rizal believes in the political theory of Locke and Rousseau that revolution should be the
last recourse of an aggrieved people.

He advocates revolution, which starts from godliness, liberation of the people from
superstitions and freedom from ignorance through education, morality, dignity, industry, justice
and perseverance.

The idea of peaceful struggle

The Noli Me Tangere expresses Rizal’s belief the peaceful way of attaining
independence. There, Elias proposed the idea of revolution to Ibarra but Ibarra rejected it
because this would cost the lives of many.

“If I ever see the multitude armed I would place myself on the side of the government for
in such a mob I should not see my countrymen.” - Ibarra, Noli me Tangere

Speaking to Ibarra Elias said, “I would tell you to think well about what you are going to
do. You are going to start a war, for you have money and brains and will easily find many
helping hands; unfortunately, many are discontented. But in this fight which you propose to start,
the defenseless and the innocent will suffer most. The same sentiments which a month ago led
me to ask you for reforms, lead me now to ask you to reflect further. Our country does not think
of independence from the motherland; she asks nothing more than a small measure of liberty, of
justice and of love. The discontented, the criminal and the desperate will follow you, but the
people will stand apart. I would not follow you myself; I would never resort to these extreme
measures while I could see some hope in man."

“I do not mean to say that our liberty will be secured at the swords point, for the sword
plays but a little part in modern affairs, but that we must secure it by making ourselves worthy of
it, by exalting the intelligence and the dignity of the individuals, by loving justice, right and
greatness, even to the extent of dying for them—and when a people reaches that height, God will
provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards and
liberty will shine out like the first dawn.” (El Filibusterismo).

Rizal advocated a non-violent revolution. He said through Fr. Florentino in El

Filibusterismo, “…the glory of saving a country cannot go to him who has contributed to its ruin.

10
You believed that what crime and iniquity had stained and deformed, more crime and iniquity
could cleanse and redeem. This was error. Hate never produces anything but monsters, crime,
and criminals. Only love can work wonders, only virtue can redeem. If our country is someday to
be free, it will not be through vice and crime, it will not be through the corruption of its sons,
some deceived, others bribed; redemption presupposes virtue; virtue, sacrifice; and sacrifice,
love! You fomented social decay without sowing an idea. From this fermentation of vices can
spring only disgust and if something is born from night to morning, it would be at best a fungus,
because spontaneously, only fungus can be born of trash.”

“… why give them freedom? With or without Spain they would be the same, and perhaps
even worse! Why independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?”

The idea of change by force

“You are right Elias (in advocating revolution), but men is a creature of circumstances!
Then a month ago, I was blind annoyed—what did I say? Now I see the horrible cancer which
feeds upon this society, which clutches its flesh and which demands a violent uprooting out.”
- Ibarra, Noli Me Tangere

Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt:

“A peaceful struggle will always be a dream, for Spain will never learn the lessons of her
South American colonies.”

Through Fr. Florentino, “The school of suffering tempers, the arena of combat strengthen
souls. I do not mean to say that our freedom is conquered by the sword’s point, the sword plays
only a little part now in modern destinies, but, yes, we have to conquer it by being worthy of it,
elevating reason and the dignity of the individual, loving what is just, good, great, even dying for
it..”

The idea of using force but only as a last resort

Rizal’s letter to Blumentritt (June 19, 1881):

“But if the government drives us to them, that is to say, when no other hope remains to us
but seek destruction in war, when the Filipinos would prefer to die rather than injure longer their
misery, then I will become a partisan of violence. I have lost my hope in Spain”

Rizal’s letter to Marcelo H. Del Pilar:

“We shall resort to force only when we have exhausted every other means, when they
drive us to the war, to fight or die, when God gives every man the right to defend himself as best
as he can.”

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Rizal’s Thoughts on Human Dignity

God gave each one his own mind and his conscience so that he can distinguish between
right and wrong. All are born without chains, free and no one can be subject to the will of
another. Why would you submit to another your noble and free thought? God, fountain of
wisdom, does not expect man, created in his image, to allow himself to be fooled and blinded…
Men were not created by God to be enslaved, neither were they endowed with intelligence in
order to be misled, nor adorned with reason to be fooled by others. (Political and Historical
Writings)

In my opinion, self-esteem is the greatest good that God has endowed man with for his
perfection and purity saving him from many unworthy and base acts when he forgets the
precepts he had learned or had been inculcated in him. Precisely for me, self-esteem is dignity
when it is not passionate and it is moderated by judgment. It is like the sap that impels the tree to
turn upward in search of the sun, the force that launches a steamship on its course.
(Miscellaneous Correspondence).

