NOLI ME TANGERE

Greatly influenced by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Rizal wanted to publish a book that would play a crucial role in the political history of the country. He planned on revealing the kind of society that the Philippines had under the Spanish colonial rule. Thus, a meeting of Filipinos was held at the Paterno residence in January 1884 wherein Rizal suggested the creation of the book. At first, Rizal’s companions (Pedro Paterno, Maximino Paterno, Antonio Paterno,Graciano Lopez Jaena, Valentin Ventura, Eduardo de Lete, Evaristo Aguirre and Julio Llorente) unanimously approved that they would all contribute papers on the various facets of life in the Philippines for the proposed novel. However, in a letter dated January 2, 1884, Rizal explained that this plan did not materialize. There were objections that the gentlemen refused to discuss any further and he noticed comrades were more interested in writing about women instead. They also preferred to spend time gambling or flirting with Spanish women. Suspecting that he cannot count on the support of his companions, Rizal decided to write the novel in Madrid alone towards the latter part of the same year and finished about half of it in the city. When he left For France in 1885, he had written 3/4 of the novel in Paris and from April to June 1886, he had penned the last few chapters of Noli. It was completed in Berlin, Germany at the end of 1886 and at the onset of 1887, the final draft was ready for publication. Of course, it was not a walk in the park for Rizal. While he was conscientiously finishing the final draft of the Noli, he had apprehensions that it might not be published. For one, he had insufficient money to have it printed. Obviously, he would not ask his companions in Europe for financial help — after all, he did not get the support that he needed from them in writing the Noli. Fortunately, Rizal’s friend from a rich family of San Miguel, Bulacan arrived in Berlin to invite him on a Europe Tour. Dr. Maximo Viola wanted Rizal to accompany him on his tour but upon learning Rizal’s dilemma, he was kind enough to delay the tour and insisted on lending Rizal P300 to publish the Noli. Rizal even made some adjustments in the novel to save on the printing costs and deleted Chapter 25 entitled “Elias and Salome”. The money that Viola lent to Rizal was then used to print the first 2,000 copies of the Noli. Some attests say that the novel was officially off the press on March 29, 1887 but there were also accounts that showed that Rizal was already sending a copy of the novel to Blumentritt on March 21. Because of Viola’s generosity, he was dubbed in the Philippine history as the “Savior of the Noli”. Rizal then gave him, not only the gallery of proofs of the novel rolled around the pen used in writing the Noli, but also the very first copy of the novel with Rizal’s dedication which described Viola as the “first to read and appreciate [Rizal’s] work.

THE NOVEL’S DESCRIPTION

Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere was written in Spanish and published in 1887. Basing it from experience, the conventions of the 19th century novel and the ideals of European liberalism, Rizal was able to expose the real-life scenario under the Spanish colonial rule — the abuses and inequalities of many Spanish Catholic friars and government officials during his time. With 63 chapters and an epilogue, Rizal was only 26 years old when the Noli was published. He was studying medicine that time at the Universidad Central de Madrid. The Noli was dedicated to the country whose miseries and sorrows were brought to light in an attempt to awaken its people to the truths concerning the ills of the society during that time. Noli Me Tangere, which means “touch me not” in Latin is the first in a trilogy about the history of the Philippines, which is followed by El Filibusterismo and ends with Makamisa, though it was never finished. “Noli me tangere” is a known Latin phrase that has a biblical connection meaning, “touch me not.” This phrase was spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after he was resurrected, and was in fact recorded in John 20:17: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father.”

NOLI IN BRIEF

Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere was written in Spanish and published in 1887. Basing it from experience, the conventions of the 19th century novel and the ideals of European liberalism, Rizal was able to expose the real-life scenario under the Spanish colonial rule — the abuses and inequalities of many Spanish Catholic friars and government officials during his time. With 63 chapters and an epilogue, Rizal was only 26 years old when the Noli was published. He was studying medicine that time at the Universidad Central de Madrid. The Noli was dedicated to the country whose miseries and sorrows were brought to light in an attempt to awaken its people to the truths concerning the ills of the society during that time. Noli Me Tangere, which means “touch me not” in Latin is the first in a trilogy about the history of the Philippines, which is followed by El Filibusterismo and ends with Makamisa, though it was never finished. “Noli me tangere” is a known Latin phrase that has a biblical connection meaning, “touch me not.” This phrase was spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after he was resurrected, and was in fact recorded in John 20:17: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father.”

