Rizal’s Letter to the Young Women of Malolos
Respect and True Spirit of Religion
 Written in tagalog
 While Rizal is in London
 Requested by Marcelo H. Del Pilar
 February 22, 1889
- Rizal sent the letter to Del Pilar
- For transmittal to the young women
 Focused in salient points:
-Rejection of spiritual authority of friars
-Defense of private judgement
-Qualities Filipino mother need to
posses
-Duties/responsibilities of Mothers to
children
-Duties/ responsibilities of wife to
husband
-Counsel to young women to lifetime
partner
 Rizal’s message to Filipino women
-same opportunities enjoyed by men
-Same education with men
-Urged to be carefully noticing problems
-Emphasized for maintaining
independence of mind
-Not to be docile and passive
 Responsibilities of Filipino Mothers to
their Children
-Whatever the mother is, her son
become
“Mothers who teach nothing else but
kneeling and kissing the hand of the friars
should expect children who are not only stupid
but also exploited slaves”
 Qualities Mothers Have to Possess
-Should be a noble wife
-Rear children in service of state
-Set standards of behavior for men
 Rizal’s advice to unmarried Men and
Women
 For men:
 Should not consider
physical beauty
 Nor sweetness of
disposition of a woman
 For women:
 Don’t surrender woman
hood to weak & timid
heart
 Rizal’s Reminders on Equality, Self-
 Summary of Rizal’s letter To The
Young Women of Malolos
“Filipino Mothers should teach their
children love of God, country and
fellowmen”
“Filipino Mothers should be glad and
honored, like Spartan Mothers to offer
their sons in defense of their country”
“Filipino women should know hot to
protect their dignity and honor”
“Filipino women should educate
themselves aside from retaining their
good racial values
“Faith is not merely reciting prayers and
wearing religious pictures. It is living
the real Christian way with good morals
and manners”
Sobre La Indolencia delos Filipinos
 “The indolence of the Filipino People”
 Longest essay
 Published in La Solidaridad
 Filipinos’ defense from charge
of indolent
 Factors attributed to indolence:
1. Spanish Colonizers
2. Attributable to the Filipinos’ own fault
 Factors attributed to indolence:
1. Spanish Colonizers
 Wars and internal disorders
that followed Spanish Conquest
 Piratical Attacks on Coastal
Towns and Villages By Muslim
Pirates
 Forced labor in shipbuilding
 Government’s Neglect and
Apathy to Agriculture, Industry
and Commerce
 Absence of Material and Moral
Incentives
  The Teaching of the Spanish
Missionaries That Heaven is for
the poor
 Too much government
Restriction and Red tape in the
Approval of permit to transact
Business
 Encouragement and
propagation of gambling
 Ownership of the big estates by
the friars
 Example set by the Spaniards in
disdaining manual labor
 Deprivation of human dignity
 Factors attributed to indolence:
2. Attributable to the Filipinos’ own fault
 Feeling inferiority
 Placing hopes in miracle
 Lack of Spirit to pursue lofty
purposes
 Lack of national sentiment
Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años
“The Philippine A Century Hence”
 Historical events of people
 Forecast the future of the
country
 Future of Philippines within
hundred years
 Has 4 articles in La Solidaridad
-What would become of the
Philippines within 100
years?
-Would the Philippines
remain a colony of Spain?
-Would it become a regular
province of Spain?
-Would it become
independent or would it be a
colony of another country?
First Article:
 Focused on the causes of
misery:
1. Spain’s implementation
of her military policies
2. Deterioration and
disappearance of
Filipino indigenous
culture
3. Passivity and
Submissiveness to the
Spanish colonizers
Second Article:
 Would the Philippines remain a
colony of Spain?
Third Article:
1. Would it become a
regular province of
Spain?
Fourth Article
2. Would it become
independent or would it
be a colony of another
country?
