Bachelor of Elementary Education

LEARNING MODULE

Module No: 001

Subject Code: GEC-5
Subject Description: Life and Works of Rizal

I. Learning Objectives:

● Understand the entire life of Dr. Jose Rizal and his contributions to society.
● Understand the importance of teaching Life and Works of Rizal in college
curriculum
● Identify the childhood and adulthood and Rizal and its implication today
● Discuss the resistance of filipino against conquerors through filipino heroes.
● Show the importance of education in fighting oppression and abuse of people.
● Understand the Noli Mi Tangere and its implications to Filipinos in fighting
Spaniards
● Enumerate the following learnings taught in El Filibusterismo and its effect on the
mindset of Filipinos in fighting oppression brought by conquerors.

II. Learning Outcomes:

● Enumerate the contributions of Dr. Jose Rizal in the revolution led by Andres Bonifacio
through his novels and articles.
● Explain the reason why Dr. Jose Rizal was chosen as the National Hero of the
Philippines.
● Identifying the qualities of Dr. Jose Rizal contributed in shaping the nationalism in all the
Filipinos in his time leading to the independence of the Philippines.
● Integrate the values and character of a national hero in daily living and in building the
society.
● Disseminate nationalism in every individual being a proud Filipino here in the Philippines
and all over the world.
● Demonstrate the traits and characteristics of a proud Filipino in everyday living.
● Preserve and promote “Filipino historical and cultural heritage “through showing a deep
and principled understanding of how health care processes relate to larger social and
cultural processes

III. Learning Resources:

http://www.joserizal.ph
Gregorio F. Zaide, Jose Rizal Life Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and
National Hero. Quezon City, All Nations Publishing Co., Inc. 2012
Rogelio B. Maguigad, Jose Rizal The First Filipino. CM Recto Manila. Libro Filipino
Enterprises. 2014
Lua, Shirley (August 22, 2011). "Love, Loss and the Noli". The Philippine Inquirer.
Retrieved September 3, 2013.
Dennis Villegas (June 30, 2011). "'Saint' Jose Rizal". Philippine Online Chronicles.
Ocampo, Ambeth. "Was Jose Rizal an American-sponsored Hero?". Reflections of Jose
Rizal. NHCP – National Historical Commission of The Philippines. Retrieved September
3, 2013.
Yoder, Dr. Robert L. "The Life and Works of Dr. José Rizal". Retrieved September 3,
2013.
Aguilar, F.V., Jr. (2016). Romancing Tropicality: Illustrado Portraits of the Climate in the
Late Nineteenth Century. Philippine Studies. 64 (3-4), 417-54

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IV. Task to Complete
● Activities
● Quizzes
● Examination

V. Content Items

Part 1: Life of Dr. Jose Rizal

Lesson 1:Initializing
● Republic Act No. 1425, known as the Rizal Law, mandates all educational institutions in
the Philippines to offer courses about José Rizal.
● The full name of the law is An Act to Include in the Curricula of All Public and Private
Schools, Colleges and Universities Courses On the Life, Works and Writings of Jose Rizal,
Particularly His Novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo,
● Authorizing the Printing and Distribution Thereof, and for Other Purposes.
● The Rizal law, in any case, was emphatically restricted by the Christian church much
appreciated to the anti-clerical subjects that were pertinent in Rizal’s books Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
● Senator Claro M. Recto was the main proponent of the Rizal Bill. He sought to sponsor the
bill at Congress. However, this was met with stiff opposition from the Catholic Church.
● During the 1955 Senate election, the church charged Recto with being a communist and an
anti-Catholic.
● After Recto's election, the Church continued to oppose the bill mandating the reading of
Rizal's novels Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo, claiming it would violate freedom
of conscience and religion.
● Groups such as Catholic Action of the Philippines, the Congregation of the Mission,
the Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Teachers Guild organized opposition to the bill;
they were countered by Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of 1896), Alagad ni Rizal, the
Freemasons, and the Knights of Rizal.
● The Senate Committee on Education sponsored a bill co-written by both José P. Laurel and
Recto, with the only opposition coming from Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Mariano Jesús
Cuenco, and Decoroso Rosales
● Section 2 mandated that the students were to read the novels as they were written in
Spanish, although a provision ordered that the Board of National Education create rules on
how these should be applied.[3] The last two sections were focused on making Rizal's works
accessible to the general public: the second section mandated the schools to have "an
adequate number" of copies in their libraries, while the third ordered the board to publish
the works in major Philippine languages.
● The debate during the enactment of the Rizal Law has been compared to the Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RH Law) debate in
2011.[8] Akbayan representative Kaka Bag-ao, one of the proponents of the RH bill, said,
quoting the Catholic hierarchy, that "More than 50 years ago, they said the Rizal Law
violates the Catholic's right to conscience and religion, interestingly, the same line of
reasoning they use to oppose the RH bill.

