Women in Rizal’s Life

Angelica May C. Diaz

BS Architecture v

Rizal 8:30-9:30 MWF P-503

Ma’am Segundo
 TEODORA ALONSO REALONDA

Doña Teodora played an important role in the life of the national hero. She
was said to have suffered the greatest pain during the delivery of her sev-
enth child, the younger of her two sons, Jose. She labored for a long time.
Her pain was later attributed to the fact that Jose’s head was bigger than
normal. Teodora was the first teacher of the hero—teaching him Spanish,
correcting his composed poems, and coaching him in rhetoric. On her lap,
Jose learned the alphabet and Catholic prayers at the age of three, and
had learned to read and write at age 5. At an early age, Rizal thus learned
to read the Spanish family Bible, which he would refer to later in his writ-
ings. Rizal himself remarked that perhaps the education he received since
his earliest infancy was what has shaped his habits. The mother also in-
duced Jose to love the arts, literature, and the classics. Before he was
eight years old, he had written a drama which was performed at a local
festival and for which the municipal captain rewarded him with two pesos.

SEGUNDA KATIGBAK

Jose Rizal was only a young boy of sixteen (16) when he first fell in love,
and it was with Segunda Katigbak, a girl from Lipa, Batangas and two
years his junior. Rizal's sister Olympia was a close friend of Segunda
and a student at La Concordia College, and Rizal went to visit her every
week, during which he came to know Segunda more intimately. Their af-
fection for each other grew deeper with every meeting, one that began
with "love at first sight." Unfortunately, Segunda was already engaged to
be married to her town mate, Manuel Luz, and although Rizal had gotten
hints of the lady's affection for him, he timidly decided to back away and
did not propose.

LEONOR VALENZUELA

When Rizal was a sophomore at the University of Santo Tomas and was
boarding in the house of Dona Concha Leyva in Intramuros he met Le-
onor "Orang" Valenzuela, his next-door neighbor and daughter of Capitan
Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela. She was a tall girl who carried
herself with grace and elegance.
Rizal was always welcome at the Valenzuela home. He eventually court-
ed Leonor by sending her love notes, which he wrote in invisible ink made
from a mixture of water and table salt. He taught Leonor how to read his
letters by heating them over a lamp or a candle to allow the words to sur-
face.
 LEONOR RIVERA

Leonor Rivera was a young lady from Camiling, and a cousin of Jose Ri-
zal. Leonor's father had provided room and board in Casa Tomasina,
Intramuros for Rizal when the youth was still starting his third year at the
university. The young girl was then a student at La Concordia College
where Soledad, Rizal's little sister was also studying.Leonor was "tender
as a budding flower with kindly, wistful eyes." She and Rizal eventually
became engaged. In her letters, she signed her name as "Taimis" in or-
der to hide their intimate relationship from the girl's parents In the au-
tumn of 1890, however, Rizal received a letter from Leonor telling him of
her coming marriage to a man whom her mother chose to be her mate --
an Englishman -- and begged for his forgiveness. This broke Rizal's
heart deeply.

CONSUELO ORTIGA Y REY

In 1882, when Rizal was a student at the Universidad Central de Madrid,

he frequented the home of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey, the former city mayor
of Manila. He lived with his son Rafael and his daughter Consuelo. Rizal,
though he wasn't a handsome man, possessed a great deal of charisma
and was gifted with many talents and a deeply noble character. For this
reason, it is of no surprise that Consuelo, the prettier of Don Pablo's
daughters, was very taken with him. Being lonely and somewhat isolated
in a foreign country, Rizal found comfort in Consuelo's vivacious compa-
ny. He wrote her a poem entitled A La Senorita C.O. y P. (To Miss C.O.y
P.), in which he expressed his great admiration for the lady. Rizal's ro-
mance with Consuelo did not turn into a serious affair; he decided to take
a step back for two reasons: first, he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera
at that time; and second, he was aware of his friend's (Eduardo de Lete)
affection for the girl and he did not want to ruin their friendship over her.

SEIKO USUI (O-SEI-SAN)

When Rizal was in Tokyo he spotted Seiko Usui walking past the legion
gate. He was captured by the lady's regal air and charisma and endeav-
ored to find ways to meet her. Rizal waited by the gate one afternoon and
introduced himself. Rizal and O-Sei-San, as he fondly called her, met al-
most daily. Rizal was then a lonely young physician, disillusioned by his
frustrated romance with Leonor Rivera and burdened by soured hopes for
justice in his country. O-Sei-San provided the beautiful escape that he
deeply needed, and he saw in her the qualities of his ideal woman. Be-
cause of his deep affection for her, Rizal was almost tempted to settle
down in Japan. Rizal, however, had set his sights on other matters. He
decided to leave Japan and forget his romance, which pained him gravely
as attested by an entry in his diary. His 45-day sojourn in Japan was one
of the happiest interludes in his life.
 GERTRUDE BECKET
In May 1888 Rizal visited London for a short time, boarding the house of
the Beckett family. The eldest daughter was Gertrude, a buxom young
lady with blue eyes and brown hair. She fell in love with Rizal. Rizal en-
joyed her company. Eventually their flirtatious friendship drifted towards
a blossoming romance. He affectionately called her "Gettie," and in re-
turn she called him "Pettie." Rizal withdrew before his relationship with
Gettie could become more serious, realizing that he had a greater mis-
sion to fulfill and that in order to accomplish it he could not yield to the
option of marrying her. He suppressed the yearnings of his heart and
decided to leave so that the lady may forget him. Before he did, howev-
er, he finished a number of sculptural works, one of which was a carving
of the heads of the Beckett sisters

