CHAPTER 8: TRIAL AND EXECUTION
transferred to Fort Santiago.
 The four years of Rizal’s exile in Dapitan
coincided with the beginning and the
development of Katipunan and the revolution.
 August 21, 1896, rumors reached the Spaniards
about the existence of a secret and widespread
movement against the government.
 The Spanish authorities searched the offices of
Diario de Manila and seized the Katipunan
receipts and other evidences.
 August 30, 1896, Governor Blanco placed the
provinces of Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna,
Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pampanga
under martial law; the prisoners arrested for
insurrection were tried in military courts.
 The Spanish authorities imprisoned the tortured
the Katipuneros who surrendered; some of them
were exiled to the Caroline Islands and Africa.
 Madrid sent their own editor-correspondents
(redactor-corresponsal) to Manila to report the
Philippine rebellion.
 Don Manuel Alhama for the influential El
Imparcial; and Don Santiago Mataix,
representing the highly regarded El Heraldo de
Madrid were the several writers who came in the
Philippines.
 Governor Blanco sent a letter to Manuel
Azcarraga of the Ministers of War and for
Overseas Territories in Madrid.
 September 2, 1896, Rizal was transferred to Isla
De Panay sailing for Spain.
 Rizal’s Filipino friends advised him not to return
to the Philippines, but Rizal declined, he said, “I
have given my word of honor to General Blanco
to serve the Spanish army in the Cuban
revolution, whatever happens, Blanco will
protect me.”
 September 28, 1896, he was called to the
captain’s cabin. The captain informed him that he
received orders from Governor-General Blanco
that he would be placed under arrest once they
arrived in Barcelona.
 In the ship going to Malta, the Spanish passengers
feared that he would escape, when they reached
Barcelona on October 3, 1896, six civil guards
were assigned to guard him day and night.
 October 6, 1896, at 3 a.m., he was awakened and
told he was being moved to the fortress of
Monjuich.
 Colon— a transport vessel being dropped used a
troop-carrier packed with soldiers and families.
 October 9, 1896, he wrote in his diary while still
sailing along the Mediterranean.
 November 3, 1896, the ship reached Manila and
 In the cell, he had his Bible and Thomas-a-
Kempis On the Imitation of Christ.
 His brother Paciano was also arrested and
brought to Fort Santiago. For a cross-examination
in relation to Rizal’s connection to Katipunan.
 Paciano left Fort Santiago totally paralyzed from
head to foot.
The preliminary investigation
 December 3, 1896, Governor-General Ramon
Blanco appointed Colonel Rafael Dominguez to
conduct the preliminary investigation
 The evidences presented during the preliminary
investigation; it had been gathered by Captain
Francisco de Oliva.
 Captain Dominguez, conducted the preliminary
investigation as juez instructor.
 Findings: (1) Rizal was the principal organizer
and prime mover of the insurrection in the
Philippines; (2) the founder of societies and
newspapers that encourage and spread ideas 0f
rebellion and sedition among the people; (3) and
the leading chief of filibusteros in the country.
 The documentary evidences gathered were the
following:
o Letters of Antonio Luna, Marcelo H. del
Pilar and Rizal himself;
o Rizal’s poems (kundiman) and a copy of
“Hymn of Talisay”;
o The transcript of the speeches of Emilio
Jacinto and Jose T. Santiago.
 The testimonial evidence against Jose Rizal
consisted of oral statements of people who had
been associated with him, like Jose Dizon,
Deodato Arellano, Pio Valenzuela, Timoteo
Paez, and Pedro Lakaw.
 Rizal was portrayed as the organizer of the
revolution, and that he must die.
 December 3, 1896, General Camilo Polavieja
arrived in the Philippines and officially became
the Dominican nominee to replace of Blanco.
 Luis Taviel de Andrade— brother of Jose
Taviel de Andrade, who was Rizals’ military
escort in 1887; one of the names listed in the
Spanish officers presented to Rizal from whom
he could select to undertake his defense before
the military tribunal.
 December 25 1896, Rizal’s defense counsel
submitted his eloquent an able argument.
 December 8 to Malacañang, where Teodora
Alonzo begged to see the governor-general but
was refused.
 Paciano had received word that Bonifacio
 planned to make an attempt to rescue Rizal, but
he persuaded Bonifacio to abandon his plan.
 On the evening 0f December 29, Don Santiago
Mataix, a newspaper representative of Heraldo
de Madrid, came to interview Rizal, and
according to him, Rizal was well-poised and
calm as if nothing extraordinary was taking
place in which he was participating.
 Rizal wrote a letter to his parents, and with
permission given for him to see his family for the
last time, and sent them a note.
Retraction controversy
 According to Fr. Balaguer, Rizal declared
himself a “Catholic and a good son of the [Roman
Catholic] Church”, and retracted with all his heart
anything in his words, writings, publications, and
conduct that have been contrary to what the
Church declares and teaches.
 It was regarded by many historians and
researchers as containing inconsistencies.
 According to Josephine Bracken, the retraction
document started when Rizal wished to marry her
in Dapitan.
 She said Rizal must have written the text but
refused to sign the same unless the curate of
Dapitan performed the marriage first.
 In 1922, when Trinidad was 54 years old, in an
interview regarding Rizal’s alleged retraction,
she accused the Jesuits of conspiracy.
 The text seems similar to Rizal’s handwriting, but
the signature appears different, after the experts
analyzed it.
Rizal’s Execution
 The place selected for execution was some
distance from the walls of Intramuros nearly at
the center of Bagumbayan at 7:03 in the morning
on December 30, 1896.
 Luis Taviel de Andrade arrived to accompany
him to the execution site.
 Rizal requested De Andrade to deliver his books,
letters, and the lamp, to his family after his death.
