Cyrus Patrick M.

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Letter to the Young Women of Malolos

Jose Rizal’s legacy to Filipino women is embodied in his famous essay entitled, “To the Young Women of
Malolos,” where he addresses all kinds of women – mothers, wives, the unmarried, etc. and expresses
everything that he wishes them to keep in mind.

SUMMARY

“To the Women of Malolos” was originally written in Tagalog. Rizal penned this writing when he was in
London, in response to the request of Marcelo H. del Pilar. The salient points contained in this letter are
as follows:

1. The rejection of the spiritual authority of the friars – not all of the priests in the country that time
embodied the true spirit of Christ and His Church. Most of them were corrupted by worldly desires and
used worldly methods to effect change and force discipline among the people.
2. The defense of private judgment
3. Qualities Filipino mothers need to possess – as evidenced by this portion of his letter, Rizal is
greatly concerned of the welfare of the Filipino children and the homes they grow up in.
4. Duties and responsibilities of Filipino mothers to their children
5. Duties and responsibilities of a wife to her husband – Filipino women are known to be
submissive, tender, and loving. Rizal states in this portion of his letter how Filipino women ought to be as
wives, in order to preserve the identity of the race.
6. Counsel to young women on their choice of a lifetime partner

RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN

Jose Rizal was greatly impressed by the fighting spirit that the young women of Malolos had shown. In
his letter, he expresses great joy and satisfaction over the battle they had fought. In this portion of Rizal’s
letter, it is obvious that his ultimate desire was for women to be offered the same opportunities as those
received by men in terms of education. During those days young girls were not sent to school because of
the universal notion that they would soon only be taken as wives and stay at home with the children.
Rizal, however, emphasizes on freedom of thought and the right to education, which must be granted to
both boys and girls alike.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN

Rizal stipulates a number of important points in this portion of his letter to the young women of Malolos.
The central idea here, however, is that whatever a mother shows to her children is what the children will
become also. If the mother is always kissing the hand of the friars in submission, then her children will
grow up to be sycophants and mindless fools who do nothing but do as they are told, even if the very
nature of the task would violate their rights as individuals.

QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS

Rizal enumerates the qualities Filipino mothers have to possess:

1. Be a noble wife.
2. Rear her children in the service of the state – here Rizal gives reference to the women of Sparta
who embody this quality
3. Set standards of behavior for men around her.

RIZAL’S ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN

Jose Rizal points out to unmarried women that they should not be easily taken by appearances and looks,
because these can be very deceiving. Instead, they should take heed of men’s firmness of character and
lofty ideas. Rizal further adds that there are three things that a young woman must look for a man she
intends to be her husband:
1. A noble and honored name
2. A manly heart
3. A high spirit incapable of being satisfied with engendering slaves.

ANALYSIS

“To the Women of Malolos” centers around five salient points (Zaide &Zaide, 1999):
1. Filipino mothers should teach their children love of God, country and fellowmen.
2. Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like Spartan mothers, to offer their sons in defense
of their country.
3. Filipino women should know how to protect their dignity and honor.
4. Filipino women should educate themselves aside from retaining their good racial values.
5. Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing religious pictures. It is living the real Christian
way with good morals and manners.
In recent times, it seems that these qualities are gradually lost in the way Filipino women
conduct themselves. There are oftentimes moments where mothers forget their roles in rearing
their children because of the overriding idea of having to earn for the family to supplement their
husband’s income. Although there is nothing negative about working hard for the welfare of the
family, there must always be balance in the way people go through life. Failure in the home
cannot be compensated for by any amount of wealth or fame.

The Indolence of the Filipinos

This was published in 5 instalments, from July 15 – September 18, 1890, in

Madrid, Spain (La Solidaridad.)
This is to explain the alleged “laziness” of the Filipinos during the Spanish colonization.
Rizal’s Purposes:
 To serve the country by telling the truth.
 To show how we were discriminated.
 To illustrate how we inherited some of our negative traits from
Spaniards.
 To let us know how we could rise from oppression.
 To show us that we have been deceived.
 To remind us what we were, are, and could be.
Before the Spaniards came, we were active and honest in trading, use our abilities and
resources for our country’s benefits, never corrupt, industrious and passionate,
independent, value nature, and protective and defensive of our territory.
When the Spaniards came, we became gamblers, dependent, powerless, corrupt,
amnesiacs, disloyal to our “identity., and indolent.
Being discontent, having continual wars and tolerance, due to slavery, getting deceits
from the Spaniards, allowing pirates from the south (Mindanao Muslim pirates), and
lacking unity, the Filipinos became indolent.
Two main reasons why the Filipinos are indolent:
 Defects of training
o Limited training at home, school
o Inactivity results from this
o One will move to being a copycat (suited to nature)
o Do what is told to us (e.g., giving gold to church, etc.)
 Lack of national sentiment
o “A man in the Philippines is only an individual; he is
not a member of a nation. He is forbidden the right to
association, and is; therefore, weak and sluggish.”

