CHAPTER 18: BIARRITZ VACATION AND ROMANCE WITH NELLY

BOUSTEAD
I. ROMANCE WITH NELLIE BOUSTEAD
a. To seek solace for his disappointments in Madrid, Rizal took a
vacation in the resort city of Biarritz on the fabulous French
Riviera
 Jose was a guest of the rich Boustead Family at its winter
Residence – Villa Eliada
 It was in Biarritz where he had a serious romance with
Nellie and finished the last chapter of his 2 nd novel, El
Filibusterismo
b. Jose proposed marriage to Nellie (rebound love from Leonor)
 Del Pilar:
1. Teased him about changing the “o” in Noli to an “e”
(Noli to Neli)
 Tomas Arejola
2. By marrying her, I fear that instead of happiness, you
would only find bitterness and trouble
 Antonio Luna:
3. Who had previously loved and lost Nelly , encouraged
Rizal to woo and marry Nellie
c. Rizal’s marriage proposal failed for two reasons:
 He refused to give up his catholic faith and be converted
to Protestantism, as Nelly demanded
 Nelly’s mother did not like Rizal as son-in-law
1. Nelly’s mother , like the mother of Leonor Rivera, had
no wish to entrust her daughter’s happiness to a man
who was poor in material things,
2. a physician without a paying clientele,
3. a writer who earned nothing from his pen,
4. and a reformer who was persecuted by the friars and
government officials in his own country
II. EL FILIBUSTERISMO FINISHED IN BIARRITZ
a. Frustrated in romance, Rizal found consolation in writing
b. The eve of his departure from Biarritz to Paris, he finished the
manuscript of El Filibusterismo
III. RETIREMENT FROM THE PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT
a. Owing to the intrigues of his jealous compatriots, Rizal retired
from the Propaganda Movement, or reform crusade
b. He notified the Propaganda authorities in Manila to cancel his
monthly allowance and devote the money to some better cause,
such as the education of a young Filipino student in Europe
IV. RIZAL STOPPED WRITING FOR LA SOLIDARIDAD
a. Simultaneous with his retirement from the Propaganda
Movement, Rizal ceased writing articles for La Solidaridad
b. Del Pilar himself realized the need for Rizal ’s collaboration in both
the Propaganda Movement and in the La Solidaridad newspaper

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  because the enthusiasm for the reform crusade in Spain
was declining
 he wrote to Rizal begging forgiveness for any resentment
and requesting him to resume writing for the La
Solidaridad
c. Jose’s reply to del Pilar:
 Rizal denied any resentment
 Reasons of Rizal:
1. More time to work on his novel
2. He wanted other Filipinos to work also
3. He considered it very important to the party that there
be unity in the work
4. It is better for del Pilar to leave him alone to direct the
policy such as he understands it and Jose doesn ’t want
to meddle with it (they have their own personal ideas)

CHAPTER 19: EL FILIBUSTERISMO PUBLISHED IN GHENT

I. PRIVATIONS IN GHENT
a. Reasons for moving to Ghent
 Cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in Brussels
 To escape from the enticing attraction of Petite Suzanne
II. PRINTING OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO
a. He pawned his jewels in order to pay the down payment and the
early partial payments during the printing of the novel
III. VENTURA, SAVIOR OF FILI
a. Valentine Ventura in Paris learned of Rizal ’s predicament and
immediately sent him the necessary funds
b. With his financial aid, the printing of the Fili was resumed
IV. THE FILI COMES OFF THE PRESS
V. DEDICATED TO GOM-BUR-ZA
VI. SYNOPSIS OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO
a. This novel is a sequel to the Noli
 It has little humor, less idealism, and less romance than
the Noli Me Tangere
 It is more revolutionary, more tragic than the first novel
b. Simoun
 The hero of the novel and is a rich jeweler
1. He was Ibarra of the Noli
 He fled to Cuba where he became rich and befriended
many Spanish officials
2. He returns to the Philippines where he freely moved
around
3. He is a powerful figure not only because he is a rich
jeweler, but also because he is a good friend and
adviser of the governor-general.
 He is secretly cherishing a terrible revenge against the
Spanish authorities
 magnificent obsessions are:

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 a. Rescue Maria Clara from the nunnery of Santa
Clara
b. To foment a revolution against the hated Spanish
Masters
 A man of wealth and mystery, is a very close friend and
confidante of the Spanish-Governor General.
4. Because of his great influence in Malacanang, he was
called the “Brown Cardinal” or the “Black Eminence”
5. By using his wealth and his political influence, he
encourages corruption in the government
a. Promotes the oppression of the masses
b. Hastens the moral degradation of the country so
that the people may become desperate and fight
6. He smuggles arms into the country with the help of a
rich Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who wants very much
to be Chinese consul of Manila
7. His first attempt to begin the armed uprising did not
materialize because at the last hour he hears the sad
news that Maria Clara died in the nunnery
 Simoun perfects his plan to overthrow the government
8. Beautiful lamp was given as wedding gift to Paulita
Gomez and Julio Pelaez
9. Only he and his confidential associate, Basilio, know
that when the wick of his lamp burns lower the
nitroglycerine, will explode, destroying the house
where the wedding feast is going to be held and killing
all the guests, including the governor general, the
friars, and the government officials.
10. Simultaneously, all the government buildings in Manila
will be blown by Simoun’s followers.
c. The story of El Fili begins on board the steamer, Tabo
d. Basilio
 Medical student, whose medical education was financed
by his patron, Capitan Tiago
e. Isagani
 Rejected by Paulita because of his liberal ideas
 Was watching outside the house
 Basilio, his friend, warns him to go away because the
lighted lamp will soon explode
 Realizes that Paulita was in grave danger
1. To save her life, he rushes into the house, seizes the
lighted lamp, and hurls into the river, where it explodes
f. Padre Florentino
 Home refuge of Simoun when he escaped the soldiers
who are in pursuit of him
 The Spanish authorities learns of his presence in the
house

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  Lt. Perez of the Guardia Civil informs the priest by letter
that he would come to arrest Simoun
g. Arrest was eluded by Simoun
 Took a poison
 As he is dying, he confessed to Padre Florentino,
revealing his true identity, his dastardly plan to use his
wealth to avenge himself, and his sinister aim to destroy
his friends and enemies
h. Cabesang Tales
 Dispossessed of his land by the friars like that of Rizal ’s
father.
 In desperation, becomes a bandit chieftain named
Matanglawin
VII. NOLI AND FILI COMPARED
a. Noli
A romantic novel
Work of the heart, a book of feeling
b. Fili
 A political novel
1. Work of the head, a book of the thought
2. Contains bitterness, hatred, pain, violence, and sorrow
 The original intention of Rizal was to make the Fili longer
than the Noli
3. Rizal had to cut the Fili drastically owing to lack of
funds
 Rizal himself considered the Noli as superior to the Fili
VIII. RIZAL’S UNFINISHED THIRD NOVEL
a. Letter to Blumentritt
 A novel in which politics will not find much space in it
 Ethics will play the principal role which deals mainly with
the habits and customs of the Filipinos
 Jose wishes to be there; he wishes to be humorous,
satirical and witty, to laugh and cry
b. While he was bound for Hong Kong:
 He continued writing it but did not finish it
 To be written in Tagalog, intended for Tagalog readers
c. Story:
 Sultan Zaide
1. with his royal family and retainers, was taken prisoner
by the Spaniards during the wars in the Moluccas and
brought to Manila
2. The old sultan, his children, and followers were
promised good treatment, but the Spaniards forgot
their promise and let them die one by one in misery
 Kamandangan
3. The hero of the novel
4. Descendant of Lakandula, last king of Tondo
5. Plotted to regain the lost freedom of his fathers

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  It is said that Rizal was fortunate not to have finished this
novel, because it would have caused greater scandal and
more Spanish vengeance on him.
IX. RIZAL’S OTHER UNFINISHED NOVEL
a. “Makamisa”
b. “Dapitan”
 Wrote it during his exile in Dapitan to depict the town life
and customs
c. A novel in Spanish about the life in Pili, a town in Laguna is also
unfinished
d. Another unfinished novel of Rizal, also without a title, is about
Cristobal, a youthful Filipino student who was returned from
Europe
e. A novel that describes the deplorable conditions of the
Philippines

CHAPTER 20: OPHTHALMIC SURGEON IN HONG KONG

I. FAREWELL TO EUROPE
a. Reasons for leaving Europe
 Life was unbearable in Europe because of his political
differences with M.H. del Pilar and other Filipinos in Spain
 To be near his country
II. RIZAL AND THE GERMAN LADIES
a. The fast running steamer encountered a heavy squall and the
door of the dining room was blown open
 Nobody among the passengers who were busy eating
stood up to close the door
 A lady said to her companions in German: “If this man in
front of us were a gentleman he would close the door
 Upon hearing her remark, Rizal, without saying a word,
rose and closed the door
 He conversed with the German ladies in perfect German,
and the ladies were very much embarrassed
III. FAMILY REUNION IN HONG KONG
a. The Christmas in Hong Kong was one of the happiest Yuletide
Celebrations in Rizal’s life
 He had a happy family reunion
IV. OPHTHALMIC SURGEON IN HONG KONG
a. To earn a living for himself and for himself, Rizal practiced
medicine
b. A Portuguese physician, Dr. Lorenzo Marques, became his friend
and helped him to build a wide clientele
V. BORNEO COLONIZATION PROJECT
a. In the face of the bleak outlook of the Calamba folks under
Governor Valeriano Weyler’s terroristic regime, Rizal conceived
the establishment of a Filipino colony in North Borneo (Sabah)