 The Jesuit Fathers March and Villaclara
accompanied him, and surrounded by his guards,
Rizal was led from Fort Santiago on foot to his
place of execution, the field of Bagumbayan.
 They passed Ateneo Municipal along their way.
 Rizal asked the captain in charge of the firing
squad to shoot him as he faced them.
 Ruiz Y. Castillo, the army doctor, approached
Rizal and asked to feel his pulse.
 With his face towards Manila Bay, he received
the discharge of firearms, turned toward right,
and fell facing his executioners.
 The death of Rizal has been regarded by the
Spaniard the end of Philippine Revolution, but
unfortunately it served as a turning point to
overthrow the Spanish colonialization in the
Philippines.
 On December 20, 1898, General Emilio
Aguinaldo issued a decree making December 30,
a day of mourning tor Rizal and other victims of
the Philippine Revolution- Thus, this decree
became the basis in the celebration of Rizal Day.
(De Viana, NHI, 2001).
After Rizal’s Execution
 Late in the afternoon and the evening of
December 29, 1896, Teodora Alonso went from
her son's body for burial, but was refused.
 Towards evening, the civil governor of Manila,
Manuel Luengco, taking pity on the distressed
mother, allowed her to have the body.
 After the execution, the books and the lamp were
delivered to Narcisa’s house. Reading for the first
time the Ultimo Adios was another of those
moments of combined pain and excitement for
the family of Rizal.
 In August 1898, a few days after the Americans
occupied Manila, Narcisa Rizal-Lopez obtained
permission from the American authorities to have
her brother’s body exhumed. It was then found
that the body had been buried without a coffin.
Fragments of Rizal's clothing and shoes were
used to establish his identity. The family had
custody of the remains until 1911.
 When it was deposited beneath the Rizal
Monument erected that year in Luneta.
 Francisco Mercado had died, and Teodora, then a
very old lady, her mind and memory failing,
attended the ceremonies.
 Josephine Bracken also did not live to see Rizal's
obsequies.
 The Philippine Assembly passed a Republic Act
No. 243 “granting the right to use the public land
in Luneta which is part of Manila for the Rizal
monument and mausoleum”, during the American
period.
 The committee was composed of the following:
o Pascual Poblete
o Paciano Rizal
o Juan Tuazon, Teodoro Yangco
o Mariano Limjap
o Maximino Paterno
o Ramon Genato
o Tomas G. Del Rosario
o Ariston Baustista
 The design of a Swiss sculptor named Richard
Kissling, who won the second file used.
 The statue made of bronze, which cast In
 Switzerland, standing on a rhombic base of solid
granite blocks below an obelisk that rises to a
height at 50 feet.
 The construction of the Rizal monument
completed on December 30, 1912, and his
remains transferred to this imposing mausoleum.
(Avestruz, 2001)
CHAPTER 9: THE WOMEN IN RIZAL’S LIFE
Segunda Katigbak
 Rizal was 14 years old; he fell in love he refers to
in his diary simply as “K”.
 She was a student at Colegio de la Concordia:
where Rizal's sisters and future fiancée Leonor
Rivera also studied.
 He described the girl as “virginal, attractive, and
engaging” rather than as the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen.
 He desisted because she was already engaged to
another man.
 Later in life, he remarked that he generally acted
against his first impulse.
Senorita L. (Miss L.)
 Rizal mentioned in the diary he wrote when he
was still in puberty must have been unreal.
 They believe that Rizal, acting like a typical
adolescent, invented the character in his mind
when he felt very sad after seeing Segunda
Katigbak for the last time and missing her.
 Some historians likewise believe that the
Dolores, Ursula, Felipa, Vicenta, and Margarita
whom Rizal mentioned in his 1882 diary were
unreal and were just figments of Rizal’s
imagination.
Leonor Valenzuela
 Nicknamed Orang.
 Valenzuela were concurrently engaged to Rizal.
Orang came from a very respectable family
 Her parents were addressed as Capitan Juan and
Capitana Sanday, indicating eminence in their
native Pagsanjan, Laguna.
 Leonor Rivera’s love for Rizal was greater than
that of Orang’s Valenzuela, according to Jose M.
Cecilio.
Leonor Rivera
 Jose Rizal's sweetheart for 11 years.
 She was born in Camiling, Tarlac and Rizal were
second cousins.
 Her mother Sylvestre Bauson or Tiya Betang,
Rizal’s maternal aunt.
 They became sweethearts while they were
both studying in Manila.
 She had been faithful to Rizal even though
Rizal was studying in Europe.
 She had to marry an English engineer, Henry
Charles Kipping, who was then the heading
the Manila-Dagupan Railway project.
 Her mother, who was against her relationship
with Rizal because the Spanish friars in the
Philippines already considered him a heretic
and rebel.
 She bribed the local postmaster into
intercepting the letters between Rizal and
Leonor.
 In 1890, Leonor married Kipping out of
delicadeza (to prevent embarrassment to the
family), on the condition that “she will no
longer play the piano” and that her mother
will live with them.
 Leonor gave birth to her firstborn in 1891,
naming him Carlos.
 She died on August 28, 1893, from
complications after giving birth to her second
child.
 Rivera’s eldest child, Carlos Kipping Sr.,
married Lourdes Romulo, a sister of Filipino
diplomat Carlos P. Romulo. Carlos Sr., and
Lourdes Kipping bore two daughters and a
son, Carlos Jr., father of Dr. llou Kipping.
 On the occasion of the 150th birth
anniversary of Rizal, Leonor Rivera's
memorabilia were borrowed by the
Yuchengco Museum in Makati City to be part
of the exhibit “Rizalizing the Future.”.