The main character of the Noli Me Tangere, the young and wealthy Filipino Crisostomo Ibarra returned to his country after some years of studying in Europe. In his honor, Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) threw a party at his house in Manila. The gathering was attended by renowned local personalities like Padre Damaso, a fat Franciscan priest who had been assigned for many years in Ibarra’s native town (San Diego); Fray Sybila, the young Dominican curate of Binondo; Lieutenant Guevarra of the Guardia Civil; and Doña Victorina, wife of a fake Spanish physician Tiburcio de Espadaña. Crisosto-mo’s father, Don Rafael Ibarra, was Capitan Tiago’s friend. Capitan Tiago’s sup-posed daughter, Maria Clara, was Crisostomo’s fiancée. During the party, Padre Damaso belittled Ibarra and rudely tried to harm his reputation. But the gentleman Ibarra simply ignored the friar’s affront. When Ibarra left Capitan Tiago’s house, Lieutenant Guevara talked to him and related the miserable fate of his deceased father in San Diego. Guevara explained that Don Rafael was unfairly accused by San Diego curate of being a heretic and filibuster because of his non-participation in mass and confession. One day, Don Rafael saw a Spanish tax collector and a weak boy fighting. In an attempt to defend the powerless boy, he had accidentally pushed and killed the brutal Spaniard. Don Rafael was thus imprisoned and died in his cell miserably. Initially buried in consecrated ground, his body was removed from the Catholic cemetery under the order of his enemies. The next day, Crisostomo visited his sweetheart, Maria Clara. After the lovely visit to his girlfriend, Ibarra went to San Diego to look for his father’s grave. He had known through the grave-digger that his father’s corpse was dug up by order of the curate to be transferred in the Chinese cemetery. But since it was raining and the corpse was heavy, the grave-digger just threw Don Rafael’s corpse into the river. Angered by what he learned, Ibarra suddenly attacked Padre Salvi when he saw this San Diego parish priest. But Salvi explained to him that it was Damaso who was the town’s parish priest at the time of Don Rafael’s death. When Maria Clara and her family arrived in San Diego, Ibarra gave picnic at the lake. During the picnic, Ibarra had saved the life of Elias—the boatman who was almost killed by a crocodile trapped in the fish cage. Later in the picnic, some members of the Guardia Civil also came, pursuing Elias who had previously assaulted Padre Damaso and the alferez. But Elias had escaped even before the Guardia Civil arrived. Later on, Ibarra received a notice that his donation of a school in San Diego had been approved by the Spanish government. On the day of San Diego town fiesta, Ibarra and Maria Clara attended the morning mass officiated by Padre Salvi and Padre Damaso. During the mass, Elias silently went near Ibarra and notified him of the plot to kill him on the ceremony of the laying of the school’s cornerstone. So during the inauguration, when Ibarra was about to cement the foundation of the schoolhouse, the platform collapsed. Fortunately, the quick Elias had rescued Ibarra and the man who was paid to harm Ibarra was the one killed in the incident. Ibarra hosted a banquet later that day. Padre Damaso who attended the feast publicly attacked the dignity of Ibarra’s dead father. The angered host lunged at the ill-mannered friar and had almost killed Damaso with a knife were it not for Maria Clara who interfered just in time. Ibarra was consequently excommunicated and his engagement with Maria Clara was broken as Damaso persuaded Capitan Tiago to prohibit the lady to marry Ibarra. One day, Ibarra’s enemies engineered a helpless attack on the station of the Guardia Civil, making the attackers believe that Ibarra was the brain of the uprising. After the attack failed, Ibarra was incriminated and arrested. Elias helped Ibarra escape from prison. Before leaving, they discreetly stopped at Capitan Tiago’s house. Maria Clara explained that she was blackmailed by Padre Salvi to surrender Ibarra’s letter (which was used to incriminate him) in exchange for the letters written by her dead mother. From these, she learned that her real father was Padre Damaso. Ibarra and Elias then took off by boat. Instructing Ibarra to lie down, Elias covered him with grass to conceal his presence. As luck would have it, they were spotted by their enemies. Elias, thinking he could outsmart them, jumped into the water. The guards rained shots on him, all the while not knowing that they were aiming at the wrong man. Badly injured, Elias reached the forest where he found the altar boy Basilio who was sobbing over the body of his dead mother, Sisa. His mother had previously lost her mind upon learning that her two sons, altar boys Crispin and Basilio, were missing from the convent. Falsely accused of stealing from the convent, Crispin had been tortured and killed by the wicked and crooked sacristan mayor. Basilio had escaped and the death of his brother had been covered-up by Salvi. Knowing that he would eventually die, Elias instructed Basilio to make a funeral pyre and burn his and Sisa’s bodies to ashes. In his dying breath, Elias mumbled the following hopeful patriotic words:“I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland. You, who shall see it, salute it! Do not forget those who have fallen during the night.” The novel’s epilogue narrates that Capitan Tiago became addicted to opium. Padre Damaso was assigned to a far province and was found dead in his bedroom one morning. The sorrowful Maria Clara, believing that Ibarra had been shot dead in the river, entered the nunnery. Padre Salvi left the San Diego parish and became a chaplain of the nunnery. Some infer that Salvi, who had been portrayed as having a hidden desire for Maria Clara, regularly molested her in the nunnery. Consequently, a pretty crazy woman was seen one rainy night at the top of the convent bitterly weeping and cursing the heavens for the fate it has bestowed upon her. The woman was not named but it was assumed that she was none less than Maria Clara.

