Maria Clara delos Santos y Alba is one of the main

characters of Rizal’s Novel “Noli Me Tangere.” She is the love in-terest of the protagonist, Crisosto-mo Ibarra, and the daughter of Kapitan Tiyago. She is consid-ered the epitome of beauty and virtue. Moreover, Maria Clara embodies the 19th century Fili-pina who is religious, conserva-tive, submissive and disempow-ered. Rizal uses her character to show readers the importance of empowering Filipino women and their role in nation building.

Pia Alba is a very spiritual woman. she never neglects

to go to church; she does pilgrim-ages and gives alms to the poor. Despite her religiosity, she was by nature, a very merry wom-an. But she became melanchol-ic when she became pregnant and never smiled again.

Doña Victorina stands out in the novel as a native who is so obsessed

in being Spanish that she dresses up like them. She is said to have many suitors in her younger days. In fact, even Capitan Tiago had made love to her in vain. Her cockiness had her married an old, lame, and stuttering Spaniard instead. She forces her husband to pretend as a doc-tor. Being the doctor’s wife elevated her position in the society. Doña Victorina is just as ignorant as her quack husband but pretends to act intelligent. She also lies about her real age, which is 45, but for her it’s just 32. Don Tiburcio doesn’t mind as his wife was rich and provided for his basic needs.

Doña Consolacion and her hus-band, the alferez, often squab-

ble violently, which acts as a form of gross entertainment for their neigh-bors. She does not allow her hus-band to hurt her without revenge. She also enjoys making other people, like the curate Padre Salvi, misera-ble by making up lies about them. She is also cruel, like when she hurt Sisa after the latter had sung a soul-ful kundiman or Tarsilo after he had insulted her appearance. She does everything for spite and is envious of other people’s good fortunes.

Padre Salvi was described as wistful. He is said to be very strict in fulfilling

his duties and would not do anything that will dishonor his reputation. He is the kind of priest who would close the church doors during his sermons. He rarely resorts to physical punishments, as he imposes fines on his erring subordinates. Padre Salvi is said to be the rival of the alferez. He is said to be a hypocrite and a miser. He was the curate who had punished Crispin severely for the missing gold in the collection box. He gradually became inattentive and tac-iturn after the latter’s death. He has also slept very little and had poor appetite. He schemes and did quite a job at blackmail-ing Maria Clara regarding her paternity.

Sisa is the wife of Pedro and her children are Basilio and

Crispin. Sisa’s life was miserable with her husband but she was a loving mother to her children but when Crispin died, she lost her mind.

Basilio is protective of both his mother and brother. He de-

spises his father immensely for making their life miserable. Al-though young, he is resilient, as he escaped the guards who managed to graze his forehead. He works in-stead of his father to provide for his poor mother.

A child whose faith unknown. Krispin was the younger

brother of Basilio and son of Sisa and Pedro. Gone without a trace, leaving only nothing with a bloody shirt at their family’s home, Krisp-in’s disappearance was a major contribution to Sisa’s insanity.

Juan Crisóstomo Ibarramedia y Magsalin, commonly referred to

the novel as Ibarra or Crisóstomo, is the protagonist in the story. Son of a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael Ibarra, he studied in Europe for seven years. Ibarra is also María Clara’s fiancé. Several sources claim that Ibarra is also Rizal’s reflection: both studied in Europe and both persons believe in the same ideas. Upon his return, Ibarra requested the local government of San Diego to construct a public school to pro-mote education in the town.

Elias is a former boatman who be-came one of the most wanted

criminals in San Diego. He distrusts human judgment and prefers God’s justice instead. He is acquainted with the tulisanes and other crooks, which he uses to his advantage in discerning the troubles of the town. Elias used to have an affluent life with his twin sis-ter. He was educated in a Jesuit College with servants that wait upon him. He prefers a revolution over the reforms that Ibarra has been inclined to believe in. In the English tranvslation of the novel, he is referred to as the Pilot.