Rizal’s Challenge to The Youth

Through Fr. Florentino, “the just and the worthy have to suffer so that their ideas will
become known and propagated! The vases have to be shaken or broken for their perfume to
spread, the stone has to be struck for the light to spark! There is something providential in the
persecution of tyrants…”

Through Elias, “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land. You who
have it to see, welcome it and forget not those who have fallen during the night.”

“Where are the youth who will dedicate their innocence, their idealism, their enthusiasm
to the good of the country? Where are they who will give generously of their blood to wash away
so much shame, crime and abomination? Pure and immaculate must the victim be for the
sacrifice to be acceptable."

12
13
MODULE 8 - RIZAL’S LITERARY WORKS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

1. identify the different literary works of Rizal;

2. examine the context, theme and purpose of Rizal’s literary works; and
3. determine the significance of Rizal’s literary works on Philippine culture and society.

MODULE OUTLINE:

Selected Poems
To My fellow children (Sa Aking Mga Kabata)
Hymn to Labor
My Retreat (Mi Retiro)
My Last Farewell (Mi Ultimo Adios)
Selected Essays
Love of Country (Amor Patrio)
To The Young Women of Malolos (Sa Mga Kababayang Dalaga sa Malolos)
The Indolence of the Filipinos (La Indolencia De Los Filipinos)
Rizal’s Other Literary Works
To The Filipino Youth (A La Juventud Filipina)
The Council of the Gods (El Consejo de los Dioses)
My First Inspiration
Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light
The Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education
Al Niño Jesus (To the Child Jesus)
A La Virgen Maria (To the Virgin Mary)
To the Flowers of Heidelberg (A Las Flores de Heidelberg)
Hymn to Talisay (Himno A Talisay)
The Song of the Traveler (El Canto del Viajero)

Rizal’s Idealism in the Poetry

The majority of Rizal’s verses written in Spanish and Filipino were composed while
abroad, on his return to his motherland, in exile, and before his death. Literary critics have
immortalized him as a poet.

Rizal’s poems were published in Spanish and Philippine newspapers, in multilingual

translations, on textbooks, on literature and social sciences, some of them printed anonymously.
Mariano Ponce, his contemporary historian, revealed Rizal’s authorship.

Some of his verses have been set to music, have been adapted to dance, or have inspired
other literary works.

His poems express a deep concern for freedom and justice. Most of his early poetic
attempts were written under the guidance of his mother.

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Selected Poems

To My Fellow Children (Sa Aking Mga Kabata)

 His first lyric poem written in 1869, when he was 8, showed idealism and seriousness;
written in the native language, Tagalog.
 He wrote it before he went to Biñan for his formal schooling under Maestro Justiniano
Cruz.
 In this poem, he shows a grasp of the full meaning of patriotism. It pointed out the
nationalistic significance of the mother tongue in the life of our people. He encourages
appreciation and concern for the native tongue which he described as “angelical” and
considered as equal to any other language in the world. He pointed out the equality of our
language to other languages.
 If a country really loves her God-given tongue, she will surely yearn for freedom like the
birds in the firmament.
 He scorns those who refuse to love their native language.
 Rizal at an early age felt that some of his countrymen have developed a colonial
mentality to the prejudice of our native language. Besides praising nationalism, liberty
and freedom, he advocated racial equality. This was an attitude he showed later in his
vision of one world.
 Our languages, like others, have alphabets which, however, were lost when destroyed by
invaders in the earlier years.
 This poem reveals his earliest nationalistic sentiment – that a people who truly love their
language will surely strive for independence and the Tagalog is the equal of Latin,
English, Spanish and any other language.
Hymn to Labor
 Written in 1888, before Rizal left Calamba, as requested by a friend from Lipa, Batangas.
 Written in commemoration of the town’s elevation to a villa (city).
 It was dedicated to the industrious folks of Lipa.
 Rizal extolled man’s labor and industry, singing praise to labor, of the country, wealth
and vigor.
 He awakened the youth to be worthy of their elders by following their footsteps.
 He stressed the role of labor in keeping up the dignity of man, keeping the family, and the
country strong.
Role of man: Provider
Role of woman: Make the home strong full of love and hope
Role of children: Follow the footsteps as what have been started by the elders

My Retreat (Mi Retiro)

 In February 1895, Doña Teodora with her eyesight fully restored, returned to Manila.
During her long stay in Dapitan, she saw how busy her son was and regretted that he had
neglected the muses (moments of reflection). She requested him to write poetry again.
 He wrote this beautiful poem about his serene life as an exile in Dapitan. It was a
welcome respite (interval, break), a sanctuary from political turbulence and involvement.