THE CHARACTERS OF NOLI

Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra)

A wealthy young mestizo who has just returned to the Philippines after seven years of studying in Europe, Ibarra is sophisticated, highly esteemed, and very idealistic. The priests of San Diego all view him with great wariness on account of his highly liberal education and connections. He is shocked upon learning of his beloved father’s demise. His father, the equally idealistic Don Rafael, was labeled a subversive and a heretic by the corrupt priesthood and incarcerated, ultimately leading to his death. He seeks to fulfill his father’s wishes of putting up a school in San Diego---one that will not be influenced by the friars.

María Clara

A woman of high social standing, she is the adoptive daughter of Capitan Tiago and goddaughter to the vile Fr. Damaso. The truth however is that she is actually the biological daughter of Fr. Damaso, the product of a scandalous relationship between the old priest and Capitan Tiago’s wife, Pia Alba. Maria Clara had grown up alongside the younger Ibarra and planned to marry but Fr. Damaso disapproved of the union. Her interfering guardians set her up to be wed to Linares, a wealthy young man of Spanish descent. She keeps mum about her arranged marriage to keep from angering her father, the weak-willed Capitan Tiago. When Ibarra is put on trial for sedition she is coerced into surrendering the letters Ibarra has sent her as evidence of his guilt.

Father Damaso

An old, power-hungry, and shamelessly corrupt Spanish priest who has lived among the native Filipinos for nearly two decades; in spite of having spent all that time among them the years have done nothing to endear him or develop any sympathy for his “flock.” Petty and vindictive, he thinks nothing of using his considerable influence to ruin the lives of those who have slighted him, regardless of how small the offense is. He masterminded the death of Don Rafael Ibarra then brazenly taunted the younger Ibarra, alluding to having a hand in his father’s death. The insult is too much for Crisostomo Ibarra to let slide; he attacks the old friar prompting his excommunication and the dissolution of their would-be wedding.

Elías

A mysterious character, Elias is a man on the run from the law---a wandering insurgent---resentful of both the Spanish colonial government and the Catholic Church, he crosses paths with the more temperate Crisostomo Ibarra when he bravely saves his life from a marauding crocodile. He pledges his life to the young man, promising to protect him from his manifold enemies. He takes on the identity of a laborer to gather intelligence for his new friend, uncovering a plot against Sr. Ibarra’s life. He and Ibarra have several long conversations regarding the ethics of politics and governance with Elias taking a more definite revolutionary stand.

