Did Padre Damaso Rape Pia Alba? Reticence, Revelation, and Revolution in José Rizal's Novels

This article revisits the debate in 2010 among Philippine Daily Inquirer columnists over the question of whether or not, in José Rizal's novel Noli me tángere, Padre Damaso "raped" Maria Clara's mother, Pia Alba, a debate inspired by the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. The article...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philippine studies, historical & ethnographic viewpoints historical & ethnographic viewpoints, 2017-06, Vol.65 (2), p.137-199
Main Author: HAU, CAROLINE S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity
Community development
Criticism and interpretation
Graphic novels
Meaning
Onomastics
Onomastics in literature
Rape
Reproductive health
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Summary:This article revisits the debate in 2010 among Philippine Daily Inquirer columnists over the question of whether or not, in José Rizal's novel Noli me tángere, Padre Damaso "raped" Maria Clara's mother, Pia Alba, a debate inspired by the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. The article examines how Rizal employs rhetorical strategies of reticence and revelation along with literary onomastics and allusions in his two novels to create meanings and associations that open his novels to multiple, even competing, interpretations. Such ambiguity reveals the artistic, intellectual, and political stakes of interpretation, which involves not only the struggle for understanding and struggle over meaning, but also the struggle to make, unmake, and remake community.
ISSN:2244-1093
2244-1638
2244-1638
DOI:10.1353/phs.2017.0014