 The old house in Camiling was renovated and
a small museum was built to keep all of
Rivera's memorabilia. It has been called the
“Maria Clara Museum”, in honor the
female protagonist ln Noli Me Tangere
whose inspiration was drawn from Rivera.
(Philippine Daily lnquirer, June 21, 2011)
Consuelo Ortiga Y Perez
 was the elder the two daughters of Don Pablo
Ortiga Y Rey, a Spanish-Filipino based in
Madrid.
 Jose Rizal and Consuelo first met as the
former joined Circulo Hispano-Filipino in the
spring of 1888.
 The members of the Circulo often met at the
residence of Don Pablo.
 In the summer of 1882, Rizal composed an
enigmatic poem entitled “A Señorita
C.O.y.P.” (To Miss C.O.y.P), wherein a
“second graveyard” was mentioned.
 According to Wenceslao Retana, Rizal’s Spanish
biographer, Rizal quickly broke his romantic
relationship with Consuelo when he suffered a
pang of conscience, for he was then still engaged
to Leonor Rivera, whom he left in the Philippines.
Gertrude Beckett
 An English woman who became romantically
involved with Rizal when he was in England in
1889.
 A daughter of Rizal’s landlord in London.
 She fell in love with Rizal, but he broke the
relationship because he needed time to write his
second novel, El Filibusterismo.
Nelly Bousted (Nellie)
 The reason that Jose Rizal and Antonio Luna
almost had a duel.
 The eldest daughter of a very rich Englishman
and a Filipina mestiza.
 Antonio Luna was attracted to Nelly and invited
her and his friends, including Rizal, to spend time
at the Luna studio in Paris.
 Luna blamed Rizal for his failed romance to
Nelly, and Rizal challenged him to a duel.
 Luna wrote Rizal an apology letter and
encouraged him to court Nelly.
 Nelly was a devout Protestant and considered
Roman Catholics non-Christians.
 Her mother thought Rizal as “a medical doctor
without a patient, and a dangerous man without a
country.”
 Her mother even suspected that Rizal was only
after the family’s money.
 April 1891, Nelly wrote Rizal, asking him to
“first embrace Christianity (i.e., Protestantism)”
if they were to continue writing each other.
 Rizal replied that he would remain a Roman
Catholic, and thus the romantic relationship
ended.
 She remained single and lived in opulence until
her death in the Second World War in Europe.
O-Sei-San
 Was the nickname of Seiko Uzui, as Rizal called
her
 She appears to have been the only of a samurai.
 She was an educated woman who was affluent in
French, English and Japanese.
 She worked in the consular office in Tokyo.
 According to some historians, “their romance
bloomed along with the cherry blossoms.”
 According to the historian, Gregorio Zaide, a
serious engagement or even marriage may have
been considered for Rizal had no longer been
receiving letters from Leonor Rivera for almost
nine years then.
 The letters were being intercepted at the post
office upon instructions from Leonor’s mother,
who was not in favor of the engagement.
 O-Sei-San expressed her love and her desire to
live with him for the rest of her life.
 Jorge Bacobo, a Rizalist, pointed out, that Rizal
was not totally comfortable with the Japanese.
 Rizal chose to break the relationship to her and to
leave Japan because he was still in love with and
was still considering marrying Leonor.
 April 6, 1888, Rizal embarked aboard the ship
Belgic at Tokyo Harbor, with O-Sei-San bidding
him farewell in a traditional kimono.
 She almost remained single the rest of her life; it
was only after two years following Rizal’s death
that she decided to marry a long-time suitor,
Alfred Charlton, a British chemistry professor.
 She died in Yokohoma on May 1, 1947 at the age
of 81.
Josephine Bracken
 The closest woman to Rizal.
 Austin Coates, a historian, sought her birth in
Hong Kong and found it had been tampered with.
 She claimed to have been born to Irish parents
James Brown and Elizabeth MacBride.
 According to Isagani Medina, Josephine
Leopoldine or “Josepina”, as the Katipuneros
affectionately called her.
 Born in Victoria City, Hong Kong on August 9,
1876.
 The family name “Bracken” was assumed from
her adopted father, Mr. Leopold Bracken.
 Coates concluded, however, that she must have
been an illegitimate daughter of an unknown
Anglo-Saxon father and a Chinese mother from
Hong Kong.
 On February 5, 1895, she accompanied George
Edward Tauffer, a 63-year-old blind German-
American widower and machinist from New
York who was her foster father then, Francesca
Spencer to Manila.
 Tauffer’s plan was to consult Rizal for an
operation on his double cataract.
 Josephine and her foster father sailed to Dapitan
to consult Rizal regarding his ailment.
 July 4 of the same year, Josephine became Rizal’s
sweetheart.
 The servants and Rizal’s sisters suspected
Josephine, a woman of fair complexion, of being
a Spanish spy.
 The death of their son, who was born
premarturely.
  The couple applied for a marriage license, which
was denied by the Church authorities.
 Fr. Victor Balaguer, S.J. married the engaged
couple and allegedly took place the marriage at
5;30 a.m. on December 30, 1896, only about an
hour and a half before Rizal was shot in
Bagumbayan.
 After Rizal’s execution, Josephine, with Paciano
and Trinidad arrived past one o’clock in the after
of December 30, 1896 at San Francisco de
Malabon (now General Trias), according to
Santiago V. Alvarez’s Memoirs
 Andres Bonifacio received the three by himself
at the house of Mrs. Estenfania Potente, where
he was staying and it was the time that he asked
if he could copy Rizal’s poem Mi Ultimo Adios,
written in Spanish.
CHAPTER 10: LITERARY WORKS
Sa Aking Mga Kababata
 According to writer Nick Joaquin, Sa Aking Mga
Kababata was among his first poems in Tagalog
but not actually his first one.