Don Rafael Ibarra

Crisostomo Ibarra’s father is posthumously mentioned in the novel. A great supporter of liberal education for all and a vocal critic of the corrupt practices of the Spanish friars, he earns the ire of the vitriolic Fray Damaso who accuses him of sedition and heresy. He dies in prison having contracted pneumonia. His remains are buried in the catholic cemetery in the town of San Diego but the hateful Fr. Damaso hires a gravedigger to disinter his body to have him buried at the Chinese cemetery because of his status as a heretic. The gravedigger, unwilling to make the long journey he instead throws the body into the lake, deciding that it would make a more honorable final resting place than the Chinese cemetery.

Crispin

A young lad studying to be a church caretaker, he together with his brother Basilio, ceaselessly work to send support money for their beleaguered mother, Sisa. Crispín is blamed for stealing money from the church coffers by the head sexton and is kept a virtual prisoner until the debt is paid. On the night that he and his sibling were to visit their mother the head sexton forbids them, keeping them until the curfew, effectively barring the brothers from travelling. Crispín reasons out to the head sexton, it infuriates him and he proceeds to drag the young boy away to beat him. He is never seen again afterwards, and one can assume that he has died at the hands of the cruel head sexton.

Basilio

Eldest of Sisa’ brood, he, like his younger brother are sextons in training. Basilio makes a desperate run for their home the night Crispín is dragged away. He attempts to locate his younger brother the day after but his search efforts come up fruitless. The following day the Civil Guard comes looking for him and his brother. Fearing for his life he makes a mad dash for the forest where he goes into hiding, living with kind family until Christmas Eve where he planned to return to his mother. When he finally locates Sisa, but learns that the poor woman has gone mad from grief and is thusly unable to identify her son. He follows her to the forest where she regains her wits temporarily recognizing her son, and then dies from the shock.

Father Salví

A younger, more cunning Spanish priest who assumes control over Fr. Damaso’s post as friar curate of San Diego; he is in many regards more dangerous that his precursor as he is a more canny strategist who knows how to leverage the multiple dirty little secrets each of the members of San Diego’s high society circle has.

Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)

Capitan Tiago is a rarity in that he is a wealthy native-born Filipino socialite; he keeps close ties with high-ranking members of the Catholic Church, despite actually having no love for them. His primary concern is to marry off his daughter, the lovely Maria Clara, to an affluent man from an influential family. This is one of the main reasons that he is quick to toss aside his loyalties to Crisostomo Ibarra when he is labeled a subversive. His predilection for advantageous social pairings makes him quick to assent to Linares as a potential new match for his daughter.

The Ensign

The nameless head of the Civil Guard of the township of San Diego; a man of Spanish descent he is in a constant bitter feud with Fr. Salví as he has come to hate the sly priest’s manipulations. In retaliation the ensign imposes curfews that make it all but impossible for the citizens of San Diego to attend mass at the proper schedule. A drunkard and a braggart, he is actually a cuckolded man married to a fiery, feisty, and foul-mouthed Filipina, Doña Consolación.

Doña Consolación

The pugnacious wife of The Ensign, Doña Consolación is an older, cantankerous Filipina woman who constantly lectures her husband. Their fights are the stuff of legend and it is an open secret that it is she, not her husband who makes he decisions for the organization. She is described as an exceptionally vulgar woman and exceedingly ugly almost bordering on caricature prompting the less charitable members of the Civil Guard to facetiously call her “The Muse of Civil Guard.” Doña Consolación sees herself to be a person of great standing in society, even if she is the only one who holds this opinion, and even if she is wholly Filipino she feigns inability to speak Tagalog, her native dialect insisting instead on speaking very poor, nearly pidgin Spanish.

Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña

A fraud and a hustler, the Spaniard who calls himself Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña was actually a customs officer who was dismissed from his post shortly after arriving in the Philippines. Despite having no medical experience or money he travels to the countryside to posing as a doctor, charging extortionate fees for his so-called services. His patients eventually catch wind of his schemes and he is forced to relocate to another area where he is all but unknown. He finds his was to San Diego and as luck would have it the unfortunate Maria Clara falls ill and he is once again called to resume his duplicitous medical practice.

La Doctora Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña

A brazen and determined Filipina social climber Doña Victorina is the spouse of the counterfeit doctor, Tiburcio de Espadaña. She well past her prime and relies on garish make-up to carry on a façade of youth. Her tastes in fashion are mercurial as are her patterns of speech, mimicking the speech and manner of dress of members of high society. An accomplished hustler herself it is she that devises that Dr. Tiburcio treat Maria Clara as well as matching her up with his nephew Linares.

