RIZAL AS A FEMINIST

The Women Character in the Noli and

the Women of Malolos

Solano, Frince Mae B.

Selected Women Characters in the
Noli
• MARIA CLARA
- chaste and faithful lover - she remains pure
to her promise of love even after seven years
of separation from her beloved Crisostomo
Ibarra.
- religious and pious - her completeness,
sadness, happiness, hope, faith and
everything are all dedicated to God.
MARIA CLARA
• Beautiful - in heart and in appearance
- "she looks like a virgin" as mentioned by
rizal in his novel.
- her decision to marry Linarez is a heavenly
sacrifice for the good of all at her expense that
even Ibarra admires as he says: "Maria, you
are an angel"
SISA
• An eye opener for all women young and old
especially for those who forget the essence
of being a mother
• A woman and a mother determined to
defend and protect her family at all costs
even if it means death
DOÑA VICTORINA DE LOS REYES DE
ESPADAÑA
• a paragon of colonial mentality
• A character that shows that Filipino women
have the ability to control men if they desire,
women are not lame but individuals with
hidden strength
SALOME
• Chapter X :" Elias and Salome"
• The novel describes her as an "unknown
flower, flower of elusive perfume"
• Dignified in honoring her debt even in
poverty
• Self-reliance is observed the way she lives
and survives on her own
The Heroism of the Women of
Malolos
• December 12, 1888 - the young women of
malolos petitioned the civil government with
conviction and faith to put up a night school
in which they succeeded.
• February 17, 1889 - Marcelo H. Del Pilar sent
a letter to Rizal requesting him to write a
letter to these women,
The Heroism of the Women of
Malolos
• February 22, 1889 - though busy in
annotating Morga's book, Rizal penned this
famous letter.
• He congratulated them for their bravry to
stand and claim their rights as a Filipino.
• A reminder was also included showing the
real duty of a mother.
• Rizal also explicitly stated the possible
influence of a woman to a man as her co-
worker in writing the history of life and
destiny.
• Rizal said with strong tone of conviction,
"People must listen to reason and not only to
those who wear cassock"
• Finally, Rizal gave the Spartan mother as true
example of a woman, who lives and survives
not for herself alone but for the good of all
even if it means death for he own children
and banishment of her own dreams.
The Importance of the Act of the
Women of Malolos
• Courage of the Filipino Women
- no amount of censorship or restrictions
coukd discourage these women to give up
their future aspirations. Their moral
reputation could be put to jeopardy as Dr.
Nicanor Tiongson said, " the friars were also
'scandalized' at the thought of married
women daring to leave their homes after
dark."
• Their Love for Wisdom
- the Filipino women were united in spirit
with Rizal on the belief that one should get
good education to free oneself from the
bondage of slavery and to achieve progress
and self-reliance.
Filipino Women vs. Women of
America and Europe

- the brave young women of Malolos showed

that they could be equal in grace, beauty, and
intellect to any women of the world, either in
America or Europe.
- Filipino women were never submissive,
ignorant , and complaisant but rather active
actors in the society of men.
THE END