Rizal’s Lovelife

Segunda Katigbak

Born in Lipa, Batangas year 1863. Was 14 yrs.old when he fell inlove for Rizal. Engage to be married to his townmate named Manuel Luz. Rizal come to know Segunda more intimately during his weekly visit La Concordia Collegewhere her sister Olimpia was a bording student. Love at first Sight. Consider Rizal’s first love.

“ Mapupula ang kaniyang pisngi, may kahali-halinang ngiti, at para siyang ada, ang buong katauhan niya’y may di- maipaliwanag na bighani.” – Jose Rizal

Leonor Valenzuela

Capitan Juan Valenzuela and Sanday Valenzuela was her parents from Pagsanjan, Laguna. “Orang” was her Petname/Nickname. They were neighboors when Rizal borded inDona Concha Levay’s Intramuros house during his sophomores years in UST. Rizal was only 17 when he loved leonora Valenzuela.

Rizal, the medical student from Calamba, was a welcome visitor in the Valenzuela home, where he was the life of the social parties because of his clever sleight-of-hand tricks. He sent her love letter written in invisible ink. The ink consisted of common table salt and water. The secret of reading any note written in theinvisible ink by heating it over a candle of lamp so that the words may appear.

“ Isa siyang matangkad na dalagangnapakaganda ng tindig.” – Jose Rizal

Leonor Rivera

Daughter of Antonio Rivera and Silvestra Bauzon from Camiling, Tarlac.Rivera studied at La Concordia College in Manila. Leonor Rivera Kipping was the Childhood sweetheart. 18 yrs. Old when Rizal loved Leonor. They employed codes in their letters becauseRivera’s mother did not favor Rizal as a suitor for Leonora.

When Rizal returned to the Philippines Leonor wasno longer living in Manila because she and her family had moved back to Dagupan, Pangasinan. Rizal wanted to meet Leonor, and Leonor also wanted to see Rizal, but both were prohibited by their fathers. Leonor met Henry Kipping, a British Engineer. Was Married on June 17, 1890 in Dagupan. Their first child was Carlos Rivera Kipping, Sr. Leonor Rivera died on 28 August 1893 fromcomplications of childbirth, shortly after the birth to her second child.

“Maganda siya, mayumi gaya ng namumukadkad na bulaklak, namay mabubuting mata.” – Jose Rizal

Consuelo Ortiga y Perez

Daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga who became Captain under . Carlos Ma. De la Torre. They lived in Madrid, Spain. She loved Consuelo when she was 22.Consuelo was Rizal’s inspiration in

writing a poem “ A La Señorita C.O.y.P.” So called “Rebound Girl”. He did not continued courting Consuelo because hewanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he didnot want to destroy his friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.

“Ang kanyang ganda aynakaka-akit.” – Jose Rizal

O-Sei-San (Seiko Usui)

Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizalthe Japanese art of painting known as Su-Mie. Have an affair when Rizal was 27 yrs. Old while O-Sei-San was just 23. For Rizal she was not just a girlfriend but he was a teacher and a guide. Rizal did not continued his relationship with O-Sei-San because he still had a mission in Philippines.

He leaved Japan by a Belgic Ship. Years past O-Sei-San married AlfredCharlton and named thier son Yuriko.

“Ikaw ang kulay ng kamelya, ang pagkasariwa nito, ang pagiging elegante. O-Sei-San – Sayonara! Sayonara! “ – Jose Rizal

Gertude Beckett

Was eldest daughter of Charles Beckett, who owned Primrose Hill House. Rizal stayed in their house when he was in London.Rizal and Gertude became close when Gertude helped Rizal in painting and sculpting.Rizal ended their affair when he decides to go to Paris.

“Siya ay isangdalagang may asul na mga mata,mapupulang pisngiat buhok na kulay- kayumanggi.” – Jose Rizal

Petite Jacoby

Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house and loved Petite Jacoby in just a short time.