Lesson 2:Initializing:

Early Childhood of Rizal

19 June 1861
JOSE RIZAL, the seventh child of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was
born in Calamba, Laguna.

22 June 1861
He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of Calamba by the parish priest Rev.
Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casañas as the sponsor.

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28 September 1862
The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book in which Rizal’s
baptismal records were entered, were burned.

1864
Barely three years old, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother.

1865
When he was four years old, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the
age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real tears for the first
time.

1865 – 1867
During this time his mother taught him how to read and write. His father hired a classmate by the
name of Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the rudiments
of Latin.

At about this time two of his mother’s cousins frequented Calamba. Uncle Manuel Alberto,
seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical development of his young
nephew and taught the latter love for the open air and developed in him a great admiration for the
beauty of nature, while Uncle Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for
education. He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to be swift
as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual pictures of everything."

6 June 1868
With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo to fulfill the vow made by his mother to
take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal
of delivery which nearly caused his mother’s life.

From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who was at the time
studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.

1869
At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem entitled "Sa Aking Mga Kabata." The poem was
written in Tagalog and had its theme "Love of One’s Language."

Siblings of Rizal in order

● SATURNINA RIZAL
● PACIANO RIZAL (serves to be the best friend of Rizal)
● NARCISA RIZAL
● OLYMPIA RIZAL
● LUCIA RIZAL
● MARIA RIZAL
● JOSE RIZAL (Rizal is the 7th among his siblings)
● CONCEPCION RIZAL
● JOSEFA RIZAL
● TRINIDAD RIZAL
● SOLEDAD RIZAL

Lesson 3:Initializing:

Early Education in Calamba and Biñan

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Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical schooling that a son of an
ilustrado family received during his time, characterized by the four R’s- reading, writing,
arithmetic, and religion. Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds
of the pupils by means of the tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip. Despite the
defects of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal was able to acquire the necessary
instruction preparatory for college work in Manila. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a
physical weakling, rose to become an intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the
outmoded and backward system of instruction obtained in the Philippines during the last
decades of Spanish regime.

The Hero’s First Teacher

The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of good character and
fine culture. On her lap, he learned at the age of three the alphabet and the prayers. "My
mother," wrote Rizal in his student memoirs, "taught me how to read and to say haltingly the
humble prayers which I raised fervently to God."

As tutor, Doña Teodora was patient, conscientious, and understanding. It was she who first
discovered that her son had a talent for poetry. Accordingly, she encouraged him to write
poems. To lighten the monotony of memorizing the ABC’s and to stimulate her son’s
imagination, she related many stories.

As Jose grew older, his parents employed private tutors to give him lessons at home. The first
was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas Padua. Later, an old man named Leon
Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s father, became the boy’s tutor. This old teacher lived at
the Rizal home and instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately, he did not live long. He
died five months later.

After Monroy's death, the hero’s parents decided to send their gifted son to a private school in
Biñan.

Jose Goes to Biñan

One Sunday afternoon in June , 1869, Jose, after kissing the hands of his parents and a tearful
parting from his sister, left Calamba for Biñan. He was accompanied by Paciano , who acted as
his second father. The two brothers rode in a carromata, reaching their destination after one and
one-half hours’ drive. They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose was to lodge. It was
almost night when they arrived, and the moon was about to rise.

That same night, Jose, with his cousin named Leandro, went sightseeing in the town. Instead of
enjoying the sights, Jose became depressed because of homesickness. "In the moonlight," he
recounted, "I remembered my home town, my idolized mother, and my solicitous sisters. Ah,
how sweet to me was Calamba, my own town, in spite of the fact that it was not as wealthy as
Biñan."

First Day in Biñan School

The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro
Justiniano Aquino Cruz.

The school was in the house of the teacher, which was a small nipa hut about 30 meters from
the home of Jose’s aunt.

Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil under him before. He
introduced Jose to the teacher, after which he departed to return to Calamba.

Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows: "He was tall, thin, long-necked, with a sharp

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nose and a body slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay shirt, woven by the
skilled hands of the women of Batangas. He knew by heart the grammar of Nebrija and Gainza.
Add to this severity that in my judgement was exaggerated and you have a picture, perhaps
vague, that I have made of him, but I remember only this."

First School BrawlIn the afternoon of his first day in school, when the teacher was having his
siesta, Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully for making fun of him during his
conversation with the teacher in the morning.

Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The latter readily accepted, thinking that he could easily beat
the Calamba boy who was smaller and younger.

The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom, much to the glee of their classmates. Jose,
having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy. For
this feat, he became popular among his classmates.

