Chapter 65: Epilogue

This lists what happened to the rest of the characters of the Noli.

Some Notes

• Padre Damaso accepts an assignment to be a parish priest in a distant province. He is found the following day, dead from a heart attack or a case of hypertension.

• Padre Salvi is seen regularly delivering sermons in the Sta. Clara convent (where Maria Clara is).

• Capitan Tiago ends up gambling and spending a lot of time in cockfighting arenas. He stopped regularly going to church after Maria Clara became a nun.

• Dona Victorina worsened as she tried harder to live the life of an Espanola, while De Espadaña was often seen without any false teeth.

• Linares died.

• The alferes, who became a 2nd Lieutenant, returned to Spain, leaving Donya Consolacion (who ended up an excessive smoker and alcoholic).

• A lot of people who lived near the lake died when a ship exploded on January 2, 1883. It's possible that some of the Noli characters were among those who perished.

• Spanish guards saw Maria Clara, the nun standing on top of the convent roof one stormy evening, hoping to be hit by lightning. She is, according to the abbess or Mother Superior, a crazy nun.

  (Hmmm...really sounds like a bad Tagalog movie, right? But we digress...)

Questions and Answers

1. Why did Padre Damaso leave his parish (in the town he transferred to from San Diego), and decided to stay in Manila? In order to be near Maria Clara. He would most likely visit the convent where his daughter was in order to protect from what he feared might happen to her in the convent.

2. Why was he severely disheartened (which probably lead to his death) by the order to transfer to a distant province? He didn't want to be placed far from Maria Clara. It is possible that Padre Salvi, who lusted after Maria Clara, had a hand in Damaso's transfer.

3. Did Capitan Tiago realize that Maria Clara was not his daughter? Although he did stop his religious activities after Maria Clara entered the nunnery, and although he began gambling, we shall only know for sure when we read the El Filibusterismo.

4. Is Maria Clara a Paragon or a Parody? Read Literature and Society by S.P. Lopez and look for his article "Maria Clara, a Paragon or Caricature." Also, look for the magazine "The Philippine Quarterly" and read Nick Joaquin's piece on Maria Clara (as a woman to be admired).

5. Who organized the revolution that was being blamed on Ibarra? Damaso or Salvi? While Padre Damaso openly fought against Ibarra (through sermons), motive cannot be established. Padre Salvi, on the other hand, has the following going against him:
   • Lucas recruited a lot of people for the revolution.
   • Lucas was always talking with the sacristan mayor.
   • Padre Salvi was the one who "found out" about the start date of the revolution because of "some woman's" confession.
   • The subversive documents found were signed by Ibarra using, not his present signature, but the signature he used in his *old* letter to Maria Clara.
   • Padre Salvi knew precisely how many would storm the church, which explains why he asked for four guardia civil.
   • Padre Salvi connived with the "yellow person" who attempted to assassinate Ibarra during the laying of the cornerstone of the school.

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