Nellie Bousted

When he arrived at Biarritz the Bousted family welcomed Rizal.Rizal was depressed when he knew about the news about Leonor. And Nellie Bousted gets the attention of Rizal. Antonio Luna court Nellie but in the end the lady refused yhe loved of Antonio for her.

Rizal didn’t marry Nellie because herefused to be a Protestant, and parent of Nelly don’t want Rizal for their daughter.

“ Isa siyangdalagang tunay na matalino, masayahin at matwid.” – Jose Rizal

Josephine Bracken

Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken was a irish born in Hongkong. George Tauffer(his Godfather) who is blindfairly adopted Josephine when her mother died. Bracken later

recommended that her blind adoptive father see Rizal, who was a respected opthalmologistand had practiced in Hong Kong

Josephine accompanied her father to Manila onhis way back home, together with Rizals sister, Narcisa. Rizal applied for marriage but because of his writings and political stance, the local priest, Father Obach, would only agree to the ceremony if Rizal could get a permission from the Bishop of Cebu. Either the Bishop did not write him back or Rizal was not able to mail the letter because of the sudden departure of Mr. Taufer

. “Siya ay balingkinitan, may buhok na kulay kastanyas, asul na mga mata,simpleng manamit, at masayahin.” – Jose Rizal

Rizal, the Romantic

There were about nine significant women in Rizal's life. They were: Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortega, O-Sei San, "Gettie" Beckette, Nelly Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, and Josephine Bracken.

Segunda Katigbak and Leonor Valenzuela:

Segunda Katigbak is considered to be Rizal's first puppy love, but she became engaged to a townmate of theirs - Manuel Luz. After Segunda came Leonor Valenzuela who came from Pagsanjan. Rizal would send her love letters written with invisible ink, which could only be read by way of lamp or candle light. Unfortunately, he had to say goodbye to her on the night before he left for Spain.

Leonor Rivera:

Leonor Rivera was Rizal's love for 11 years and she was the reason he tried not to fall in love with other women during his travels. But, due to Rizal's being a Propagandist and owing to the fact that he was the cause of many political problems in Calamba, Leonor's mother disapproved of the relationship. It is known that Rizal sent many letters and notes to Leonor, all of which her mother hid and never gave to her. This caused Leonor to believe that Rizal no longer had any feelings for her and she decided to agree to marrying a man of her mother's choosing - the English an Henry Kipping.

Consuelo Ortiga:

During his stay in Madrid, Rizal and some fellow Filipino's would visit the home of Don Pablo Ortiga. They went there to visit the Don's daughters, but more specifically, Rizal went there to visit Consuela, who was considered to be the prettiest among Don Pablo's daughters. Consuela fell in love with Rizal and he even wrote a poem for her called A LA SENORITA C.O. y R. which became one of his best poems. Yet, keeping in mind that he was loyal to Leonor Rivera, he backed out before the relationship could get any more serious. Also, he knew that his friend - Eduardo de Lete – was in love with Consuela and he did not wish to destroy their friendship over a girl.

O Sei San:

During his stay in Japan, Rizal fell in love with his guide, interpreter, and teacher in the Japanese language. It is said that if Rizal did not have a personal mission to accomplish, he would have married O-Sei San and lived in Japan for good.

Gertrude Beckett:

In London, while Rizal was working on his annotation of Morga's work, he stayed in the Beckette family house which was walking distance from the British Museum where Morga's work was displayed. The eldest of the Beckette sisters, Gertrude or "Gettie" as Rizal used to call her, fell in love with Rizal. He suddenly left for Paris though, in order to avoid the growing feelings between himself and Gettie. Before he left, he left Gettie a sculpture of the Beckette sisters.