Lt. Guevara

A morally upright man of Spanish descent who holds both Crisostomo Ibarra and the late Don Rafael in high esteem, he is also the lieutenant of the Civil Guard. He is one of the few who openly supported the Ibarra’s and was vocal about his dislike of Fray Damaso’s control. He was the one who informed Crisostomo Ibarra of the fate of his father and how Fr. Damaso was involved in his death.

Linares

Dr. de Espadaña’s nephew, a respectable young Spanish man, quite gifted and possesses a law degree; a near polar opposite of his uncle, a matter that endears him to his uncle’s social-climbing wife.

The Schoolmaster

A teacher that Don Rafael housed thus allowing him to suitably attend to the task of instructing students; he informs Crisostomo Ibarra of the sorry state of education of San Diego since the passing of his father. The friars closely watch the material being taught in the school, forbidding him from teaching Spanish, even if there was an edict stating that Spanish must be taught. The Schoolmaster is grateful to the Ibarra family but he expresses no optimism that he’d make headway in getting any lasting educational reforms happen.

Don Filipo (Filipo Lino)

Don Filipo Lino is a representative of the younger, less religiously shackled generation of movers and shakers in San Diego, he also serves as the vice mayor of the town. He despises the idea of spending lavish amounts of money on the numerous feast days that mark the religious calendar seeing it as both wasteful and burdensome to the citizens as it often puts them under great financial stress, may even going under debt just to be able to celebrate. His words however fall on deaf ears as he is only deputy mayor---the Mayor, his commanding officer---is a dedicated follower of the Catholic church and the de facto mouthpiece of the friars.

Sisa

The long-suffering mother of sextons in training Crispin and Basilio, she goes mad upon the loss of her sons. Impoverished and married to a violent drunkard her sons were the only ray of sunshine in her life. She wanders the town, clothes tattered and hair disheveled, calling out for her sons. When she actually does meet Basilio she cannot recognize him but when her wits do return she dies from surprise and sudden joy.

Fr. Sibyla

A priest serving in the Binondo district in the city of Manila, Fr. Sibyla serves as a foil to the otherwise largely corrupt Fray Dámaso and the perverse Fray Salví as he is rational and calm. Fr. Sibyla is an adept and shrewd orator who takes obvious delight in antagonizing the pompous Fr. Dámaso at Ibarra’s return party.

The Gravedigger

A cemetery worker who exhumes Don Rafael’s remains upon the insistence of Fr. Damaso; moved by pity and laziness he dumps Don Rafael’s body in the lake seeing it as a more fitting resting place for such a respected man. Ibarra grills him, anxious for information about his father.

SYMBOLISMS IN THE NOLI

Noli Me Tangere intends to depict the real conditions of the Filipino life under the Spanish rule. Mainly because of the rampant corrupt acts of the Spanish officials and friars, the way of living of the Filipinos during that time had been backward, anti-intellectual and anti-progressive, up to the point that the country was not in any way catching up on the developments of the so-called Age of Enlightenment. As Rizal introduced the novel to his friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, he 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” (Noli Me Tangere, n.d.).

The Schoolhouse

More than just an edifice for learning the schoolhouse has become a symbol of empowerment and freedom. Having received an education abroad, Ibarra does not bow down to the priests and is all but immune to the threat of excommunication.

Crispin and Basilio

These characters represent the opposite end of the spectrum of not having received education. The suffering they are subjected is due largely to their ignorant over dependence on the church. They are open to abuses because they have been conditioned to unquestioningly follow the church leaders.

Tinola and betel nut parcels served at a fancy, formal gathering

Tinola is a thin, rustic soup-like dish made with boiled chicken, ginger, and unripe papayas served in the Philippines--common, everyday fare. Betel Nut parcels are made of pepper leaves, sliced betel nuts, and an acrid paste of lime, typically chewed by rural workers in the Philippines and other countries in South-East Asia. These items are typically associated with rural austerity and bucolic sensibilities that aren't befitting of such a high society gathering. These food items are symbolic of the wide variety of party-goers that have made their way into Crisostomo Ibarra's welcoming party: social climbers and sycophants, hustlers, and the intellectuals of the day all under one roof.