2
 1. A retreat in the military sense: to revive and evaluate his earlier noble efforts at forging
a united national consciousness
2. In a spiritual sense: his retreat from active life further enhanced his determination to
organize his people and retrench (cut back their aims and goals)
 It was sent to his mother on October 22, 1895.
 My Retreat is acclaimed by literary critics as one of the best ever penned by Rizal.
 It runs 24 stanzas and 120 lines.
 It is a sentimental, touching, and exquisite (beautiful) poem describing his home and his
life in lonely Dapitan.
 The imagery (descriptions) and the melody of the poem displayed his descriptive power.
 In his quietude (tranquility), he expresses a frustration over his countrymen’s indifference
and a deep sorrow over the country’s ills.
 In this poem, he betrays no resentment against his unjust exile.

Stanzas 1-5: Rizal starts with a lyrical description of his place of “retreat,” his plain “hut,” the
brook and its cool atmosphere, the sky that pervades the serenity of turbulence of the brook as it
flows or roars to the sea, the dog’s howl and the kalaw’s hoarse call as a rustic (rural)
background to the rustle of the wind.

Stanzas 6-11: Rizal describes the memories he has while looking at the sea. To him, the sea
meant a haven (refuge) of solace and fulfillment. Its smile welcomed his woes at night and
renewed his faith in the morning. At night, the waves let him remember the stories of his past.
When strong winds blow resulting to big waves, he could feel the fright, mixed voices of people
asking for help. This is joined by the swaying of the trees and crying of the cattle. When this
thing occurs, the night is very perplexing (confusing) and frightening, but when the dawn
approaches, tranquility returns.

Stanza 12: His retreat days pass by; his world torn away yet he still admires God amidst his bad
fortune. He still wishes to hide from the world.

Stanzas 13 and 14: He lived with the memories of his loved ones. Some are dead, others have
forgotten him; he has the memories of his faithful friend who is always with him in his sorrow,
who watches him at night and strengthens his faith when he is overwhelmed with doubt.

Stanza 15: His only company is the memories of the past; his consolation; his faith in God and
man. Rizal confidently believed that voices other than his would sing the triumphant hymn; other
young hearts would welcome the social movements which had then begun to acquire increasing
momentum (drive).

Stanzas 16 and 17: He sees success with the glowing of the sky and remember his first illusion
(dream). He recalled how he left his country full of bright illusions spending the spring of his life
in foreign lands. He feels the same wind and the same fire that is burning and stirring the passion
of the young people.

Stanza 18: Upon seeing the same moon, silvery as before, he feels that the old sorrow is drifting
back to him, awakening memories of low and vows uttered.
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Stanza 19: Like a butterfly feeling thirsty of light and color, he dreams of other skies. As a
young man he left his loved ones and native land, and spent his brightest days there.

Stanza 20: Like a weary bird, he wished to return to his native land, to his parents’ home.
Unfortunately, his wings were broken because of sudden destruction.

Stanza 21: He returned and was cast on far-flung rock with no hope but the memory of the
beliefs of a youth so vigorous (energetic) and healthy.

Stanzas 22 and 23: Instead of regretting his exile, he welcomed his misfortunes because they
made possible for him to die for his country. Had it not been for the “tempest” (storm) in his life,
he shouldn’t have been awakened from the illusions and fancies (imaginations) of his youth. He
thanked the tempest, the wind of the sky, that at the right moment, he was stopped in his
uncertain flight.

Stanza 24: He beautifully expressed how he found in his land an “abode in the sylvan core,”
repose and serenity which made him forget his griefs.

What a love for country Rizal has! Love which never saw evil, love which saw beauty,
love which always served to inspire no matter what pains he had.