Noli Me Tangere
 “Touch Me Not”
 started writing the novel in 1884
 Finished his novel on February 21, 1887
 Came off the press on March 21, 1877
 With financial assistance of Maximo
Viola
 Composed of 63 chapters
 Written in 1884 while in Europe
 ½ completed in Madrid
 ¼ was written in Paris
 Remaining ¼ was completed in Berlin,
Germany
 “Touch Me Not”
 Has a biblical basis
 Uttered by Jesus Christ to Mary
Magdalene
 Characters of Noli Me Tangere:
 Juan Crisostomo Ibarra
 Main character in the
novel
 Elias
 Symbol of the common
people
 Maria Clara
 Symbolizes the Filipino
womanhood
 With fidelity coyness
and modesty
 Don Rafael Ibarra
 Crisostomo’s father
 Symbolizes affluent landlord
with social conscience
 Sisa
  mother of Crispin and Basilio  Senyor Pasta
 Symbolizes of things Filipino  Idealist turned
society mercenary
 Typical characteristics of  Filipino who abandoned
Filipino Mothers their noble social ideas
 Pilosopo Tasyo  Isagani
 Most important character  Untested and unreliable
 Epitome of a philosopher idealism of educated
 Sage by educated and weird or Filipino
lunatic  Paulita Gomez
 Capitan Tiago  more free from the
 Symbol of cacique mentality fetters of convention
 Donya Victorina  Portion of Filipino
 Social climber womanhood
 Symbolized colonial mentality  Basilio
among Filipino  Educated Filipino
 Donya Patricinio society
 Mistress of Alferez  Been brutalized that
 Symbolizes the mentality of become insensible
Guardia Civil  Placido Penitente
 Reasons why Rizal Wrote Noli Me  Elements of Philippine
Tangere: Society
 To picture the past  Infused with a national
 To picture realities in the sentiment or social
Philippines conscience
 To reply insults heaped on  Don Custodio
Filipinos  Official in the country
 To unmask the hypocrisy that  Who finds pleasure in
impoverished; developing feeling of
 To see brutalized the Filipino inferiority
people  Cabesang Tales
 To stir the patriotism of Filipino  Victim of grabbing by
the friars
El Filibusterismo  Became desperate and
joined outlaws for
 “The Reign of Greed” personal revenge
 Rizal started writing novel in Calamba  Juli
 Continued in London in 1888  innocent-looking and
 Some parts were written in Paris and unaffected daughter
Madrid  Took her own life for
 Finished on March 29, 1891 in Biarritz her love and chastity
 Sequel of the Noli Me Tangere
 Characters in El Filibusterismo: Comparison of Noli Me Tangere &
 Simoun El Filibustersimo
 represent the portion of Noli Me Tangere El Filibusterismo
Filipino Society
Romantic Novel Political novel
 Tired of oppressor rule
Work of the heart Work of head
that rule be overthrown
Book of feeling Book of thought
 Maria Clara
Dedicated for Dedicated for
 Suffering fro spiritual
Motherland GOMBURZA
and physical abuse
64 chapters 38 chapters
Peaceful reforms by Advocated revolution
Crisostomo Ibarra through Simoun
 Good novels from point of view of
history
 Presents the actual conditions in
Philippines
 Instrumental awakening the spirit of
Filipino nationalism
 Paved the way for outbreak of
revolution of 1896
 Disintegration of the Spanish colonial
empire
Rizal’s legacy to young Filipino women
• Rizal alluded to women as wives and mothers,
the fountainhead of values, to insure the stability
of the nation through the youth that they nurture
and educate into useful and civic-spirited
citizens – the hope of the fatherland.
 Written in Tagalog while Rizal was in
London
 Request of Marcelo H. del Pilar
 December 12, 1888
 Twenty women of Malolos
petitioned Governor-General
Weyler for permission to open a
night school so that they may
study Spanish under Teodoro
Sandiko.
 Alberta Ui Tangcoy, Teresa and
Natia Tontoco, Merced,
Agapita, Basilia, Paz and
Feliciana Tiongson, Eugenia
and Aurea Tangchangco,
Leoncia and Olympia Reyes and
Martia de los Reyes
 They triumphed in the end
 Granted permission to their project.
 Condition: Señorita Guadalupe Reyes
should be their teacher
 Marcelo H. del Pilar requested Jose
Rizal towrite a letter commending them
for their extraordinary courage.
 February 22, 1889
 Rizal sent del Pilar the letter for
transmittal to the young women
of Malolos
 The letter transmitted to the
young women of Malolos
focused on the following points:
 The rejection of the
spiritual authority of the
friars
 The defense of private
judgment
 Qualities Filipino
mothers need to possess
 Duties and
responsibilities of
Filipino mothers to their
children
 Duties and
responsibilities of a
wife to her husband
 Consel to young women
on their choice of a
lifetime partner
 Rizal’s Message to Filipino Women
 Responsibilities of Filipino Mothers to
their Children
 Qualities Mothers Have to Possess
 Rizal’s Advice to Unmarried Men and
Women
 Rizal’s Reminders on Equality, Self
Respect and True Spirit of Religion