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  He planned to move the landless Filipino families to that
rich British-owned island and carve out its virgin wildness
a “New Calamba.”
 He went to Sandakan to negotiate with the British
authorities for the establishment of a Filipino colony.
 Bengkoka River in Maradu Bay
1. Was offered by the British Borneo Company
2. His mission was successful
 The British authorities of Borneo were willing to give the
Filipino colonists 100, 000 acres of land, a beautiful
harbor, and a good government for 999 years, free of all
charges.
b. Hidalgo (Rizal’s brother in law)
 Objected to the colonization project
 Why should we go to a foreign land without first
exhausting all means for the welfare of the country which
nurtured us from our cradles?
c. New trends of events in the Philippines gave Rizal a new hope for
realizing his Borneo project.
 Weyler was relieved of his gubernatorial office
 Eulogio Despujol, the new governor, announced to the
Filipino people a fine program of government
1. In the belief that Governor Despujol was sincere in his
beautiful promises of a better government, Rizal sent
him a letter of felicitation and offering his cooperation.
2. The governor-general, violating the simple rule of
Spanish courtesy, did not even acknowledge receipt of
his letter.
3. In his second letter, he requested the governor-general
to permit the landless Filipinos to establish themselves
in Borneo
a. Despujol did not give Rizal the courtesy of a reply
b. Despujol notified the Spanish consul general in
Hong Kong to tell Rizal that he could not approve
the Filipino immigration to Borneo, alleging that
the Philippines lacked laborers and it was not very
patriotic to go off and cultivate foreign soil
VI. WRITINGS IN HONGKONG
a. Rizal wrote “A Visit to Victoria Gaol ”
 An account of his visit to the colonial prison in Hong Kong
 In this article he contrasted the cruel Spanish prison
system with the moderm and more humane British prison
system
b. Constitution of the La Liga Filipina
 Most important writing made in Hong Kong
VII. DECISION TO RETURN TO MANILA
a. Reasons:

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  To confer with Governor Despujol regarding his Borneo
colonization project
 To establish the Liga Filipina in Manila
 To prove that Eduardo de Lete was wrong in attacking him
in Madrid
1. Lete’s attack, which was printed in La Solidaridad,
portrayed Rizal as cowardly, egoistic, opportunistic – a
patriot in words only
2. Protest of Rizal to del Pilar:
a. Why did del Pilar permit Lete to write in the
article?
b. It could harm more the interests of the whole
country
VIII. LAST HONG KONG LETTERS
a. FIRST LETTER: ADDRESSED TO HIS PARENTS AND FRIENDS
 I realized how much suffering I have caused you yet I do
not regret what I have done in pursuit of my duty
 Lived the examples he preached
 A man ought to die for duty and his principles
 To advance the future of the country, and shall willingly
die for it, and even more willingly sacrifice all to secure
justice and peace for you
 I risk life to save so many innocent persons
 There are many persons, filled with hope and ambition,
who perhaps might be happier if I were dead
 Should fate go against me, you will all understand that I
shall die happy in the thought that my death will end all
your troubles.
b. SECOND LETTER: ADDRESSED TO THE FILIPINOS
 I cannot live on seeing so many suffer unjust persecution
on my account
 I prefer death and cheerfully shall relinquish life to free so
many innocent persons from such unjust persecution
 I appreciate the fact that at present the future of our
country gravitates in some degree around me, that at my
death many will feel triumphant; many are wishing for my
fall
 I hold duties of conscience above all else
 I am all my parents have, but our country has many more
sons who can take my place and even do my work better.
 Besides I wish to show those who deny us the boon of
patriotism that we know how to die for duty and
principles
 What matters death, if one dies for what one loves, for
native land and beings held dear?
IX. RIZAL FALLS INTO SPANISH TRAP

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a. After Rizal’s departure from Hong Kong, the Spanish-consul
general, who issued the government guarantee of safety, sent a
cablegram to Governor Despujol that the victim “is in trap. ”
 A secret case was filed in Manila against Rizal and his
followers “for anti-religious and anti-patriotic agitation. ”
b. The deceitful Despujol ordered his secretary, Luis de la Torre, to
find out if Rizal was naturalized as a German citizen, as was
rumored, so that he might take proper action against one “who
had the protection of a strong nation.”