GEd 103 Module 12: Jose Rizal's Controversies (Part 1)

Dr. José Rizal Protasio Mercado y Alonso Realonda

The complete, official legal name of the Philippine national hero.

Political Protection Surname Shift

The primary reason Jose used the surname "Rizal" rather than Mercado, as the real family last name was heavily targeted and blacklisted by Spanish authorities to protect his identity.

Identity Confusion Surname Shift

The administrative reason for changing names, since Mercado was an exceedingly common surname shared by numerous unrelated households.

Gospel of St. John 20:17

The exact biblical source of the Latin title phrase Noli Me Tangere, mirroring the words spoken by Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection.

Berlin, Germany

The European capital where Noli Me Tangere was first published in 1887.

Ghent, Belgium

The European city where the sequel novel El Filibusterismo was first published in 1891.

Rizal's Detractor Labels

The malicious titles branded against Rizal by colonial state enemies, labeling him a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul, and an evil entity.

Noli Autobiographical Personifications

The main characters within the novel who directly personify aspects of Rizal, most notably Crisostomo Ibarra, Pilosopong Tasyo, and Elias.

The Prophetic Ending of Noli

Elias's final dying words to Basilio that acted as a premonition of Rizal's own execution: "I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland...".

Fili's Flawed Dedication

The historical inaccuracies inside the sequel's dedicatory note where Rizal mistakenly recorded GOMBURZA's individual ages and their exact execution date incorrectly.

Mi Último Adiós Manuscript Metrics

Rizal's final farewell poem consisting of 14 five-line stanzas that were completely unsigned, untitled, and undated on the original manuscript.

Cocinilla

The small alcohol cooking stove (rather than a lamparilla or lamp) where Rizal secretly hid the folded text of his final farewell poem.

Mi Ultimo Pensamiento

The temporary title under which Mariano Ponce first printed the recovered farewell poem in Hong Kong in 1897.

Father Mariano Dacanay

The incarcerated priest in Bilibid jail who officially published the poem under its definitive title "Ultimo Adiós" on September 25, 1898.

La Independencia

The premier periodical publication that featured the definitive title release of "Ultimo Adiós".

The Unreadable Shoe Note

A handwritten note discovered tucked inside Rizal's shoe post-execution whose text was completely unreadable and remains a historical mystery.

The Retraction Declaration

The heavily debated document from December 29, 1896, where Rizal supposedly declared himself a Catholic, retracted his anti-church writings, and abominated Masonry.

La Voz Española & Diario de Manila

The two Manila newspapers that simultaneously published Text 1 of the retraction on the day of Rizal's execution (December 30, 1896).

El Imparcial

The publication that released Text 2 of the retraction on December 31, 1896, featuring the short formula version.

La Juventud

The Barcelona magazine that published Text 3 of the retraction, penned anonymously by Jesuit priest Father Vicente Balaguer on February 14, 1897.

Fr. Manuel Garcia, C.M.

The archdiocesan archivist who discovered the handwritten document (Text 4) in May 1935 after it disappeared for 39 years.

Spelling Metric

The retraction variant discrepancy where the archivist's "original" uses the spelling "mi cualidad" (with a "u") while the Jesuit copies change it to "mi calidad".

Omission Metric

The retraction variant discrepancy where the newspaper and archivist versions retain the word "Catolica" after the first mention of "Iglesias", while the Jesuit copies explicitly omit it.

Textual Addition Metric

The retraction variant discrepancy where the Jesuit copies intentionally insert the word "misma" before the third mention of "Iglesias", while the original lacks it.

Paragraphing Layout

The retraction variant discrepancy where the archivist text starts paragraph 2 immediately at sentence 2, while the Jesuit copies delay it until sentence 5.

Punctuation Count

The retraction variant discrepancy where the archivist text contains a total of only four commas, while the Jesuit copies contain eleven commas.

Witness Logs

The retraction variant discrepancy where the original explicitly lists the witness names, while the Jesuit copies omit them entirely from the text.

Señor Fresno & Señor Moure

The Chief of the Picket and the Adjutant of the Plaza named by Father Balaguer twenty years later as the missing retraction witnesses.

F. Stahl's Observation

The historical note stating that nobody—including the family and newspaper correspondents Don Manuel Alhama and Sr. Santiago Mataix—was permitted to view the handwritten retraction document.

The 1895 Dapitan Precedent

The historical draft form of retraction written by Rizal to canonically marry Josephine Bracken, which he later rushed to reclaim from Fr. Antonio Obach.

Manuela Orlac

The friar's agent and mistress who served as the guide for Josephine Bracken during the 1895 Dapitan marriage arrangements.

Dulce Extranjera

The affectionate title meaning "sweet foreigner" used by Jose Rizal in his poetry to immortalize his common-law wife, Josephine Bracken.

Francisco

Rizal and Josephine's premature son born in early March 1896 who died three hours after birth and was buried under a shady tree near his home.

Marie Curie Sign-Off Maxim

The closing text quote: "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.".