I am partial to Elias, and Rizal may have been too.[1] Here we see a little bit more of him, but really, his story is so fraught with despair and ill luck that if he were a real person today, he’d make some decent money selling his life story to ABS-CBN’s telenovela department.
Chapter 46: The Cockpit
At the cockpit, the brothers Tarsilo and Bruno lose everything on a bad bet. Lucas, who had previously presented himself to them as one of Ibarra’s followers, tempts them with money if they agree to recruit men to join a plot, supposedly orchestrated by Ibarra, to attack the barracks. Lucas also appeals to the brothers’ sense of filial duty to avenge their father who had died as a result of the brutal treatment of the civil guards.
The brothers finally agree to Lucas’ offer so they can bet on Capitan Tiago’s lasak against Capitan Basilio’s bulik[2] in the next fight.
Chapter 47: The Two Señoras
Doña Victorina walks around town in her absurd European clothes and adornments and proceeds to criticize the indios[3] and their way of living. She bristles when no one admires her or pays proper deference to her and her husband beside her.
They pass by the alferez’s house where his wife Doña Consolacion, who is at the window, spits with contempt upon seeing the couple. This enrages Doña Victorina and begins insulting Doña Consolacion, exposing her past as a washerwoman. Doña Consolacion insults her back, taunting her for her lame husband and for being a left over bride. The alferez arrives before his wife is able to use a whip on her adversary, but he is soon drawn into the fray when Doña Victorina insults him. Padre Salvi arrives and breaks them apart.
Doña Victorina and Don Tiburcio rush back to Capitan Tiago’s house where the doña lambastes her lame husband for his inability to defend her honor. She asks Linares instead to challenge the alferez. Doña Victorina tells Capitan Tiago not to allow Linares to marry Maria Clara if he proves himself a coward. The news that Linares is her new intended shocks Maria Clara.
Chapter 48: The Enigma
The Archbishop reverses Ibarra’s excommunication, and he rushes back to see Maria Clara. His eagerness is dampened when, upon arriving at Capitan Tiago’s house, he sees Linares with Maria Clara at the balcony. The two are surprised at his arrival and Ibarra asks pardon for arriving unannounced. He leaves with his head in a whirl and unable to understand his feelings.
Distracted, he inadvertently walks toward the school site where he spots Elias working. Elias asks for a few hours of Ibarra’s time in the evening for a chat.
Chapter 49: The Voice of the Hunted
In a banca[4] on the lake, Elias, in the hopes of soliciting Ibarra’s help, tells Ibarra that the oppressed yearn for radical reforms in the armed forces, the priesthood and in the administration of justice, particularly the reduction of privileges of the abusive civil guards. The two debate over these points.
Regarding the civil guards, Ibarra acknowledges its imperfections but maintains that it is necessary especially for the security of towns and the deterrence of crime. Elias argues that the civil guards spread terror in the abuse of their powers, brutally maltreating citizens on the slightest pretext, and are ineffective in preventing crime because those who have been accused become outlaws and are given no opportunity to repent.
Regarding the religious orders, Elias believes them to be oppressors, but Ibarra maintains that the Philippines owes these orders for bringing the true faith. Elias contends that the priests’ monetization of faith by capitalizing on superstition and outward displays of piety do not constitute the faith.
Ibarra, wishing to understand Elias’ thinking and motives, asks him to tell his story.
Chapter 50: Elias’ Story
Elias narrates that his grandfather was falsely accused of arson for which he was whipped. To fend for the family, his wife became a prostitute. He eventually hid his wife and two sons in the mountains, but unable to endure, he hanged himself.
The elder son became an outlaw and was killed, and the shock of seeing her son’s decapitated head killed Elias’ grandmother. The younger son fled to another province where he fell in love with a rich man’s daughter. His past was eventually unearthed for which he was thrown into prison despite his sweetheart already being pregnant with twins, Elias and his sister. The twins were raised by their grandfather.
Elias later learned of his family’s past and that an old servant was actually his father, secretly allowed to work as hired help after his time in prison. Elias and his sister gave up their fortune and his heartbroken sister was later found dead.
Despite Elias’ story, Ibarra refuses to abandon his previous stance, declining to lead the people to forcefully demand what they want from the government. He believes in waiting, education and progressive advancement. Elias believes Ibarra does not see the awakening of the people and the impending struggle.
Notes and References:
1. According to Jose Alejandrino, Rizal’s roommate in Germany, Rizal thought, “…Elias… was a noble character, patriotic, self-denying and disinterested – necessary qualities in a man who leads a revolution – whereas Crisostomo Ibarra was an egoist who only decided to provoke the rebellion when he was hurt in his interests, his person, his loves and all the other things he held sacred. With men like him, success cannot be expected in their undertakings.” Floro Quibuyen, Philippine Studies vol. 45, no. 2: Rizal and the Revolution, (Quezon: Ateneo de Manila University, 1997), 6.
2. These are fighting cocks. The lasak has red feathers with some white and black. The bulik has white feathers with some black.
3. What the Spaniards call the native inhabitants of the Philippines.
4. A small boat that looks like a canoe with outriggers.
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