Rizal's Maria Clara

Question 1

Model of womanhood in 20th century of the Philippines
Woman pulled by modernism or the hand and still pulled by traditionalism on the other
According to Salvador Lopez, her name was “spoken now in reverent whispers, now in a gush of romantic idealism. She has been celebrated in song and oratory as the paragon of Filipino womanhood.

Answer 1

Paragon of Maria Clara

Question 2

Lopez pointed out the following considerations:
1. Maria Clara was a daughter of a Spanish priest.
2. She was a mestiza.
3. She was an illegitimate child.
4. In an age where woman was compelled to be in the background, Maria Clara’s modesty and loyalty were not virtues, she was but merely compelled to be modest and loyal.
5. While Maria Clara had some beautiful romantic moments with Ibarra, she also had some questionable moments with another priest.

Answer 2

Caricature of Maria Clara

Question 3

A very weak to be a model for the Filipino womanhood
Her loyalty vanquished in spirit
Her modesty of mind
Lopez – Rizal did not intended Maria Clara as a model of the Filipino womanhood

Answer 3

Contradictions of Maria Clara

Question 4

Comparisons of Maria Clara

Answer 4

Same feebleness, the same helplessness, the same fear – none of the qualities that were possessed by PRINCESS URDUJA, TANDANG SORA, TEODORA ALONZO