CHAPTER 17:RIZAL IN BRUSSELS (1890)
• January 28, 1890
Rizal left Paris for Brussels, capital of Belgium for two reasons:
1.The cost of living in Paris was very high because of the
international exposition
2. The gay social life of the city hampered his literary works
especially the writing of his second novel El Filibusterismo.
• LIFE IN BRUSSELS In Brussels:
– Rizal was busy writing his second novel which was a continuation of
Noli. He was never idle even for an hour
– Aside from writing its chapter he wrote articles for La Solidaridad and
letters to his family and friends
– Being a physician, he spent part of his time in the medical clinic
– For recreation, he had gymnastics at the gymnasium at target practice
and fencing at the armory.
• RIZAL’S ARTICLES IN LA SOLADARIDAD
He used two pen names Dimasalang and Laonglaan.
• RIZAL’S ARTICLES IN LA SOLIDARIDAD:
La Verdad Para Todos (The Truth for All)
VerdadesNuevas (New Truths)
UnaProfanacion (A Profanation)
Diferencias (Differences)
Filipinas dentro de ClenAños (The Philippines A Century Hence)
Ingratitudes
Sin Nombre (Without Name)
Sobre la Nueva Ortografia de la LenguaTagala (On the New Ortography of
the tagalog Language)
Cosas de Filipinas (Things about the Philippines)
Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos (On the Indolence of the Filipinos)
New Orthography of the Tagalog Language
JPR advocate the Filipinization of Filipino
language:
Example: k-c
salacot- salakot
w-o arao-araw
September of 1886
- adopted the Filipinized Tagalog orthography in his:
1. Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell
2. Andersen’s Fairy Tales
3. Noli Me Tangere
•
RIZAL CRITICIZES MADRID FILIPINOS FOR GAMBLING In
Brussels, Rizal received news from Juan Luna, and Valentin
Ventura that the Filipino in Spain were destroying the good name of
their nation by gambling too much. These two compatriots in Paris
urged him to do something about it. Accordingly, Rizal wrote too
M.H Del Pilar on May28, 1890 to remind the Filipinos in Madrid that
they did not come to Europe to gamble, but to work for their father
land’s freedom. The gambling Filipinos in Madrid were angry when
the learned of Rizal’s moralizing. Thereafter, they called Rizal
“Papa” (Pope) instead of “Pepe”.
• BAD NEWS FROM HOME :Letters
- The Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse.
- Tenants, including the Rizal family, were persecuted and ejected
from their lands
The sad news from home depressed Rizal. His heart bled to know
the sorrowful plight of his parents, brother and brothers-in-law.
• PRESENTATION OF DEATH:
In his moment of despair, Rizal had bad dreams during the
nights in Brussels when he was restless because he was
always thinking of his unhappy family in Calamba. Although
he was not superstitious, he feared that he would not live
long. He was not afraid to die, but he wanted to finish his
second novel before he went to his grave.
• PREPARATION TO GO HOME
Rizal decided to go home for:
-He could not stay in Brussels writing a book while his parents, relatives,
and friends in distant Philippines were in despair.
• Oppose with Graciano Lopez Jaena’s plan in going to Cuba.
He said that Graciano should not go to Cuba to die of yellow
fever, instead he ought to go the Philippines to allow himself
to be killed in defense of his ideals.
• ON TO MADRID, INSTEAD OF HOME
A letter from Paciano changed his mind. It was a letter which
related that the loss the case against the Dominicans in
Manila, but they appealed it to the Supreme Court in Spain.
Rizal wrote to M.H. Del Pilar on June 20, 1890, retaining the
latter’s services as lawyer. He was going to Madrid in order to
supervise the handling of the case.
• “TO MY MUSE” (1890)
It was against a background of mental anguish in Brussels,
during those sad days when he was worried by family
disasters, that he wrote his pathetic poem, A Mi. . . This poem
lacks the exquisitry of To The Flowers of Heidelberg and is less
polished than “To the Filipino Youth”, but it is passionate in
feeling.
ROMANCE WITH SUZANNE JACOBY
Two things brought some
measure of cheer to the
despondent Rizal as he was
preparing for his trip to
Madrid:
- The summertime festival of
Belgium
- His romance with Suzanne
She cried when he left
toward the end of July,
1890 for Madrid, stopping
for a few days in Paris.