Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere: Her Fate and Symbolism
Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere is shielded by mysteries and controversies. There are debates on what really happened to her, especially that Jose Rizal did not clearly write about her fate. What really happened to her at the end? What does she symbolize in the society then?
Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere
Comprising 63 Chapters and an epilogue, Jose Rizal’s first novel ‘Noli Me Tangere’ exposes the abuses and inequities of many Spanish Catholic friars and government officials during his time.
Jose Rizal fittingly dedicated the novel to the country of his people whose miseries and sorrows he brought to light in an attempt to awaken them to the truths concerning the ills of their society. Paradoxically though, the novel was originally written in Spanish, the language of the colonizers and the educated at that time.
Published in early 1887 in Europe, the novel is now commonly called by its shortened name ‘Noli’; its English translation is usually titled ‘Touch Me not’ and ‘The Social Cancer’. The Latin title which means ‘Touch me not’ was taken from Christ’s words.
In a letter to Felix Hidalgo, Rizal however made a mistake in attributing the quotation to the Gospel of Luke, for it was in fact recorded in John 20:17: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” (More about the historicity, etc . of Noli Me Tangere here: The Noli Me Tangere)
Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere
Maria Clara is the fiancée of Crisostomo Ibarra, the main character of the Noli Me Tangere. Crisostomo’s (late) father, Don Rafael Ibarra, was a friend of Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos), Maria Clara’s supposed father.
Let us outline the events in the Noli Me Tangere in which Maria Clara has a role:
Ibarra hosted a banquet one day. Padre Damaso (a fat Franciscan priest who had been assigned for many years in Ibarra’s native town, San Diego) attended the feast. He 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 from marrying 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.
A certain Elias helped Ibarra escape from prison. Before leaving, they discreetly stopped at Capitan Tiago’s house. Maria Clara explained that she was blackmailed by one priest, Padre Salvi, to surrender Ibarra’s letter, which was used to incriminate him (Ibarra).
This is in exchange for the letters written by Maria Clara’s dead mother. From these, she (Maria Clara) learned that her real father was Padre Damaso. For the whole story (synopsis), read: The Synopsis and Spirit of Noli Me Tangere)
Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere epilogue
The epilogue of Noli Me Tangere 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.
What really happened to Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere is explained in its sequel, the second novel of Jose Rizal, the El Filibusterismo. The short synopsis of El Fili is available here: The Synopsis and Theme of Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo
Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere: A Symbolism
Typically a parody, lampoon, and satire of the Filipino society under the administration of the colonizers, the characters in the Noli Me Tangere represent the various kinds of people inhabiting the country at the time.
Crisostomo Ibarra, for instance, 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.
Damaso, on the other hand, 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.
Maria Clara, Ibarra’s fiancée, stands for the powerless Filipina then. She also represents the innocent Filipinos who were produced by Catholic priests’ illicit affairs.
Nonetheless, Maria Clara’s character also personifies some ideal Filipina—loving and unwavering in their loyalty to their respective spouses.
Maria Clara and Adolf Hitler
Do you know that those who suspect that Adolf Hitler is Rizal’s biological son have interesting “history-based” evidence (so they say) for their claim?
And these interestingly include correlating the name of Adolf Hitler’s mother, which is Klara Polzl, and Rizal naming his female lead character in his novels as “Maria Clara”!
This claim and other pertinent arguments I thoroughly discussed in: Why Adolf Hitler is NOT Jose Rizal’s son.
Nevertheless, one of the points I raise there is that common histories state that Maria Clara’s character in Rizal’s novels was patterned after Leonor Rivera, Rizal’s ‘true love,’ not after Klara Polzl. (Related: The Colorful Love Affairs of Dr. Jose Rizal)
*For other topics in Rizal (e.g. Rizal’s girlfriends) and other subjects, search here:
Copyright by 2013 to present by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Related: Jose Rizal’s Essays and Articles
Read Also:
The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family by Jensen DG. Mañebog
Jensen DG. Mañebog, the contributor, is an author of textbooks and professorial lecturer emeritus in the graduate school of a state university in Metro Manila. His unique e-books on Rizal (available online) comprehensively tackle, among others, the respective life of Rizal’s parents, siblings, co-heroes, and girlfriends. (e-mail: [email protected])
Read Also:
The Interesting Tales of the Jose Rizal Family by Jensen DG. Mañebog