Crisostomo Ibarra

Full name Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin, was a young student from San Diego.
Following his father's death, he returned to his hometown and sought to establish a proper
school there, only to face numerous obstacles from the local figures. Implicated in a revolt, he
later fled the town and forged a new identity as the jeweler Simoun.

Maria Clara de los Santos y Alba Maria Clara

Is the daughter of Capitan Tiago. She often wore dainty dresses and religious artifacts (such
as rosaries and a locket that contained a religious relic (agnos) from St Peter's boat believed to
where Jesus rode in thousand years ago). She also carries a silk pouch that holds Ibarra's
farewell letter. She sometimes carries a fan which she uses to hide her face when
embarrassed.

Elias

is a former boatman who became one of the most wanted criminals in San Diego. Due to
several painful life events in his life, he distrusts human judgment and prefers God's justice
instead. He is acquainted with the tulisanes and other crooks, which he uses to his advantage
in discerning the troubles of the town.

Padre Damaso Verdolagas Padre Dámaso

is a Franciscan friar and the former parish curate of San Diego. He is best known as a
notorious character who speaks with harsh words and has been a cruel priest during his stay in
the town. He is the real father of María Clara and an enemy of Crisóstomo's father, Rafael
Ibarra.

Pilosopo Tasio

Patterned after his oldest brother, Paciano Rizal, his full name is only known as Don
Anastasio. The educated inhabitants of San Diego labeled him as Filosofo Tacio (Tacio the
Sage) while others called him Tacio el Loco (Tacio the Insane) due to his exceptional talent
for reasoning.

Other Supporting Characters:

Sisa

The mother of Basilio and Crispin, Sisa, or Narcisa is the typical native wife. She lived a
miserable life which includes an abusive husband named Pedro who is also into cockfighting.
Sisa is thought to have represented the motherland who was suffering as her character has
suffered from the loss of her children.

Basilio

An acolyte tasked to ring the church bells for the Angelus, he faced the dread of losing his
younger brother and the descent of his mother into insanity. At the end of the novel, Elías
wished Basilio to bury him by burning in exchange for a chest that he uses for his education
as revealed in the following novel.
Crispin

He is a sacristan who had been accused of stealing two gold pieces by the senior sacristan.
Crispin represents the innocents who have been wrongly accused of the crime they did not
commit. The injustice they suffered under the hands of the authorities during their time were
silenced by their deaths and the cover-ups that follow it.

Cabesang Tales

A former farmer who was industrious and patient. He experienced struggles in obtaining
ownership of the land he worked hard on. Became driven to irrationality by circumstances
that reveal the roots of agrarian malaise in the country. Tano He is the son of Cabesang Tales.
Conscripted into military service in the Carolinas where he is so alienated and confused by
physical and moral distress that he comes home in a state of shock.

The Undesirables

These are characters that portray the pervading social cancer in the novels of Rizal.

Capitan Tiago

Capitan Tiago was a typical character during the time of Jose Rizal. He is a rich native-born
Filipino who rubbed elbows with the powers that be during that time. He wanted to make sure
that Maria Clara will be married to an affluent man with ample social capital and quickly
abandoned his support to Ibarra when the friars disgraced the latter’s name.

He symbolizes the rich Filipinos who oppress their fellow countrymen in exchange for the
influence and the riches that they might gain from their powerful associationsPerhaps he
always tried to maintain his respectability to compensate for the dishonored self-brought
about by his wife's connection to Damaso.

Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña

Doña Victorina is a character that focuses on her image to look beautiful and socialite yet, in
reality, have a distorted view of her identity and a social climber. She is the classic depiction
of “colonial mentality” which believed that foreign-related things are superior and everything
that connects with indigenous are inferior.

Don Tiburcio de Espadaña

The husband of Doña Victorina, who pretended as a doctor but has no training related to
medicine. Due to his wife’s advice, he targeted well-respected patients and get exorbitant
amounts of money. He is the depiction of the ignorant Spaniard who blindly follows his
superior despite the harm it might cause his victims.

Doña Consolacion

She is an older Filipina woman married to the ensign. Known for her brutality a made many
of the ensign’s decisions. She even encouraged his husband to take action against Father Salvi
to assert his dominance. She oftentimes pretends to forget her native language despite having
a very bad Spanish language capability. Her character portrayed the Filipinos who rejected
their own nationality to make herself more worthy of respect than she actually is.

Father Salvi

He is a cunning man who uses his religious stature for political influence, benefitting both the
church and himself. He often asserts his influence by attacking his enemies’ back. He is the
depiction of the lustful and power-driven people who hide under their religious identity.