Nationalism in

the Novels
Alcantara Jaymalin
Ardales Laguilles
Babasa Manrique
Belleza Pantino
Bolagao Sacil
Hitosis Sevilla
THE PLIGHT
of the Filipinos
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 THE PLIGHT OF THE FILIPINOS
✣ Plight - a dangerous, difficult or unfortunate situation.
Victims:
✣ 8 million Filipinos ( human indignities)
✣ The argument against the excesses of authority was
pointless. They were reminded day after day that they had
no right to question authority-they were born to serve, they
were only fit to be ruled, so they were not supposed to
complain.
✣ eat eat eat.jpg

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 What did Rizal do?

✣ He did not spare them from strong criticism.

✣ He sympathized with their sufferings.
✣ In his novels, he reminded the people that these
follies and misfortunes were caused by colonial
subservience, that had to stop.

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✣ Rizal did not wholly blame the
religious and civil authorities for
this sordid state of affairs. The
people themselves, by their timidity,
fear, and cowardice had shackled
their minds and debased their souls.
They gradually allowed the
Spaniards to enslave them.

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 Governor General observed:
"Ah, if these people weren’t so stupid,
they’d make the measure of these
Reverences! But every people deserves its
fate, and let us do what everybody else
does.” ( Noli pp 51-52)
Don Filipo ( the mayor) admits that: “ Friars
are always right because we always start by
admitting they are right.” He also added that
“The friars are rich and united; we are
divided and poor.” (Noli pp 233-234)

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✣ Through suffering, many had grown
heartless and learned from
experience that going against the
establishment was dangerous.

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THE URGENCY
of needed reforms
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THE URGENCY OF NEEDED REFORMS

✣ Eventually the Filipinos will rise and rebel (in a

violent way)
✣ Immediate reform would have to start from the
Spaniards.
⨳ Changing the education system
⨳ Let the friars pay more attention to their religious mission
of teaching the True Faith
⨳ Improving the youth morally and physically

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✣ In the novel, Noli me Tangere, Elias proposed
reforms in the administration of justice to change
the system that:
⨳ Upheld rental for untitled lands
⨳ Arbitrary increase of rent accompanied by the threat of
expulsion if the tenant did not comply the landlord’s
demands.
✣ This system encourages court officials to abuse
their power.

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✣ Rizal also implies that the natives, on the other
hand, should prove that they are worthy of the
reforms.
⨳ They must understand that reforms measure would
contribute to the common good and a sense of social
consciousness would prepare them for freedom and
happiness

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✣ Enlightened natives would then:
⨳ eradicate superstition
⨳ develop a cultured sense of values
⨳ Make their home comfortable
⨳ Improve their economic lives
⨳ Enjoy true happiness
✣ They must develop the idea of human dignity and
free themselves from the fetters of deterioration
and greed.

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SYMBOLISM IN
MARIA CLARA AND SISA
 Among the characters of Noli Me Tangere, two
women, Maria Clara and Sisa, represent the
enduring sacrifices of Filipino womanhood and the
nation itself.

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 SYMBOLISM IN MARIA CLARA

Maria Clara's character is related to Rizal's childhood sweetheart,

Leonor Rivera. Like the real life Leonor, she plays the piano and
the harp and has a sweet voice. She was portrayed as a faithful
sweetheart, a good friend, and an obedient daughter. She
portrayed as the ideal woman during her time. She does not
impose her will except when she refused being married off to
Linares.

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Maria Clara symbolizes the purity and innocence
of a sheltered native woman during the time of
Spanish occupation. She does not value material
things that were abundantly bestowed upon her
by admirers and family alike but holds in high
esteem her parents’ honor and the promise she
had given to her sweetheart.

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The unhappy state of the Philippines (which Maria
Clara symbolizes) was the product of the
exploitation of the Spanish rulers and the failure
of the people.

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Maria Clara is the image of the Philippines with
her virtues and inconsistencies, a symbol made
more human by characteristics of the typical 19th
century Filipino.

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 SYMBOLISM IN SISA
Sisa(Narcisa) is the typical native wife. She endures her husband's beatings and
irresponsibility. She had been stripped of her few jewels by her husband, Pedro,
an inveterate gambler. Despite the abuse, she considers him her god.

Sisa is described as a mother who considers her sons her only treasure. She
would often anticipate when they return home as she would prepare their favorite
dishes. She remembers each son's features and when alone, remember moments
when her sons were with her.

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 “She was still young; once she must have been
pretty and charming. Her eyes, which like her
character, her sons had inherited, were beautiful,
deep, and long-lashed; her nose was well-
proportioned, her pale lips attractively drawn. Her
complexion was what the Tagalogs call
kayumangging kaligatan, that is to say, a clear,
golden brown….

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 …In spite of her youth, sorrow, or perhaps
hunger, had made her pale cheeks sunken; and if
her abundant hair, once her greatest glory, was
still well groomed, with a simple chignon
unadorned with pins and combs, it was not out of
coquetry but habit.”

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 Sisa is thought to have represented the
motherland who was suffering as her character
have suffered with the loss of her children. The
tragic events that ruined her life represented the
abuse that the motherland received from her
colonizers.

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Sisa is the Philippines. Her features are beautiful,
but are made uncomely by later sorrow and
suffering. She represents the motherland, as well
as Rizal’s own mother, and all Filipino woman.

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THE RESPONSE
IN THE NOVELS
THE RESPONSE IN THE NOVELS
The message conveyed by the novels made Rizal famous overnight. There
was a deluge of both favorable and un favorable response to his “eye-
openers”. Rizal’s interpretation of the of the political and social malaise
caused the popular feeling of animosity towards the Spaniards. The
idealism and fortitude of Ibarra and Elias, the Maria Clara type of beauty,
the design - all these features were acclaimed by his readers.

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 Their ambivalent message seemed to incite
revolution while serving as a grave warning.

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 In the Philippines, the Spanish friars reacted to the
novels with maddening anger and alarm. The
committee of Dominican Priest from the University of
Santo Tomas which the Archbishop assigned to pass
judgement on the Noli found it to be heretical,
scandalous and subversive. Father Jose Rodriguez,
prior of Guadalupe, wrote a pamphlet attacking the
Noli.

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 In the Philippines, the effect of the novels on the
masses was enthusiastic.
Thomas Arejola said that the moral influence to them
is indisputable. The tact and persuasiveness of a
Rizal in necessary in order to do for the common
welfare of their motherland should conform with
their desires.

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The few copies of the novels that cleared the customs
and reached the bookstores were sold out. The copies
changed hand rapidly, passing around in less than a
month from first hand to third hand at more than
twice the original sales price. Even the illiterate
natives were not spared the excitement the novels
generated.

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 For the first time, the Filipinos were seeing
themselves and their problems in a truthful
awareness. The people’s perception grasped the
message of patriotic nationalism that was to become
inspiration for a future blessed with freedom and
happiness.

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 The ban against the book only served to arouse
curiosity rather than discourage their clandestine
circulation.

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Thanks!

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