The summary of the essay:

He defends the Filipinos by saying that they are not indolent by nature because
in fact, even before the arrival of Spaniards, Filipinos have been engaged in economic
activities such as agriculture and trade. Indolence therefore has more deeply rooted
causes such as abuse and discrimination, inaction of the government, rampant
corruption and red tape, wrong doctrines of the church and wrong examples from some
Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipino
values. In the end, Rizal sums up the main causes of indolence to the limited training
and education Filipino natives receive and to the lack of national sentiment and unity
among them. Education and liberty, according to Rizal, would be the cure to Filipino
indolence.
Significance:
You should not judge an individual especially if you do not know the culture of
that person. Remember the importance of having Filipino values and qualities,
regardless of how other nationalities accept us.

The Indolence of the Filipino

I. Summary
 The Indolence of the Filipino was published in La Solidaridad in Madrid in
1890. This was written by Jose Rizal as response to the accusation of
Filipino indolence. Rizal admits that indolence among the Filipino exists,
but there could be numbers of reasons behind it. He traces its causes to
factors such as the climate and social disorders. He defends the Filipinos
by saying that they are by nature not indolent, because in fact, Filipinos
have been engaged in economic activities such as agriculture and trade
even before the arrival of Spaniards. In the end, Rizal summarizes the
main causes of indolence to the limited training and education. Filipino
natives receive and to the lack of national sentiment and unity among
them. According to Rizal, education liberty would be the cure to Fiilpino
indolence.
II. Salient Points
 “Indolence, instead of holding it to be the cause of the backwardness
and the trouble, we regard it as the effect of the trouble and the
backwardness, by fostering the development of a lamentable
predisposition.”
 “Man’s object is not to satisfy tile passions of another man; his object is
to seek happiness for himself and his kind by travelling along the road
of progress and perfection.”
 “Man works for an object. Remove the object and you reduce him to
inaction.”
 “Man is his self-esteem. Take it away from him and he is a corpse, and
who seeks activity in a corpse will encounter only worms.”

The Philippines a Century Hence

“The Philippines a Century Hence” is an essay written by Philippine national hero Jose
Rizal to forecast the future of the country within a hundred years. Rizal felt that it was
time to remind Spain that the circumstances that ushered in the French Revolution
could have a telling effect for her in the Philippines.

This essay, published in La Solidaridad starts by analyzing the various causes of the
miseries suffered by the Filipino people:
1. Spain’s implementation of her military policies – because of such laws, the
Philippine population decreased dramatically. Poverty became more rampant than ever,
and farmlands were left to wither. The family as a unit of society was neglected, and
overall, every aspect of the life of the Filipino was retarded.
2. Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino indigenous culture – when Spain
came with the sword and the cross, it began the gradual destruction of the native
Philippine culture. Because of this, the Filipinos started losing confidence in their past
and their heritage, became doubtful of their present lifestyle, and eventually lost hope in
the future and the preservation of their race.
3. Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers – one of the most
powerful forces that influenced a culture of silence among the natives were the Spanish
friars. Because of the use of force, the Filipinos learned to submit themselves to the will
of the foreigners.

The question then arises as to what had awakened the hearts and opened the minds of
the Filipino people with regards to their plight. Eventually, the natives realized that such
oppression in their society by foreign colonizers must no longer be tolerated.

One question Rizal raises in this essay is whether or not Spain can indeed prevent the
progress of the Philippines:
1. Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant had failed. National consciousness
had still awakened, and great Filipino minds still emerged from the rubble.
2. Keeping he people impoverished also came to no avail. On the contrary, living a
life of eternal destitution had allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in
their way of life. They began to explore other horizons through which they could move
towards progress.
3. Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work
either. The Filipino race was able to survive amidst wars and famine, and became even
more numerous after such catastrophes. To wipe out the nation altogether would
require the sacrifice of thousands of Spanish soldiers, and this is something Spain
would not allow.
Spain, therefore, had no means to stop the progress of the country. What she needs to
do is to change her colonial policies so that they are in keeping with the needs of the
Philippine society and to the rising nationalism of the people.

What Rizal had envisioned in his essay came true. In 1898, the Americans wrestled
with Spain to win the Philippines, and eventually took over the country. Theirs was a
reign of democracy and liberty. Five decades after Rizal’s death, the Philippines gained
her long-awaited independence. This was in fulfillment of what he had written in his
essay: “History does not record in its annals any lasting domination by one people over
another, of different races, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite and divergent
ideas. One of the two had to yield and succumb.