 When Rizal's ability to compose verses became
well known, he was often requested to write a
poem for a baptism, or to greet a birthday
celebrant, or to congratulate a couple on their
wedding day. Unfortunately, though, these
occasional compositions have all disappeared.
 Sa Aking Mga Kababata survived, however,
because Rizal kept a copy of it and because his
later friends made further copies of it, which they
distributed.
 Rizal wrote the poem when he was eight around
the time, he was learning Spanish and Latin in
earnest and beginning to fall in love with their
sonorities.
 He thus must have felt some guilt about this and
therefore wrote the aforementioned poem to
remind his childhood companions and himself
that “he who disdains his own native language
is worse than a stinking fish.” A La Juventud
Filipina (To the Filipino Youth) was Rizal's
prize-winning poem, which he wrote when he
was a senior student at the University of Santo
Tomas. Liceo Artistico- Literario awarded him a
silver pen on November 22, 1897 for the said
poem. The following is a loose English
translation of the poem by Jose Fadul: To the
Filipino Youth
Through Education Receives the Light
 The poem in which Rizal wrote at the age of 16,
Rizal talked about the importance of education.
 He hoped that his countrymen would seek
knowledge so they would live a life of
enlightenment, which would make the country
rise to the heights of honor and prestige.
 According to Rizal, the best foundation of
knowledge is proper education.
The Intimate Alliance between Religion and Good
Education
 It was written on of the several poems of Rizal
found in a notebook that he used at the Ateneo.
 In it, one of the several 1876, he expressed his
belief that religion is important in the education
of man.
 Religion serves as guide and nourishment to good
t religion education.
To the Child Jesus
 The poem, Al Niño Jesus (To the Child Jesus),
was written by Rizal in 1875, as a 14-year-old
student at the University of Santo Tomas.
 The poem expresses Rizal's devotion to the
Catholic faith.
To the Virgin Mary
 A Virgen Maria" (To the Virgin Mary) was
Rizaľ's short, undated poem devoted to the Virgin
Mary, written while he was a student of Ateneo
Municipal.
Memories of my Town
 It was written in 1876, Rizal recalls the beauty
and peace of Calamba that inspired his love for
nature and confidence in God, and which
eventually evolved into a consuming love for his
country.
Hymn to Labor
 It was in commemoration of Lipa's elevation
from town to city.
 In the poem, Rizal pointed out the role of the
people in promoting their country's progress
through the dignity of labor and industry.
 He composed the poem shortly before he left for
Europe a second time.
Kundiman
 Kundiman (Love Song) was one of the only two
known poems that Rizal wrote in Tagalog.
 During Rizal's trial, this poem was cited as one of
the evidences against him.
  He however denied authorship of the lines
“pouring of blood to liberate the motherland”
and “this country shall remove its chain.”
 These lines were considered subversive by the
Spanish prosecution panel.
They Asked Me for Verses
 Me Piden Verses (You [or Theyl ask Me for
Verses) was a sad poem written in 1882 in Madrid
when Rizal was asked by his colleagues to
contribute something to Circulo-Hispano
Filipino's magazine.
 It was translated into English by J. Fadul.
To My Muse
 In A Mi Musa (To My Muse), Rizal expressed
disillusionment over the lukewarm attitude of the
Filipinos in Spain in working towards Philippine
reforms.
To the Flowers of Heidelberg
 Rizal was fascinated with the beautiful spring
flowers in Heidelberg, which reminded him of the
blooming flowers at the garden of his home in
Calamba.
 He was homesick during those times, and that's
what inspired him to write the poem in April 22,
1896.
The Song of the Traveler
 Canto del Viajero was written in Dapitan before
Rizal left for Cuba (1896). In the poem, Rizal
compared himself to a leaf that goes wherever the
wind blows.
 Disappointed by the social regeneration of the
Filipinos, Rizal left deserted and sought refuge in
the tranquility death, but he prayed that his people
would eventually seek emancipation and
happiness.
Song of Maria Clara (Canto de Maria Clara)
 Written in 1887, this was the poem found in Noli
Me Tangere, sung by Mara Clara. Rizal's
sentiments and undying commitments are
mirrored in this poem.
Hymn to Talisay
 It was intended to be a college song for the pupils
that Rizal was teaching in Talisay
(Laubach,1936).
My Retreat
 Another important literary work written during
Rizal's exile in Dapitan, the poem portrays Rizal's
serene life in his house.
 He wrote the poem in response to his mother's
request that Rizal should revive his interest in
poetry writing.
 In the poem, Rizal clearly expressed his
acceptance of his fate for he believed that justice
would prevail in the end.
My Last Farewell
CHAPTER 11: NATIONALISTIC NOVELS
The Publication of Rizal’s First Novel
 Rizal completed Noli Me Tangere in Berlin on
February 21, 1887 and had it printed at Berlin
Buchdrukei Action Gesselschaft.
 At the time of publication, Rizal developed a lung
ailment because of malnutrition as he was eating
one meal a day due to lack of money.
 He received a telegram from Dr. Maximo Viola,
lending him 300 pesos for the 2,000 copies of the
novel.
 Rizal sent the first copies of his novels to
Ferdinand Blumentritt, Antonio Maria
Regidor, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Mariano
Ponce, and Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo.
 Spanish senators Jose Salamanca, Luis M. de
Pando, and Fernando Vida severely criticized the
novel, but Segismundo Moret, a Spaniard who
was a former minister of the Spanish King,
defended it.
 Dr. Miguel Morayta, Blumentritt, and Fr. Vicente
Garcia also publicly defended the novel.