My Last Farewell (Mi Ultimo Adios)

 Last unsigned and untitled poem of Rizal written in his prison cell.
 Written on a piece of paper (9x15 cms.) with a rhyming harmony of 70 lines or 14
stanzas.
 Some titles given:
1. “Mi Ultimo Adios” was a title given by Mariano Ponce
2. “My Last Thoughts”
3. “My Last Farewell”
4. “Ultimo Adios” by Fr. Mariano Dacanay
 Poem was inserted in his alcohol cooking stove and lamp. Alcohol lamp was a gift from
Paz Pardo de Tavera
 Handed to Trinidad when he whispered “There is something inside.”
 Given on December 29, 1896 when Doña Teodora and her daughters visited him.
 Original manuscript was believed to have been taken by Josephine Bracken when she
returned to Hong Kong in 1897.
 In 1908, the Bureau of Insular Affairs in Washington informed Manila that an American
traveler in Asia claimed to have a manuscript of “Adios,” and was willing to part with it
for $500 (then 1,000 Php).
 Today the manuscript is encapsulated in a protective film, called Mylar and kept in a
vault in the Filipiniana Division of the National Library, which is rarely put on exhibition
not since the original Noli and Fili manuscripts were stolen in the early 60’s and held for
ransom for 1.5M Php by still unidentified individuals.
 Only two people know the combination of the vault: the chief of the Filipiniana Division
and National Library Director.

4
  A researcher, George Kiss, thinks that the poem was written by a group of individuals
who wished to propagate the ideas of freedom and paternity after Rizal’s death.
 When did he write the poem?
1. Critics argued that he wrote the poem on the eve of his execution: its perfect form
proves that it was a polished final copy, not the first draft, perhaps composed as early
as December 12, 1896 when he was preparing other documents for his defense
counsel.
2. According to E. Arcenio Manuel, Rizal wrote on December 26 after his death sentence
was read.
3. Manuel Sarkisyanz thinks he wrote the poem on the eve of his execution around
10-11pm but other authors contradict this since it would have been impossible for him
to have given it to Trinidad on the afternoon of December 29.
4. Jaime C. de Veyra thinks it was composed in advance, was memorized and rewritten a
few days before his execution, as evidenced by the neat and meticulous manuscript.
5. According to Nick Joaquin, the poem was written on December 28. The third and the
last two stanzas were composed and written on the eve of the 29th. The poem may
have been running through his head during his incarceration, and maybe even before
that. What he wrote was the final and complete version of a poem long in progress.
6. Gregorio Brillantes and N.V.M. Gonzales (writers from Ateneo de Manila) agreed that
the poem was composed much earlier than December 29, and was written down
cleanly on the sheet of paper in his cell.

 Poem is autobiographical
 Poem contains his unfailing nationalism, patriotism, and religious idealism that will
inspire others to react.
 The poet and martyr bade farewell to his country, his family and friends in lines of
dignity and grace devoid of bitterness. His resignation to his fate could be sensed in his
willingness to die for his dearly beloved country he called the “Pearl of the Orient Sea.”
 Fourfold purpose of the poem:
1. To bid farewell
2. Contains his autobiography
3. Contains his last will and testament
4. Appeal to his people not to forget him
 Nick Joaquin was the first to translate the poem in English.
 Andres Bonifacio was the first to translate the poem in Tagalog.
 The official English translation is by Charles Derbyshire and has been recognized since
1911.

Selected Essays

Love of Country (Amor Patrio)

This is Rizal’s first article written on Spain’s soil, under his pen name Laong Laan. The
article caused quite a sensation among its readers because of its Filipinistic flavor. Written in
progressive Barcelona and sent to Basilio Teodoro, a member of the Diariong Tagalog editorial
staff, and published on August 29, 1882 issue. It was translated into Tagalog from its original
Spanish. Rizal urged his compatriots to love their fatherland.
5
To The Young Women of Malolos (Sa Mga Kababayang Dalaga Sa Malolos)

This famous letter was written in Tagalog when he was residing in London (Sa Mga
Kababayang Dalaga sa Malolos).

Del Pilar, writing in Barcelona on February 17, 1889, requested Rizal to send a letter in
Tagalog to the brave women of Malolos, to give them a boost in their task of promoting their
country’s welfare.

