María Clara, whose full name is María Clara de los Santos y Alba, is the ''

mestiza (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

'' heroine in '' Noli Me Tángere'', a novel by José Rizal, the national hero of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Her name and character have since become a byword in

Filipino culture The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the ...

for the traditional, feminine ideal. María Clara is the

childhood sweetheart Childhood sweetheart is a reciprocating phrase for a relationship (but not a partnership) between young persons. This may come about by an extension of friendship, physical attraction or develop from natural affinity. The relationship is usually ...

and

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

of ''Noli Me Tángere''s main protagonist,

Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, the son of Don Rafael Ibarra. Although raised as the daughter of Captain Santiago "Kapitán Tiyago" de los Santos and his wife Doña Pía Alba, who are both native Filipinos, María Clara is revealed to have been the illegitimate daughter of ''Padre'' Dámaso, a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

, who coerced Doña Pía into illicit sexual relations. Dámaso is made the girl's godfather; Doña Pía had died giving birth to Mariá Clara. Kapitán Tiyago's cousin, Tía Isabel, then came to be the dominant maternal figure in her life. As her beau Crisóstomo Ibarra was studying in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, Kapitan Tiyago sent María Clara to the ''Colegio de Santa Catalina de Sena'', a

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

where she cultivated

femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered f ...

under religion. Later in the novel, María Clara discovers the truth that Dámaso is her

biological father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

Description

In the novel, María Clara is regarded as the most beautiful and celebrated lady in the town of San Diego. A devout Roman Catholic, she became the epitome of virtue; "demure and self-effacing" and endowed with beauty, grace and charm, she was promoted by Rizal as the "ideal image" of a Filipino woman who deserves to be placed on the "pedestal of male honour". In Chapter 5, María Clara and her traits were further described by Rizal as an "Oriental decoration" with "downcast" eyes and a "pure soul".Yoder, Robert L
Philippine Heroines of the Revolution: Maria Clara they were not
univie.ac.at, July 16, 1998

Characterization

Physical appearance

Because of her parentage, María Clara had

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

features, described by Rizal thus:

"María Clara did not have the small eyes of her father: like her mother she had them large and black, beneath long lashes; gay and smiling when she played, sad and soulful and pensive when she was not laughing. Since childhood her hair had an almost golden hue; her nose, of a correct profile, was neither sharp nor flat; her mouth reminded one of her mother's, small and perfect, with two beautiful dimples on her cheeks. Her skin had the fine texture of an onion layer, the whiteness of cotton, according to her enthusiastic relatives. They saw traces of Capitan Tiago's paternity in the small and well-rounded ears of María Clara."

Personality

María Clara had been described in her childhood as everybody's idol, growing up among smiles and loves. Although ''Noli'' only touches upon her briefly in chapters, she is depicted as playful, exchanging wit and bantering with Ibarra, as well as expressing jealous possession when talking about him to her friends. She is also very kind and considerate, and notices people whom others don't; she was the only person who noticed Elías during the fishing excursion and offered him biscuits. During the eve of the feast of San Diego, she also approached and offered her locket to a leper, despite her friends' warnings and shows of disgust. During the latter half of the novel, she was often sickly and subdued. Having been separated from Ibarra, and hearing the news of his excommunication, she took ill, and eventually was blackmailed by Padre Salvi into distancing herself from Ibarra. She was also coerced into giving up Ibarra's love letters, which were ultimately used to implicate him. In spite of her broken engagement with Ibarra, and subsequent engagement to Linares, she remained fiercely devoted to Ibarra. Upon hearing the news of his death, she told Padre Dámaso:

"While he was alive, I was thinking on keeping on: I was hoping, I was trusting! I wanted to live to be able to hear about him... but now that they have killed him, there is no longer a reason for me to live and suffer... While he was alive, I could get married... I thought of flight afterwards... my father does not want anything but the connections! Now that he is dead nobody else shall claim me as his wife... When he was alive, I could degrade myself, there was left the comfort of knowing he lived and perhaps would think of me. Now that he is dead... the convent for me or the grave!"

This ultimatum caused Padre Dámaso to relent and permit his daughter's entry into the Royal Monastery of Saint Clare (that until 1945 stood in

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day ...

Basis and legacy

Rizal based the fictional character of María Clara on his real-life girlfriend and cousin,

Leonor Rivera Leonor Rivera-Kipping (née Rivera y Bauzon; 11 April 1867 – 28 August 1893)Martinez-Clemente, Jo (June 20, 2011Keeping up with legacy of Rizal’s ‘true love’''Inquirer Central Luzon'' at inquirer.net. Accessed 2011-12-03. was the childho ...

. Although praised and idolized, María Clara's chaste, " masochistic" and "easily fainting" character has also been denounced as the "greatest misfortune that has befallen the Filipina in the last one hundred years".Vartti, Riitta (editor)
Preface to the Finnish anthology Tulikärpänen - filippiiniläisiä novelleja (Firefly - Filipino Short Stories), Kääntöpiiri
Helsinki, Finland 2001/2007
an article from Firefly – Filipino Short Stories (Tulikärpänen – filippiiniläisiä novelleja), 2001 / 2007, retrieved on: April 2, 2010 Scholars have also denounced the insinuated culture of Maria Clara, notably that of Filipinas being submissive and quiet towards men – a stereotype that was first brought by the Spanish colonialists. Historians have pointed out that Filipinas have historically been more vocal and have served positions equal to, and some even higher than, men. In Filipino fashion, María Clara's name has become the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for a multi-piece ensemble known as the

María Clara gown The María Clara gown, historically known as the ''traje de mestiza'' during the Spanish colonial era, is a type of traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines. It is an aristocratic version of the '' baro't saya''. It takes its name ...

, emulating the character's traits of being delicate, feminine, self-assured, and with a sense of identity.Moreno, Jose "Pitoy"
Costume at the Fin de Siecle – Maria Clara
Philippine Costume, koleksyon.com

Creation of the feminine ideal

Catholicism during the colonial ruling of the Philippines influenced the creation of a new feminine ideal of Filipina women. María Clara as a colonial figure became the ideal Filipina woman as she embodied the qualities of the Virgin archetype, mainly purity, chastity and sacrifice. Along with the impossible standard that María Clara upholds, the effects of Catholicism have led to taboos against the expression and discussion of female sexuality.

María Clara's song by José Rizal (in English)

:''Sweet the hours in the native country,'' :''where friendly shines the sun above!'' :''Life is the breeze that sweeps the meadows;'' :''tranquil is death; most tender, love.'' :''Warm kisses on the lips are playing'' :''as we awake to mother's face:'' :''the arms are seeking to embrace her,'' :''the eyes are smiling as they gaze.'' :''How sweet to die for the native country,'' :''where friendly shines the sun above!'' :''Death is the breeze for him who has'' :''no country, no mother, and no love!''

References

External links

*Description o
María Clara
at en.wikibooks.org
Full text in Tagalog ("Ang Awit ni Maria Clara")Full text in Spanish ("Canto de Maria")Full text in English ("The Song of Maria Clara")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Clara Fictional Filipino people Noli Me Tangere (novel) characters Philippine literature Literary characters introduced in 1887