 Fr. Salvador Font, lashed at it and recommended
it banned from the circulation in the Philippines.
 The attacks against Rizal’s first novel stimulated
the Filipinos to close their ranks and defend the
novel further criticism.
 The attacks against Noli gave the Philippines
further publicity in the Spanish press as
pamphlets by both sides.
 Noli Me Tangere literally means “Touch Me
Not”, a line purportedly taken from Luke’s
Gospel (it was actually taken from John 20:17)
 “Touch Me Not” is the cry of a person agonizing
in pain from the cancer with which he is afflicted,
and if it is touched, it becomes more painful.
 The book contains the social conditions that
Filipinos were experiencing for centuries.
 He also narrates the true grievances, life, hope,
and desires of Filipinos.
 Originally written in Spanish, the novel was
translated into many languages.
 The modern English translation of the novel was
published with the titles Social Cancer (1940)
and Lost Eden (1998).
  Noli Me Tangere can be read and appreciated as
literature or can be examined as a social and
historical document.
 The book’s cover was designed by Rizal himself:
its left side shows the best in the Filipinos:
o their chaste women, as represented by the
silhouette of a woman in a traditional
Filipino dress;
o their fidelity, symbolized by pomelo
blossoms;
o their honor, symbolized by laurel leaves;
o their religious fervor, symbolized by a
cross;
o their desire for education, symbolized by
a lighted lamp;
o and the Filipino youth, a source of hope,
symbolized by sunflowers following the
sun).
On the lower right side of the book, on the other
hand are the worst ills of society:
o the Spanish friars (represented by the
hairy legs, believed to be those of a
Spanish friar),
o the Guardia Civil, and the cruel treatment
of the natives (represented by the chains
and whips used for torturing native
prisoners).
o Rizal is represented by the bamboo
(drawn close to his name), the most
resilient grasses.
 Rizal dedicated his first novel to his beloved
Philippines.
The Characters of Noli Me Tangere
 Crisostomo Ibarra- the courageous, civic-
minded, liberty-loving, and patriotic son of a
wealthy landlord and a liberal, European-
educated Filipino.
 Crispin- the younger of the two brothers who
served as sacristans in a church in San Diego. He
and his brother Basilio were falsely accused of
stealing 32 pesos worth of gold from the church
and was tortured and not allowed to go home until
he pays for what he allegedly stole.
 Basilio- elder brother of Crispin.
 Maria Clara-Crisostomo Ibarra’s fiancée. She
was named in honor of the Virgin of Salambaw
and Sta. Clara.
 Padre Damaso- a vociferous Franciscan priest
and the villain in the novel; Maria Clara believes
Damaso was her real father.
 Doña Pia Alba- Maria Clara’s mother and the
wife of Capitan Tiago, a rich Binondo proprietor
and landlord.
 Capitan Tiago- a rich landowner and father of
Maria Clara.
 Don Rafael Ibarra- Crisostomo’s father, a rich
landlord with a social conscience
 Sisa- Basilio and Crispin’s mother
 Padre Salvi- a Spanish friar who was secretly in
love with Maria Clara and who thus plots to
eliminate Ibarra.
 Señor Pasta- an affluent lawyer who was once a
servant of the friars, and a mercenary.
 Eliás-came from the family which the Ibarra clan
had oppressed for generations. He grew up in a
wealthy family until he discovered something
that changed his life forever. In the novel, he was
shot by the guards (mistaken as Ibarra trying to
escape) and slowly died.
 Doña Victorian delos Reyes de Espandaña- a
paragon of colonial mentality.
 Doña Consolacion- a vulgar, imprudent,
quarrelsome, and cruel mistress of an alferez.
 Paulita Gomez- the niece of Doña Victorina; she
symbolizes the aristocrats during the Spanish
times in the Philippines who yielded to the
practice of ethnicopolitical selection of marriage.
 Don Anastacio- commonly known as Filisófo
Tasio is one of the most important characters in
Noli.
The Plot of Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere is the story of a man named
Crisostomo Ibarra who tries to bring progress to his
people, but was instead accused of being a filibuster
(subversive) and ends up losing not only the love of his
life, Maria Clara, but also his freedom. He also almost
loses his life.
A subplot in the novel concerns a woman named
Sisa, whose sons, Basilio and Crispin, worked as
sacristans. Her abusive husband often takes her earnings
and has sold every valuable item that she owned.
Although it was painful not to have her sons with her at
home, she put them to work as sacristans not knowing that
the young boys were maltreated in the church. On the eve
of All Saints Day, Sisa prepared a special supper for her
sons, who were supposed to come home for that special
day. Unfortunately, her husband came home before her
sons could and ate all the food she had prepared. Worse,
Basilio, who came home very late that night, was forced
to admit his mother that Crispin could not come home
because the senior sacristan had accused him of stealing
money from the church's collection. He did not tell her,
though, that before he escaped from the church, he heard
Crispin's anguished cries as the senior sacristan beat him
with a cane behind locked doors. That night, Basilio woke
up in a sweat because he dreamed that Crispin had died
after being beaten on the head with a heavier cane.
The next morning, Sisa prepared a basket of
vegetables for the curate before going to the rectory to see
her son Crispin. Sisa did not get to see the curate,
however, but only his servants and cook, who told her that
her sons were thieves and that they would soon be
arrested. She was the driven out of the rectory. Soon after,
soldiers came to her house and not finding Crispin or
Basilio there, arrested Sisa instead. She was forced to
walk to town between two soldiers, and she could hardly
bear the shame. After waiting for two hours, Sisa was sent
home because the alferez ignored the curate's accusations
against the boys. Finally, Sisa found her way home, but
she did not find any relief of consolation. It was then that
she saw a piece of Basilio's shirt with bloodstains. She
brought it out of the house to see it more clearly in the
remaining light of the late afternoon, but Sisa could not
see or understand what she was seeing; she could only
stare straight at the dying sun. Her suffering was too great
to bear, and the next day, she wandered about smiling,
singing and talking with all of God's little creatures. Sisa
had escaped from her sorrows into merciful madness.