Accordingly, Rizal, although busy in London annotating (i.e., explain, add footnotes to)
Morga’s book penned his famous letter and sent it to Del Pilar for transmittal to Malolos.

In a letter dated February 22, 1889, he congratulated the young women of Malolos for
their exceptionally courageous behavior. He delineated his profound (i.e., deep, reflective) ideas
of the Filipino women (Romero, p. 118).

Rizal praised the gentle manners of the young Filipino women but he lamented their
meekness and submission to the commands and caprices of those who called themselves “fathers
of souls.” This fault he attributed to “excessive goodness, humility, or perhaps ignorance.”

And like other Filipinos in Europe, he was happy to learn that at last a group of young
women in his country had emerged to seek identity and dignity.

This letter constitutes a moral and civic code, not only for women, but also for the men,
the family, and for all Filipinos.

The Indolence of the Filipinos (La Indolencia De Los Filipinos)

 It is an exploratory essay written by Jose Rizal to explain the alleged idleness of his
people during the Spanish colonization.
 The indolence of the Filipinos is the most analytical study made by Jose Rizal about the
Philippine society during the Spanish regime.
 It was published in la Solidaridad, Madrid, Spain from July 15, 1890 to September 15,
1890 in five installments.
 The article was to defend the Filipinos from the charge that they were born indolent.
 It was a continuation of Rizal’s campaign of education in which he sought by blunt truths
to awaken his countrymen to their own faults at the same time that he was arousing the
Spaniards to the defects in Spain’s colonial system that caused and continued such
shortcomings.
 The word “indolence” means “little love for work or lack of activity.”
“The Indolence of the Filipinos” is the longest of Rizal’s essays that was first published
in five installments in la Solidaridad from July 15, 1890-September 15, 1890. The essay was an
insight into and stimulating analysis of the “people’s indolence” symptoms of a country’s
indifference to its ill. Rizal noted that whenever something went wrong in the Archipelago, it
was always blamed on the indolence of the Filipinos. He then proceeded to analyze the social
and political conditions of the time to show that the indolence which he took to mean little love
of work or lack of activity, was not the cause but rather the effect of disorder and backwardness
in the country. These authorities conformed that fact that the Filipinos had been at work in such
6
industries as mining, weaving, metal-working, fishing, wine-manufacture, swine, and poultry-
raising, boat-building in addition to the old culture of raising crops of various kinds, and inter-
island and foreign commerce. In short, because of their industriousness our forefathers knew no
famine. Considering the economic demands of their day and the economic standards then
prevailing. The Filipinos were like any other normal people in any other land.

In tropical countries, like the Philippines, hot climate slows down the motor system of the
human body. There is no exception to this fact. The truth of the matter is that Europeans and
Americans who live in the tropics become more indolent than the natives. Indolence is not
inherent to the native. Before the advent of Spain in the Philippines, the Filipinos were
hardworking and industrious. After the Christianization of the natives, they become indolent. Dr.
Hans Meyer, when he saw the unsubdued tribes cultivating beautiful fields and working
energetically, asked if they would not become indolent when they in turn should accept
Christianity and a paternal government.

Like any unbiased historian, Rizal admitted that there was a tendency to indolence, if by
that is meant slow pace in physical and motor activity. By this tendency was partially protected
because of climatic condition. Europeans who settled in the tropics learned how to slow up in the
time and become more indolent eventually than the Filipinos, partly because of the climate and
mainly because they became fat with privilege. Even today in their home country in Spain, the
Spaniards are not particularly distinguished by diligence. In the Philippines, the Spaniards were
so lazy they infected the Filipinos with that virtue.

If the Filipinos were inclined to indolence, as Rizal admitted there was such an
inclination in the part of many Filipinos, we must seek the explanation in the very social context
induced by the Spaniards.

Rizal’s Other Literary Works

To The Filipino Youth (A La Juventud Filipina)

At eighteen years old, Rizal wrote this Spanish poem as his entry to the literary contest
sponsored by the Liceo Artistico-Literario (Artistic-Literary Lyceum) of Manila, a society of
literary men and artists, in 1879. The Board of Judges composed of Spaniards declared it first
place and gave him a silver pen, feather-shaped and decorated with gold ribbon as a prize.