SUZANE JACOBY

On January 28, 1890, Rizal left for Brussels, Belgium. He stayed for a
considerable time, paying for room and board. His landladies had a pret-
ty niece named Petite Suzanne Jacoby. She was taken by Rizal's charm
and gallantry, and provided him good company. Rizal could have flirted
with the lady, considering that his beloved Leonor was far away and he
was a lonely man in a strange and foreign land, but he realized he could
not deceive her. Suzanne fell in love with Rizal, and wept when he left for
Madrid in July 1890. She wrote to him in French

NELIE BOUSTEAD
In 1891, Rizal took a vacation in Biarritz in order to find reprieve from his
troubles in Madrid. He was a guest of the Boustead family in their winter
residence, Villa Eliada. Mr. and Mrs. Boustead had two beautiful daugh-
ters, Adelina and Nellie. After having lamented his frustrated romance with
Leonor Rivera on account of the lady's engagement to another man, Rizal
came to develop considerable affection for Nellie. He found her to be in-
telligent, morally upright, and full of life. Rizal wrote to his closest friends
about his intention to marry her. Rizal wooed Nellie who, in turn, returned
his affections. Rizal's marriage proposal failed because Nellie demanded
that he give up his Catholic faith and convert to Protestantism, which was
her religion. Rizal did not like this idea. Second, Nelly's mother did not
approve of Rizal, as she had no desire to entrust her daughter to a man
who was wanting in wealth and persecuted in his own country.
 ADELINA BOUSTEAD

MARGARITA ALMEDA GOMEZ ( Miss L )

(some sources: MARGARITA ALMEDA GOMEZ and some sources:
JACINTA (some sources, VICENTA) YBARDALOZA - From Pakil, La-
guna; after several visits, Jose Rizal stopped pursuing her because of Se-
gunda's sweet memories and his father was against her family.

JACINTA YBARDOLAZA

May 1881, Jose, along with his sisters Saturnina, Maria, and Trinidad and
female friends went on a pilgrimate to Pakil, famous shrine of the Birhen
Maria de los Dolores.boarded a casco (a flat-bottom sailing vessel) from
Calamba to Pakil, Laguna They stayed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ma-
nuel Regalado, parents of Nicolas, Rizal’s friend in ManilaThe company
witnessed the famous turumba, the people dancing in honor of the mirac-
ulous Birhen Maria de los Dolores Rizal was infatuated by Vicenta
Ybardolaza She was skillful in playing the harp at the Regalado home.
 PASTORA NECESARIO CARREON

aka Inday Torak. At Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte where Jose Rizal was exiled. She
was a pastora in Dapitan. Rizal and Necesario was never declared a lover, but they both
admired each other. The romance failed because Necesario was a pastora and she
wants to devote all her love to the church.

JOSEPHINE LEOPOLDINE BRACKEN

Rizal's exile in Dapitan was one of the most lonesome and sorrowful peri-
ods of his life. He missed the company of his friends and family, and the
death of Leonor Rivera on August 28, 1893 left a gaping void in his heart.
Josephine Bracken arrived at the shores of Dapitan accompanying her
blind adoptive father, Mr. George Taufer. No ophthalmologist in Hong
Kong, their home country, could cure the man's blindness and so they
sought the services of the famous Dr. Jose Rizal.
Rizal and Josephine fell in love at first sight. Their romantic interlude
went on for about a month, after which they decided to marry. The priest
of Dapitan, however, refused to conduct the ceremony without consent
from the Bishop of Cebu
When Mr. Taufer heard of his daughter's plan to marry he became so en-
raged at the thought of losing Josephine that he attempted to kill himself
with a razor to his throat. Rizal prevented this tragedy by holding the
man's wrists back. Josephine left with her father on the first available
steamer to Manila in order to avoid more trouble. Since Mr. Taufer's
blindness was venereal in nature, it was incurable.
Mr. Taufer went back to Hong Kong alone, and Josephine stayed in Ma-
nila with Rizal's family. At length, she returned to Dapitan. Since no
priest would marry them, Rizal and Josephine held hands, exchanged
vows, and married themselves before God.
Rizal and Josephine lived together in Dapitan as husband and wife, and
in early 1896 they were expecting a baby. Unfortunately, Josephine had
to go into premature labor after Rizal played a prank and frightened
her. A little boy of eight months was born, who lived for only three
hours. Rizal named him Francisco in honor of his father, and buried the
child in Dapitan.