The main conflict of the novel resides in
Crisostomo Ibarra, the protagonist. It is easy to identify
the external conflicts of the novel: Ibarra vs the society of
his time, particularly it's values and prejudices; Ibarra vs
Padre Damaso and indirectly the other friars; and Ibarra
vs Kapitan Tiago, whose very strong sense of self-
preservation renders him an obstacle to the love between
Maria Clara and Ibarra. The other conflict, mostly
internal, reside in the other characters, such as Sisa, Doña
Victorina, Doña Consolation and Elias. The internal
conflict within Ibarra is the more interesting conflict,
however, as it expresses the dilemma of present-day
Filipinos; the conflict between traditional values and one's
personal values that had been developed through time. In
his long dialogue with Pilosopo Tasio, Ibarra reveals the
conflicts within him. His father is Spanish and his mother
an Indio, which makes him a mestizo or half breed. Thus,
he feels a loyalty to the country of his father's ancestors,
but that tends to clash with his natural love for his native
land. Being a mestizo, Ibarra is not good enough for both
the peninsulares and the Filipinos, and it is not surprising
that his own countrymen regard him with suspicion and
wary respect as he is not really “one of them.”
Towards the end of the novel, it is revealed that
the real father of Maria Clara is Padre Damaso, and this
apparently villainous friar is shown as a person capable of
loving somebody other than himself. This is an instance
where the novel's external and internal conflicts merge,
showing the complexity of the characters, which first
seemed to be mere stereotypes. Maria Clara was not able
to resolve the conflicts within her, so she choose to escape
by entering convent as a nun. Rightly or wrongly, Maria
Clara has been held as the ideal Filipina, which perhaps is
the reason that many Filipinas prefer or pretend to prepare
being a Maria Clara-type, with all its dubious virtues.
Many have used the convent as an escape from a world
that could not give them happiness or the fulfillment they
crave. Interestingly, Maria Clara's escapism was revealed
in the epilogue, where two patrolmen sought shelter from
a storm under the eaves near nunnery. They saw “a white
figure standing almost on the ridge of the roof with arms
and face raised to the sky, as if praying to it.” She escaped
her problem through religion, which was itself a part of
the problem. One could very well ask: what she must have
thought of the fact that Padre Damaso was her real father
considering the reverenve she has been trained to give to
friars and to everything connected to religion.
El Filibusterismo, Rizal’s Second Novel
 El Filibusterismo was more profound and perfect
than Noli Me Tangere.
 According to Rizal, the former has “no idealism,
no fallacious theories, only direct methods fire
and steel for the cancer, judgement upon evil.”
 He adds, according to the novel, “afterwards, let
the instrument be broken if it is defective.”
 It depicts all the abuses of the friars, especially
against his family and the people in Calamba.
 The novel was dedicated to the memory of
Gomburza, who had been unjustly executed
on February 17, 1872.
El Filibusterismo comes off the press
 Dr. Jose Rizal finished writing El Filibusterismo
in 1891.
 He found in publisher in Ghent who offered to
publish the novel and accept payment on an
installment basis.
 It was printed at F. Meyer Van Loo at No. 66
Vlanderstraat, near the house of Jose Alejendro.
 Valentin Ventura from Paris, sent Rizal 200
francs to cover the novel’s publication expenses.
 The second novel was released on September 18,
1891.
 He sent two copies of it to Hong Kong, one for
Jose Ma. Basa and the other for Sixto Lopez.
 Valentin Ventura, Rizal’s friend, was given the
original copy.
 Rizal also sent complimentary copies to
Ferdinand Blumentritt, Mariano ponce, Graciano
Lopez-Jaena, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Antonio and
Juan Luna, and his other friends.
The Characters of El Filibusterismo
 Simoun- Crisostomo Ibarra reborn, who returns
to the Philippines after 13 years of absence to
destroy the Philippine society, having become
victim of its vicious system.
 Maria Clara- Simoun’s love interest who suffers
from physical and spiritual and spiritual abuse for
13 years, which eventually leads to her death.
 Elias- a humble, courageous, thoughtful, and
farsighted native Filipino from persecuted family
 who symbolizes the common people.
 Señor Pasta- an affluent lawyer who was once a
servant of the friars and who now acts a
consultant for them; concerned only with his own
interests, he refuses to help the students
petitioning for the opening of an academy for
teaching of Castilian.
 Isagani- a young student who has big dreams for
his country; full of enthusiasm and inspired by the
spirit of reform, he symbolizes the educated
Filipino youth during the Spanish times whose
idealism was untested and unreliable.
 Placido Penitente- who leaves the university in
spite of the pleadings and sacrifices of his mother,
who wants him to become a lawyer; disillusioned
by the state of affairs, he later develops the desire
to go abroad.
 Paulita Gomez- the niece of Doña Victorina,
representing the aristocrats during the Spanish
times in the Philippines who yielded to the
practice of ethnicopolitical selection in marriage;
she disdains the morality and talent of Isagani, her
sweetheart, and instead chooses Juanito Pelaez,
an ignorant and foolish mestizo.
 Basilio- a medical student whose family
undergoes much suffering; an educated Filipino
who experiences cruelties in the hands of the
Spanish friars and ends up becoming insensitive
to the needs of the society.
 Don Custodio de Salazar y Sanchez de
Monteredondo- a Spanish official occupying
many positions in the government but who was
neither the time nor the qualification for some of
such positions.
