"Hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities."
June 19, 2011 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal. His execution by the Spaniards on December 30, 1896 led to his beatification as the country's premier hero. Throughout our academic years, educators made earnest efforts to cultivate our young minds with information about Rizal's great deeds and saintly image. But our national hero was not holy. As human as he is, Rizal committed mistakes and he was a sinner too.
Rizal practiced immorality and committed a sin for cohabiting with Bracken sans the matrimony of marriage; Bracken had a miscarriage in the 8th month of her pregnancy. Some critics theorized that the couple had a big fight--Rizal pushed and kicked Bracken, causing her to miscarry.
"Behind the success and failure of a great man is a woman."
June 19, 2011 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal. His execution by the Spaniards on December 30, 1896 led to his beatification as the country's premier hero. Throughout our academic years, educators made earnest efforts to cultivate our young minds with information about Rizal's great deeds and saintly image. But our national hero was not holy. As human as he is, Rizal committed mistakes and he was a sinner too.
In this context, i will explore the darker side of Jose Rizal. At the time of his exile in Dapitan, Rizal became intimately involved with Josephine Bracken. His cohabiting relationship with her has been a perennial resource for proponents seeking to rationalize their contention. The free-ranging arguments are as follows:
Rizal practiced immorality and committed a sin for cohabiting with Bracken sans the matrimony of marriage; Bracken had a miscarriage in the 8th month of her pregnancy. Some critics theorized that the couple had a big fight--Rizal pushed and kicked Bracken, causing her to miscarry.
The Catholic Church claimed that Rizal retracted his anti-Catholic ideas and political stance and married Bracken in a religious ceremony. The retraction controversy has tarnished Rizal's image as a hero and his reputation for being a man true to his words.
"Behind the success and failure of a great man is a woman."