After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenged him to an
arm-wrestling match. They went to the sidewalk of a house and wrestled with their arms. Jose,
having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head on the sidewalk.

In succeeding days he had other fights with the boys of Biñan. He was not quarrelsome by
nature, but he never ran away from a fight.

Best Student in School

In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin, and
other subjects.

Some of his older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority. They wickedly
squealed to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the school, and even told lies to
discredit him before the teacher’s eyes. Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose.

Early Schooling in Biñan

Jose had a very vivid imagination and a very keen sense of observation. At the age of seven he
traveled with his father for the first time to Manila and then to Antipolo to fulfill the promise of
a pilgrimage made by his mother at the time of his birth. They embarked in a casco, a very
ponderous vessel commonly used in the Philippines. It was the first trip on the lake that Jose
could recollect. As darkness fell he spent the hours by the katig, admiring the grandeur of the
water and the stillness of the night, although he was seized with a superstitious fear when he
saw a water snake entwine itself around the bamboo beams of the katig. With what joy did he
see the sun at the daybreak as its luminous rays shone upon the glistening surface of the wide
lake, producing a brilliant effect! With what joy did he talk to his father, for he had not uttered a
word during the night!

When they proceeded to Antipolo, he experienced the sweetest emotions upon seeing the gay
banks of the Pasig and the towns of Cainta and Taytay. In Antipolo he prayed, kneeling before
the image of the Virgin of Peace and Good Voyage, of whom he would later sing in elegant
verses. Then he saw Manila, the great metropolis , with its Chinese stores and European
bazaars. And visited his elder sister, Saturnina, in Santa Ana, who was a boarding student in
Concordia College.

When he was nine years old, his father sent him to Biñan to continue studying Latin, because
his first teacher had died. His brother Paciano took him to Biñan one Sunday, and Jose bade his
parents and sisters good-bye with tears in his eyes. Oh, how it saddened him to leave for the
first time and live far from his home and his family! But he felt ashamed to cry and had to
conceal his tears and sentiments. "O Shame," he explained, "how many beautiful and pathetic

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scenes the world would witness without thee!"

They arrived at Biñan in the evening. His brother took him to the house of his aunt where he
was to stay, and left him after introducing him to the teacher. At night, in company with his
aunt’s grandson named Leandro, Jose took a walk around the town in the light of the moon. To
him the town looked extensive and rich but sad and ugly.

His teacher in Biñan was a severe disciplinarian. His name was Justiniano Aquino Cruz. "He
was a tall man, lean and long-necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward. He
used to wear a sinamay shirt woven by the deft hands of Batangas women. He knew by memory
the grammar of Nebrija and Gainza. To this add a severity which, in my judgement I have made
of him, which is all I remember."

The boy Jose distinguished himself in class, and succeeded in surpassing many of his older
classmates. Some of these were so wicked that, even without reason, they accused him before
the teacher, for which, in spite of his progress, he received many whippings and strokes from
the ferrule. Rare was the day when he was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or
punished with five or six blows on the open palm. Jose’s reaction to all these punishments was
one of intense resentment in order to learn and thus carry out his father’s will.

Jose spent his leisure hours with Justiniano’s father-in-law, a master painter. From him he took
his first two sons, two nephews, and a grandson. His way of life was methodical and well
regulated. He heard mass at four if there was one that early, or studied his lesson at that hour
and went to mass afterwards. Returning home, he might look in the orchard for a mambolo fruit
to eat, then he took his breakfast, consisting generally of a plate of rice and two dried sardines.

After that he would go to class, from which he was dismissed at ten, then home again. He ate
with his aunt and then began at ten, then home again. He ate with his aunt and then began to
study. At half past two he returned to class and left at five. He might play for a short time with
some cousins before returning home. He studied his lessons, drew for a while, and then prayed
and if there was a moon, his friends would invite him to play in the street in company with other
boys.

Whenever he remembered his town, he thought with tears in his eyes of his beloved father, his
idolized mother, and his solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet was his town even though not so
opulent as Biñan! He grew sad and thoughtful.

While he was studying in Biñan, he returned to his hometown now and then. How long the road
seemed to him going and how short it was coming! When from afar he described the roof of his
house, secret joy filled his breast. How he looked for pretexts to remain longer at home! A day
more seemed to him a day spent in heaven, and how he wept, though silently and secretly, when
he saw the calesa that was a flower that was Biñan! Then everything looked sad; a flower that
he touched, a stone that attracted his attention he gathered, fearful that he might not see it again
upon his return. It was a sad but delicate and quiet pain that possessed him.

Lesson 4: Initializing
Rizal’s Philosophies in Life

Educational Philosophy

Rizal’s concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled
Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He
maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish era was not due to the
Filipinos’ indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the
Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to
the highest seat of glory and to develop the people’s mentality. Since education is the foundation
of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could

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the country be saved from domination.

