The celibacy of friars was an object of suspicion. Father Damaso was very concerned with the decisions, marriage, and sudden sickness of Maria Clara, to the wonder of the maiden.
At the procession during San Diego’s fiesta, a woman with Filipino features was watching with her Hispanic-looking infant. When Father Salvi was passing them, the infant stretched his hands, joyously calling out “Papa, papa” after him amid the brief silence and malicious winks. The baby cried when his mother held tightly his mouth and brought him away.
When Maria Clara decided to enter the nunnery after learning Ibarra’s assumed death, Father Damaso fought against it because of the life and mystery hiding within the cloister walls.
That of Sisa was a very sad story. She was a mother who was “frail of disposition and had more heart than brain.” Her god was her gambling husband, who began maltreating her after draining her jewelry and, like all false gods, became more ruthless each passing day.
Her two young sons were her angels. One night, Basilio was grazed on the forehead by a bullet from civil guards. His brother Crispin, accused of stealing, was beaten to death by the priest and head sexton in the convent. Because of those incidents, Sisa lose her sanity.
At the novel’s end, Basilio found and ran after his mad mother, telling her that it was he, Basilio, her son. He caught up with her and lost his senses in her bosom. All of a sudden, there was a spark in her brain: she recovered her former self and let a loose cry after recognizing him. Later, the boy woke up to find his poor mother no longer breathing.
These characters are genuine and unforgettable. They depict real people and those real people’s virtues, defects, hopes, or failures in noble, correct, admirable, good, or not-so-good angles. They provoke warmth, excitement, laughter, suspicions, and criticisms, making readers to not forget but rather imitate them for pure fun, or utilize them while criticizing the errors in the government and society. They possess the flesh, blood, and savagism of enduring literature. They are the ones that have made the Noli a great literary work.
The greatness of the Noli Me Tangere created the greatness of Rizal. Rizal’s greatness was further heightened by El Filibusterismo and was rendered immortal and unequalled by his martyrdom on December 30, 1896.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A native of Catarman, Northern Samar, now living in Metro Manila. He graduated with an AB History degree from a college in Makati City. He writes in Filipino and English, and since 2000 has been publishing short stories, historical fiction for children, and essays in Liwayway, Junior Inquirer, Philippine Panorama, and The Modern Teacher.
About Jon E. Royeca
WALANG HERMANA TERCERO!