A La Juventud Filipina, the original title of the poem is an inspiring poem, which
implores the Filipino youth to rise from lethargy and seek for independence from the clutches of
Spanish dominion. This winning poem is a classic in Philippine literature because it was the first
great poem in Spanish written by a Filipino, whose merit was recognized by Spanish literary
authorities, and is expressed for the first time the nationalistic concept that the Filipinos and not
the foreigner were the fair hope of the Fatherland.

The Council of the Gods (El Consejo de los Dioses)

In 1880, the Artistic-Literary Lyceum held a literary contest to commemorate the fourth
centennial of the death of Cervantes, Spain’s glorified man-of-letters and famous author of Don
Quixote. The contest was participated in by both Filipino and Spanish writers – priests,

7
newspapermen, scholars and professors. Rizal joined in the contest by submitting an allegorical
drama entitled El Consejo de los Dioses.

The Spanish judges awarded the first prize to Rizal’s work because of its literary
superiority over the other entries. Despite all the objections, the prize was given to Rizal – a gold
ring with the bust of Cervantes engraved on it.

El Consejo de los Dioses was based on the Greek classic. The Father Rector of University
of Santo Tomas helped Rizal in securing the reference materials in writing this allegory. The
winning piece put emphasis among Homer, Virgil and Cervantes in equal stature as great writers
in their own time. In the allegory, the gods in Olympus discuss the comparative merits of these
writers and finally decide to give the trumpet to Homer, the lyre to Virgil and to Cervantes the
laurel. It ends gloriously with the dancing and gathering laurels for Cervantes by the
mythological characters.

My First Inspiration (Mi Primera Inspiracion)

This was the first poem written by Rizal as an Atenean. He lovingly dedicated it to his
beloved mother on her birthday expressing filial affection. The inspiration of Rizal was purely
devoted from the love and care of his mother. His birth was so fortunate to have a loving mother
who gave her life. Jose Rizal's poetic verses show his eternal love and appreciation for his
mother.

Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light

Rizal had a very high regard to education. He believed that education has a significant
role in the progress and welfare of a nation.

The Intimate Alliance between Religion and Good Education

Rizal emphasized the importance of religion to education. Without God education is not a
true education.

To the Child Jesus (Al Niño Jesus) and To the Virgin Mary (A La Virgen Maria)

These religious poems expressed Rizal’s devotion to Catholic faith, which were written
during his student days. He wrote Al Niño Jesus at the age of 14 years old.

His poem entitled “To the Child Jesus” where he reflected his pity to the birth of Child
Jesus. Although he was so omnipotent and powerful God of the universe may astonished the kind
of life he suffered from his birth. He was always there with us to guide the true meaning of
ethical life.

The first sad sonnet poem of Rizal entitled “To The Virgin Mary” as he provided about
his deep religious belief on his painful experiences in his teenage life. His deep compassion on
religion may show the love and care of the Virgin Mary. Rizal believed the power of prayer
through the Virgin Mary. The sufferings, deprivations and suppressions occurred in life may be

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best addressed through prayer of the Virgin Mary to provide peace, love, hope and tranquility
even at the peak of human misery.

In Memory of My Town (Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo)

Jose Rizal spoke of his childhood days in Calamba, Laguna in this nostalgic poem. Rizal
had the happiest and most beautiful memories of the place, the hospitality, and friendliness as
well as the industry of the people of Calamba. Those memories were influential in molding his
character and intelligence. He somehow wishes he could rewind the time and spend more days
doing what he used to do, being with the people he used to be with, and feeling the sensations he
felt as a boy. He wants his innocence back, and the great feeling of praying to God Almighty
with a little child’s faith which is believed to be the purest of all hearts.

To The Flowers of Heidelberg (A Las Flores de Heidelberg)

Rizal fascinated by the blooming flowers – the light blue forget me not – along the cool
banks of the Neckar River in the spring of 1886 wrote this poem. The beautiful spring flowers
reminded him of the blooming flowers at the garden of his home in Calamba.

Hymn to Talisay (Himno A Talisay)

Rizal wrote this poem for his students to sing. He conducted his class at his home in
Talisay, near Dapitan where he had his farm and hospital. His favorite rendezvous with his boys
was under a talisay tree to which the poem was written in its honor. The Spanish authorities used
this poem as one of the documentary evidences during his trial.

The Song of the Traveler (El Canto del Viajero)

Rizal wrote this heartwarming poem with the thought of resuming his travel to Europe
then to Cuba where he would be assigned as a military doctor.