Nellie Boustead:

After learning of Leonor Rivera's marriage to Henry Kipping, Rizal was able to go back to courting the other ladies. During his stay in Biarritz, Rizal stayed with the Boustead family, where he became friends with Eduardo Boustead's two pretty daughters. He would practice fencing with them at Juan Luna's studio. Antonio Luna, another frequent visitor to the Boustead residence, was trying to court Nelly but she was already infatuated with Rizal. This resulted in an ugly scene where Antonio said some bad words about Nelly while he was drunk at a Filipino hosted party in Madrid. Rizal then challenged him to a duel, but Antonio - after sobering up - realized his mistakes and apologized to Rizal and thus preventing rift among the unified Filipinos in Madrid. Unfortunately, Rizal and Nelly did not end up getting married because Rizal did not want to be converted to Protestant and Nelly's mother didn't want a poor man for ther daughter. The good thing is, they remained friends and parted as friends when Rizal left Europe.

Suzanne Jacoby:

Due to the high cost of living in Paris during the 1890's, Rizal moved to Brussels where he stayed in a boarding house owned by the Jacoby sisters. As time passed by, they fell in love but it was for nothing since Rizal ended up leaving Brussels, though she did write him while he was in Madrid.

Josephine Bracken:

While in Dapitan, late Feb 1895, Rizal met an 18 year old Irish girl. Josephine Bracken had blue eyes, brown hair and was a happy character. She was the adopted daughter of George Taufer, a man from Hong Kong seeking medical help from Rizal. It is said that Rizal was attracted to her physically, and that his loneliness had taken over and that it was better than to be in love again. Surprisingly, the Rizal sisters thought that Josephine was a spy for the friars and considered her a "threat to Rizal's security." In time, Rizal proposed to Josephine but she wasn't prepared to

make such a big choice, since she still had to look after her blind father. Unfortunately, George Taufer's illness could not be treated so he went back to Hong Kong while Josephine stayed with Rizal's family in Manila. When she returned to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange for their marriage with Father Antonio Obach. the priest, however, wanted a retraction as a precondition to marrying them. Thus, Rizal took Josephine as his wife even without the Church's blessing, at the urging of his family and with her consent. She later gave birth to a stillborn, believed to be the result of some incidence, and this could have traumatized her.

 ROMANCES OF RIZAL

First romance—“that painful experience which comes to nearly all adolescents”•Julia-from Dampalit, Los Baños, Laguna•Segunda Katigbak-Rizal first romance that was then sixteen years old-a pretty fourteen-year old Batangueña from Lipa-In Rizal’s own words: “She was rather short, with eyes that were eloquent and ardentat times and languid atothers, rosy-cheeked, with an enchanting and provocative smile that revealed very beautiful teeth and the air of a sylph; her entire self diffused a mysterious charm.”-she was the sister of Rizal’s friend, Mariano Katigbak-close friend of Rizal’s sister Olimpia, was a boarding student in La Concordia College-engaged to be married to her town mate, Manuel Luz*The love of Rizal and Segunda was indeed “a Love at first sight”*The last time they talked to each other was one Thursday in December, 1877 when the Christmas vacation wasabout to begin*Rizal returned home, dazed and desolate, with his first romance “ruined by his own shyness and reserve.”•Miss L (Jacinta Ibardo Laza)-young woman in Calamba-Rizal describe her as “fair with seductive and attractive eyes*After visiting her in her house several times, Rizal suddenly stopped his wooing, and the romance died a naturaldeath