Rizal’s philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order
to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate
desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him eternal life.

Religious Philosophy

Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic
schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he
should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed
a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled
with the use of Truth and Reason.

Why the change?

It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and
the possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a
zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by
fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside
Christianity, salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a small minority of the
world’s religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic observation of fasting as a sacrifice,
nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals, rosaries and the like in order to
propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the superstitious beliefs
propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot more are
evidence of Rizal’s religious philosophy.

Political Philosophy

In Rizal’s political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage
of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-
government.

He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish
ruler’s method of governing the country which resulted in:

1. the bondage and slavery of the conquered ;

2. the Spanish government’s requirement of forced labor and force military service upon the n
natives;

3. the abuse of power by means of exploitation;

4. the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and

5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of a
national sentiment.

Rizal’s guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the
extension of human rights, the training for self government and the arousing of the spirit of
discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self love.

Ethical Philosophy

The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is the

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science upon which Rizal’s ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was
under Spanish domination during Rizal’s time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral
problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos
had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this
period was one with a lack of freedom, one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an
imposition of foreign religious worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral
confusion among the people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people
not enjoying any individual rights.

To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil,
but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of
appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the
moral problems of the conquered.

To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal:

1. censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and the
ignorance and fanaticism of the natives;

2. counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as
reasonable and just;

3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the couple and
not financial gain;

4. censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and

5. advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed.

Social Philosophy

That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man's experience in
society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles involved in nation
building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers
the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the
people’s social knowledge.

Rizal’s social philosophy dealt with;

1. man in society;
2. influential factors in human life;
3. racial problems;
4. social constant;
5. social justice;
6. social ideal;
7. poverty and wealth;
8. reforms;
9. youth and greatness;
10. history and progress;
11. future Philippines.

The above dealt with man’s evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human
behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his
mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and
inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of man’s conscience; man’s need of practicing
gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to
deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of man’s abilities and possibilities; the

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ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these
combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served
as Rizal’s guide in his continuous effort to take over his beloved Philippines.

Lesson V: Initializing:
Rizal’s Lovelife
1. Segunda Katigbak
Segunda Katigbak was her puppy love. Unfortunately, his first love was engaged to be
married to a town mate- Manuel Luz.
2. Leonor Valenzuela
Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal sent her love notes written in invisible
ink, that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle.
He visited her on the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.
3. Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him
from falling in love with other women during his travels.
Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s relationship with Rizal, who was
then a known filibustero.
She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart.
Leonor, believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented to her to marry the
Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.
4. Consuelo Ortiga
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with him.
He dedicated it to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems.
The Ortiga’s residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell
in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses.
He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because he wanted
to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy his friendship with Eduardo de
Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.
5. O Sei San
O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter, taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known
as su-mie.
She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language.
If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent
woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered
him a lucrative job.
6. Gertrude Beckett
While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the
house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum.
Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters.
She fell in love with Rizal.
Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture.
But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.
Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters.
He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.
7. Nellie Boustead
Rizal, having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies.
While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had
befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead.
Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna.
Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she
was deeply infatuated with Rizal.
In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against
Nellie Boustead.
This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel.
Fortunately, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.

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Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage.
It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and
Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law.
The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.

8. Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris.
In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters.
In time, they fell deeply in love with each other.
Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote to him when he was in Madrid.
9. Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an 18-year old petite
Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken,
the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for
eye treatment.
Rizal was physically attracted to her.
His loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a better
diversion than to fall in love again.
But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and they considered her as a
threat to Rizal’s security.
Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her
responsibility to the blind Taufer.
Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hong Kong in March 1895.
Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila.
Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage.
However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them.
Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his wife
even without the Church blessings.
Josephine later gives birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incident, which might
have shocked or frightened her.

VI. Summary:
Part 1: Biography of Rizal
Lesson 1: The Rizal Law
Lesson 2: Early Childhood of Rizal
Lesson 3: Early Education in Calamba and Biñan
Lesson 4: Philosophies in Life
Lesson 5: Rizal’s Lovelife

IX: References:
http://www.joserizal.ph
Gregorio F. Zaide, Jose Rizal Life Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist and
National Hero. Quezon City, All Nations Publishing Co., Inc. 2012
Rogelio B. Maguigad, Jose Rizal The First Filipino. CM Recto Manila. Libro Filipino Enterprises.
2014
Lua, Shirley (August 22, 2011). "Love, Loss and the Noli". The Philippine Inquirer. Retrieved
September 3, 2013.
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Prepared by Allan Chester P. Acosta