Capitan Tiago

Capitan Tiago is the in-novel embodiment of the Philippine government during the Spanish colonial era. There were native Filipino participating in civil government in those days, however, many of them tended to be mere figureheads, serving more as a mouthpiece for the Spanish Cortés. Capitan Tiago, like the Philippine government, also shares this unflattering characteristics: powerless and silently enduring of the indignities he suffers at the hands of the Catholic priests that eat at his table and rape his wife. Capitan Tiago also represents the rich Filipinos who opted to be allies (as in ‘tuta’) of Spanish officials and friars just to preserve their wealth and political position.

Elias and Ibarra

The two characters Elias and Ibarra symbolize the two contrasting means by which political reforms are to be achieved. Elias, the mysterious insurgent, who represents political reforms achieved through bloody revolution and his polar opposite, Ibarra, who represents political reforms achieved through civil discussions. Through these two characters the ethics of governance are discussed at length and as the novel progresses the circumstances that happen to them continue to shape their political outlook--so much so in fact that by the end of the novel the two have all but traded their political stance on revolution and social reform.

Maria Clara

Maria Clara symbolizes the nation of the Philippines under Spanish rule. She is also the culture caricature and in-novel criticism of the novelist of the typical Filipino woman of the age. Maria Clara is the product of the exploitation of a Spanish priest and the failure of her Filipino father to defend his wife's honor. These conditions parallel the Philippines: like Maria Clara the Philippines is a nation born from the exploitations of the Spanish colonial government and the inability of the Filipino people to defend it's sovereignty. She also embodies everything that the author finds wrong about the typical Filipino woman of the time--timid, no strong convictions, focused solely on domestic and church concerns, and blindly devoted to her parents and guardians. As Ibarra's fiancée, she also stands for the powerless Filipina then. Patterned after Leonor Rivera, Rizal's ‘true love,’ Maria Clara’s character also personifies some ideal Filipina—loving and unwavering in their loyalty to their respective spouses.

Crisostomo Ibarra

He represents the small group of Filipinos who had a chance to study abroad and dreamt of improving the country. Like Jose Rizal, Ibarra wanted education for Filipino children, hence his plan to construct a public school in San Diego.

Father Damaso

This Spanish friar corresponds to wicked but ironically respected priests. His character is a reflection of the then rampant covert fathering of illegitimate children by friars. In the novel, he is revealed to be the biological father of Maria Clara.

Pilosopo Tasio

This character symbolizes those whose ideas were advanced and wise but are perceived by the uneducated as weird or lunatic. that It is said that Tasio’s character was patterned after Paciano, Jose’s intelligent brother who also sought reforms.

Sisa and her sons Crispin and Basilio

They epitomize a Filipino family oppressed by the Spanish authorities. Through Sisa, Rizal illustrated a lack of concern in facing and resolving the problems that confront the Filipino family - this was evident when Sisa lost her mental balance upon learning what happened to her sons. She also symbolizes a typical Filipino mother, fully-aware of her child’s attributes and willing to defend him/her no matter what.

Doña Victorina

She represents some ambitious Filipinas who wanted to be classified as Spanish, hence the putting on of heavy make-up. She despised everything Filipino and imitated what was Spanish — an embodiment of a social climber and colonial mentality.

Don Tiburcio

Doña Victorina’s husband stands for incompetent and unqualified Spaniards who illegally practiced their supposed profession in the Philippines.

Padre Salvi

The curate who secretly harbors lust for Maria Clara, represents the seemingly kind but in fact wicked Spanish friars. Don Rafael Ibarra, Ibarra’s father, epitomizes the rich and at the same time virtuous and generous Filipinos during the Spanish era.

The School Master of San Diego

He symbolized intellectual disappointment during Rizal’s time. He wanted to change the teaching methods so that more people will learn.

Padre Salvi

The curate who secretly harbors lust for Maria Clara, represents the seemingly kind but in fact wicked Spanish friars. Don Rafael Ibarra, Ibarra’s father, epitomizes the rich and at the same time virtuous and generous Filipinos during the Spanish era.

Don Rafael Ibarra

As Ibarra’s father, he symbolized a rich landlord with a social conscience. He was sent to jail after helping a boy from an abusive Spanish tax collector.