Rizal Without Overcoat

The book tackles different aspects in the life of Dr. Jose Rizal. It talks about his family, his relatives, education, love life, travels, works, controversies and much more issues about him. Some of the fascinating stories in the book include our hero’s character as being curious and inquisitive, that he developed a rare facility of mastering varied subjects and occupations. His friendliness, goodwill and cultural associations with friends (like Blumentritt) entitled him as one. He made researches on the physical and social aspect of man which he tries to take an illegal drugs to understand how it feels. Rizal always practiced self-discipline

Leonor Rivera played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during his travel. Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s relationship with Rizal, who was then taught, could threaten Rivera’s family. She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.

Facts and possibilities talk about some radical ideas like Rizal could be possible still alive after his execution? And could Rizal have a psychic power? Another chapter, particularly Family and Others, talks about the families of Dr. Jose Rizal, his sisters, brothers, mother, relatives and some of his great grandchildren. It is also been prop up that in the family tree of Rizal, includes a friar as his relatives.

Ambeth Ocampo gives emphasize the women on the life of Dr. Jose Rizal. There were at least nine women linked with him; namely Segunda Katigbak, Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortiga, O-Sei San, Gertrude Beckette, Nelly Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby and Josephine Bracken. These women might have been beguiled by his intelligence, charm and wit.

Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.

And the last chapter is a nice one. It talks all his controversies that he left unanswered and left no clues after his death, which is a good strategy because these help you not only appreciates the book but also appreciates Rizal as well. In a way that you are left some unanswered questions that after you read the book, you will bothered what to answer some of this question on your own interpretation and you could research more about some possible answers on it.

After reading this book I asked myself questions; did Rizal take the measure of how much of an impact his life would have? Did he foresee that it would make such a deep impression on his country? And I answered he did not. He knew, of course, that it did something. He was guided by a higher objective than writing a literary work for amusement; but we do not doubt that he never imagined, that he could become a National Hero, that could move his country's spirit and symbolizes the Filipino people in his own character. This just goes to show that Rizal, our so-called National Hero, is just like any ordinary Filipino.

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