Dr. Jose Rizal: Novels, Characters, and Plot Analysis

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key characters, narrative events, and historical symbolism from Jose Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

Juan Crisostomo Ibarra

The wealthy scion from San Diego who studied in Europe for seven years and returned with aspirations to educate his people and build a school.

Don Rafael Ibarra

The father of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra who died in prison following the accidental killing of a Spanish tax-collector and was denied a Christian burial.

Padre Damaso Verdolagas

The former parish priest of San Diego with a rough, dogmatic voice who denied Don Rafael a Christian burial, fathered Maria Clara, and fiercely opposed Ibarra.

Padre Bernardo Salvi

The young, sickly, and taciturn Franciscan who replaced Father Damaso as parish priest of San Diego, harbored a lustful fixation on Maria Clara, and later preached at the chapel of the St. Claire nunnery.

Maria Clara

The fiancée of Ibarra and daughter of Pia Alba who chose to enter the Poor Clares nunnery after being urged by Padre Damaso to marry Alfonso Linares.

Elias

A mysterious, athletic boatman who repeatedly rescued Ibarra from danger in deus ex machina fashion and was used by Rizal to voice perspectives on the revolution.

Tasio (Don Anastacio)

A former philosophy student known as 'the scholar' and Ibarra's true sympathizer who abandoned his career in obedience to his mother and futilely attempted to testify to Ibarra's innocence.

Capitan Tiago

A wealthy Binondo and Pampanga landowner who aped European manners, sought favor with Spanish authorities, and succumbed to an opium addiction that caused his death in El Filibusterismo.

Doña Victorina de Espadaña

A pretentious Filipina social climber who attempted to pass as Spanish, spoke Spanish poorly, and was married to Don Tiburcio.

Don Tiburcio de Espadaña

A Spanish quack doctor who posed as a medical practitioner and attempted to treat Maria Clara's illness.

Alfonso Linares

The young Spaniard whom Father Damaso arranged and urged Maria Clara to marry following Ibarra's imprisonment and reported death.

Simoun

The alter ego assumed by Juan Crisostomo Ibarra 13 years after his exile, returning as an influential, tinted-glass-wearing jeweler known as the 'Brown Cardinal' or 'His Black Eminence' to foment a revolution.

Basilio

The son of the demented Sisa who discovered Simoun's identity at his mother's grave on Christmas Day and was sworn to secrecy.

Isagani

A young poet who foiled Simoun's second insurrection by snatching the explosive lamp from the wedding feast to save his former lover, Paulita Gomez.

Paulita Gomez

The former lover of Isagani who married Juanito Pelaez and whose wedding banquet was chosen as the target for Simoun's explosive lamp.

Padre Florentino

The secular Filipino priest in whose coastal retreat the wounded and hunted Simoun sought refuge before taking poison to avoid capture.

Banca

The small boat used by Elias to help Juan Crisostomo Ibarra escape imprisonment to safety along the river.

Tabo

The sluggish, dingy steamer navigating the Pasig River that serves as Rizal's metaphor for the decadence and racial stratification of 19th-century Philippine society.

Upper Deck (Bapor Tabo)

The elevated passenger area of the steamer Tabo reserved for European-dressed travelers, Spanish friars, and colonial officials whose privileges and abuses Rizal critiqued.

Lower Deck (Bapor Tabo)

The crowded lower hold of the steamer Tabo occupied by brown-skinned natives, Chinese, and mestizos.

Sunflower (Noli Me Tangere)

A botanical symbol representing Filipinos who became enlightened after reading Noli Me Tangere.

Elias and Salome

The deleted chapter from the original printed manuscript of Noli Me Tangere.

Leonor Rivera

Jose Rizal's real-life cousin and sweetheart who served as the living model and inspiration for Maria Clara.

Narcisa Rizal

Jose Rizal's elder sister who served as the real-life inspiration for the character of Sisa.

Poor Clares (Real Monasterio de Santa Clara)

The cloistered nunnery entered by Maria Clara to dedicate her life to religious seclusion after refusing to marry Alfonso Linares.