*Rizal gave two reasons for his change of heart namely(1) the sweet memory of Segunda was still fresh in his heart (2) his father did not like the family of “Miss L” •Leonor Valenzuela*During Rizal sophomore year at the University of Santo Tomas, he boarded in the house of Doña Concha Leyva inIntramuros wherein the next-door neighbors of Doña Concha were Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela-charming daughter of Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela from Pagsanjan, Laguna-a tall girl with a regal bearing-Rizal sent her love notes written in invisible ink—ink consisted of common table salt and water—the secret of readingany note written in the invisible ink by heating it over a candle or lamp so that the words may appear -Orang was her pet name-Rizal stopped short of proposing marriage to Orang•Leonor Rivera-Rizal’s cousin from Camiling, Tarlac*In 1879, at the start of his junior year at the university, Rizal lived in “Casa Tomasina” at No. 6 Calle Santo Tomas,Intramuros owned by his uncle Antonio Rivera-a student at La Concordia College, where Soledad,

youngest sister, was then studying-born in Camiling, Tarlac on April 11, 1867-she was a frail, pretty girl“tender as a budding flower with kindly, wistful eyes-in her letters to Rizal, she signed her name as “Taimis” in order to camouflage their intimate relationship from their parents and friends-died on August 28, 1893•Consuelo Ortiga y Perez- a young woman in Madrid-prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey’s daughters-Rizal was attracted by Consuelo’s beauty and vivacity-Rizal composed a lovely poem on August 22, 1883 dedicated to her,entitled A La Señorita C.O.y.P (to MissC.O.y.P)expressing his admirations for her *Before Rizal romance with Consuelo could blossom into a serious affair, he suddenly backed out for two reasons: (1)he was still engaged to Leonor Rivera (2) his friends and co-worker in the Propaganda Movement, Eduardo de Lete,was madly in love with Consuelo and he had no wish to break their friendship because of a pretty girl•Seiko Usui-Rizal affectionately called her O-Sei-San-a pretty Japanese girl that Rizal saw walking past the legation gate-Rizal was attracted by her regal loveliness and charm-a lonely samurai’s daughter of 23 years old and had never yet experienced the ecstasy of true love-Rizal saw in her the qualities of his ideal womanhood—beauty, charm, modesty and intelligence*The beautiful romance between Rizal and O-Sei-San inevitably came to a dolorous ending. Sacrificing his personalhappiness, Rizal had to carry on his libertarian mission in Europe, leaving behind the lovely O-Sei-San-married Mr. Alfred Charlton, a British teacher of chemistry, and was blessed by only one child—Yuriko-died on May 1, 1947 at the age of 80•Gertrude Beckett-oldest of the three Beckett sisters-called Gettie or Tottie by her friends-a buxom English girl with brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks-Rizal affectionately called her “Gettie”, in reciprocation; she fondly called him “Pettie”*Rizal suddenly realized that he could not marry Gettie for he had a mission to fulfill in life•Petite Suzanne Jacoby-pretty niece of his landladies*Rizal found certain bliss in the company of this pretty Belgian girl*Rizal might flirted with Petite Suzanne, but he could not stoop low to a deceptive amorous relationship-she fell in love with Rizal and cried when Rizal left toward the end of July, 1890 for Madrid, stopping for a few days inParis•Nellie Boustead-the prettier and younger daughter of Eduardo Boustead-Rizal found her to be a real Filipina, highly intelligent, vivacious in temperament, and morally upright-also called Nelly*Rizal wrote to his intimate friends, except Professor Blumentritt, of his love for Nellie and his intention to proposemarriage to her *Rizal’s marriage proposal failed

for two reasons: (1) he refused to give up his Catholic faith and be converted toProtestantism, as Nelly demanded (2) Nelly’s mother did not like Rizal as a son-in-law•Josephine Bracken-an Irish girl of sweet eighteen, “slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed with elegant simplicity, with anatmosphere of light gayety.”-born in Hong Kong on October 3, 1876 of Irish parents—James Bracken, a corporal in the British garrison andElizabeth Jane Macbride-she was adopted by Mr. George Taufer, who later became blind*Rizal and Josephine fell in love with each other at first sight*After a whirlwind romance for one month, they agreed to marry but Father Obach, the priest of Dapitan, refused tomarry them without the permission of the Bishop of Cebu*Since no priest would marry them, Rizal and Josephine held hands together and married themselves before the eyes of God. They lived as man and wife in Dapitan