 Cabesang Tales- a victim of land grabbing by the
friars who becomes desperate and joins the
outlaws to average the wrong done to him.
 Capitan Pablo- whose daughter was raped and
whose son was tortured; the head of a band of
outlaws determined to avenge his family.
 A school teacher- personifying the educated
Filipino who dreams of better ways of making her
pupils learn instead of imposing corporal
punishment.
The Plot of El Filibusterismo
El Filibusterismo continues the story of Noli Me
Tangere, where Crisostomo Ibarra survives the dramatic
chase at the open lake, leaves the Philippines, and
wanders around the world and amasses great wealth. In
Fili, he returns to the Philippines after a 13-year absence
in the person of Simoun, a jeweler passing for a British
Indian, a Portuguese, an American, a mulatto, a “brown
cardinal”, “His Black Eminence”, and the evil genius of
the captain-general.
Returning with the new captain-general, who is
under his sway, Simoun has one sole purpose: the
subversion of the regime. He plans to do by using his
wealth and influence to encourage corruption in the
government, which he expects to cause such economic
distress to drive the people to take up arms against the
regime. The biggest obstacles to his plans turn out to be
the young native intellectuals, who are dedicated to a
program of reforms leading to the assimilation of the
Philippines into the Spanish nation. Among such reforms
is the establishment of an academy of the Spanish
language under lay control.
Simoun has another purpose, though: to take
Maria Clara away from the nunnery and to avenge the
wrongs that were done to him and his lady love. He makes
two attempts to do so, but both fail. In the first, he plans
to seize Manila with the help of disaffected Filipino
regiments and a band of outlaws. On the very eve of the
uprising though, he is told that Maria Clara had died. In a
frenzy of grief, he abandons his allies and is almost killed
by them. In the second, he turns to anarchist techniques.
All the rulers of Manila, from the governor-general to the
provincials of the orders and the men with the widest
properties and influence in the colony are expected to
attend the nuptial feast of Paulita Gomez, the richest
heiress of the city. He plans to send as his wedding gift to
her an elaborate lamp which was actually a bomb. The
lamp will hang over the main table of the feast. The house
itself, Captain Tiago's old mansion, has been mined. At a
decisive moment, the lamplight will flicker, and when the
wick is raised, the bomb will explode. Simoun takes one
last look at his beloved. Isagani is warned not to go
anywhere near the place where the tragic incident was to
occur, but when he learns the details of the plot, he rushes
to the house instead, and seizing the lamp, jumps and
throws it into the river, Simoun, now a grievously
wounded fugitive from justice, takes refuge in the solitary
mountain retreat of Padre Florentino, a virtuous Filipino
priest, and dies there before the authorities can arrest him.
The priest takes the dead man's treasure chest and hurls it
into the sea.
Comparing Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
 Hoping to secure political reforms for his beloved
country and educate his countrymen.
 March 1887, Noli Me Tangere, a satirical novel
exposing the arrogance and depotism of the
Spanish government and clergy.
 El Filibusterismo, the sequel of Noli, were more
revolutionary and tragic than Noli Me Tangere.
 Rizal’s original intention was to make El
Filibusterismo longer than Noli Me Tangere, but
due to lack of funds, El Filibusterismo came to
consist of only 38 chapter as against Noli Me
Tangere has 64 chapters.
 Blumentritt and Jaena said that El Filibusterismo
 is superior to Noli Me Tangere.
 W. Retana, a Spanish newspaperman who wrote
a complete Rizal biography, draws following
conclusion from Noli Me Tangere.
o The enlightened liberal Filipino cannot
live in the Philippines because he finds
the friars uncongenial; they may have
him imprisoned, exiled, or shot.
o The Philippines is not for the Filipinos
but for the Spaniards, especially the
friars.
o The Guardia Civil is so abusive that he
makes more bandits than he captures.
o The Spaniards in the Philippines have no
ideals, and many of them have
degenerated into ruffians.
o The Catholic religion has been employed
by the Spaniards as an instrument of
domination.
o The pure Filipinos are condemned to
perpetual ignorance.
CHAPTER 12: SELECTED LETTERS AND
ESSAYS
The Letters
 Rizal’s letter to his sister Trinidad
o Wrote in Heidelberg, Germany on
March 11, 1886.
o Rizal described the characteristics of the
typical German woman: Serous,
studious, and very much attached to her
work.
o The letter shows Rizal’s concern about
the training of his sisters so that they can
emulate the virtues of German women,
and conveys his philosophy and concept
to his women.
 To the Young Women of Malolos
o February 22, 1889, Rizal wrote the letter
as requested by Marcelo H. de Pilar.
o The famous letter was written in Tagalog
while he was residing in London.
o On December 12, 1888, a group of 20
young women from Malolos petitioned
Governer-General Weyler for permission
to open a “night school” so they could
study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko.
o As the Spanish parish priest Garcia
openly expressed his opposition to the
idea.
o In his letter to the young women, of
Malolos, Rizal showed his knowledge of
Hellenic history, urging the women to
emulate the Spartan women, who were
famous for their courage, fortitude, and
patriotism.
o He told the anecdote of a Spartan mother
who handed a shield to her son as he was
marching to battle, with this admonition:
Return home victorious or dead on the
shield.
o The letter focused on five major points
(Zaide, 1999):
 Filipino mothers should teach
their children love of God,
country, and fellowmen.
 Filipino mothers should be glad
and honored, like the Spartan
mothers, to offer their sons in
defense of their country.
 Filipino women should know
how to protect their dignity and
honor.
 Filipino women should retain
their good racial values, but
should also educate themselves.
 Faith does not consist merely of
reciting prayers and wearing
religious pictures but also in
living as a true Christian should,
with good morals and manners.
The Essays
 Love of Country
o Rizal’s first essay when he arrived in
Madrid at the age of 21.
o He used pseudonym Laong Laan.
o Published on August 21, 1882 in
Diariong Tagalog, a Philippine
newspaper, and then again on October
31, 1890 in La Solidaridad, in Madrid.
o He talks of love of country which “is
never effaced once it has penetrated the
heart, because it carries with it a divine
stamp..;” that it is “the most powerful
force behind the most sublime actions”
and for that reason, love of country “of
all loves…is the greatest, the most heroic
and the most disinterested”.
o He speaks of the Motherland for whom
“some have sacrificed their youth, their
pleasures…others their blood; all have
died bequeathing to their
Motherland…Liberty and glory.”
o It can be inferred from his words that at
this point Rizal’s sense of nation was
now fully-formed and complete, and
perhaps not by happenstance, its
expression coincides with his departure
 from his country.
o While there is still no outright and open
criticism of the friars, or the colonial
government, or even of Spain for he may
have only been being careful, Rizal by
this time had become a nationalist and
had gone abroad for the cause of his
countrymen.
 The Philippines Within A Century
o The essay is a critical analysis of the
general social history of the Philippines
from the beginning of the Spanish
domination and the numerous problems
in our country.
o It also foretells the future of the
Philippines.
o The essay starts by analyzing the various
causes that brought misery to the Filipino
people, specifically the coming of the
Spaniards and the colonization policies.
o Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, the
natives were required to embrace the
Christianity and pay taxes to the Spanish
government.
o In the introduction of religion,
unconsciously the natives gradually lost
their identity. They were hypnotized
through religious shows, rites, images,
forms of worship in a foreign language
that were spread by the missionaries.
o The new religion changed our ancient
tradition, culture, songs, laws and beliefs
and mental habits.
o Poverty became rampant, and the farms
were left to wither.
o The family as a unit of society was
neglected, and overall, every aspect of
the Filipino life was retarded.
o When the natives lose confidence in their
past and cultural heritage, they became
doubtful of their present lifestyle, and
eventually loses hope in the future and
the preservation of their race.
o The question then arises as to what had
awakened the hearts and opened the
minds of the Filipino people with regards
to their plight.
o The revolts failed due to lack of common
leadership, with each revolt occurring
one after another.
o Consequently, this phenomenon maybe
called divided nationalism, in which
groups of Filipinos fought against the
Spaniards while the other were merely
spectators.
o Another cause of failure of the revolts is
that the Filipinos lacked training in
warfare and had interior weapons.
Furthermore, indios became passive and
submissive, while the elite class create
discouragement and disunity among the
natives by accepting government
positions and enjoying certain benefits of
stability from the Spanish government.
o One question that Rizal raises in this
essay is whether or not Spain can indeed
prevent the progress of the Philippines.
Keeping the people uneducated and
ignorant had failed.
o National consciousness has awakened,
and great Filipino minds emerged from
the rubble. Keeping the people
impoverished was useless. On the
contrary, living a life of destitution had
allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire
to change their lives.
o The Filipinos were able to survive amidst
wars and famine, and increased in
population even after such catastrophes.
Spain, therefore, had no means to stop
the progress of the country. What she
needs to do is to change her colonial
policies so that they are in keeping with
the needs of the Philippine society and to
the rising nationalism of the people. In
other words, the government should
create a better administration.
o Rizal believes that the establishment of a
free press and allowing the Philippines to
be represented in the Spanish Cortes can
address the problem.
o In addition, once the Philippine become
independent there were several countries
will be paying attention to our country
o What Rizal had envisioned in his essay
came true. In 1898, the Americans
wrestled pain to win the Philippines, and
eventually took over the country. Theirs
was a reign of democracy and liberty.
After Rizal’s death, in June 12, 1896,
Philippines gained her long-waited
independence.
 The Indolence of the Filipinos
o This essay discusses indolence in the
Philippines as a chronic malady and not
a hereditary one.
o Rizal critically examines the causes from
the natural, physiological circumstances
and historical occurrences which
influenced, sustained and maintained the
indolence o the Filipinos, at the same
 time putting in place the responsibility
both in the government and the people.
o The word indolence had been misused in
the sense of little love for work and lac
ck energy.
o But from the examination of the people
and social scenes one would find the
existence of the indolent there. But it
existed there not as a cause of the
backwardness by fostering the
transformation of the lamentable
predisposition to indolence into actual
indolence.
o Rizal pointed out in his essay that before
the coming of the Spaniards, the
Filipinos were not indolent.
o In fact, according to a 13th century
Chinese manuscript, translated by Dr.
Hirth, the natives were considered active
and honest in their trades. The natives
traded Chinese goods throughout the
islands, traveling for nine months, and
then returned to pay religiously.
o When the Filipino was under Spanish
rule the abuses, cruelties, and oppression
by the dominant race deplored the
condition of the native. Hence, the native
neglected their farms, raising poultry,
and weaving as they used to do before the
Spanish arrived.
o Such observation may not only by
Morga, San Agustin but also by Dr. Hans
Meyer upon seeing the unsubdued tribes
cultivating their beautiful fields and work
energetically.
o The indolence o the Filipinos was not
inherent in them as a race although
unfortunate circumstances forced them to
become “indolents.”
o The Filipinos branded as filibusteros,
lost all ambitions to improve themselves
beyond the limits set for them by the
colonizers.
o The Filipinos have been paralyzed—
memorizing prayers without
understanding, accepting belief without
explaining, acting mechanically without
thinking.
o Rizal cited education as the only one
who can free the Filipinos from
oblivion and abuses.