Assessing his eyes' condition, Rizal concluded that Taufer's blindness was incurable. In the meantime, Josephine caught Rizal's amorous attention and a very short courtship ensued, eventually ending with a marriage proposal that gave rise to Taufer's depression from the prospect of losing her stepdaughter whom he solely depended on. Rizal had to restrain Taufer in a scuffle precipitating from the latter's attempt to commit suicide by cutting his throat with a razor blade.
Letting time pass by to ponder about their situation, Taufer decided to go back to Hong Kong and, together with Rizal's elder sister Narcisa, Josephine accompanied her blind stepfather up to Manila. She was introduced to the rest of the Rizal family in Laguna before she returned back to Dapitan to marry Rizal. The diocese of Cebu that administered the affairs of the Catholic church in Dapitan forbade the consecration of their marriage because Rizal was a Freemason and a suspected figure in the underground revolutionary movement. In exasperation, the couple decided to take their vows on their own, in the presence of two witnesses, and lived as common-law husband and wife in an abode built behind the clinic and schoolhouse where he taught children of the small village. Josephine cooked, took care of the house and assisted Rizal in his clinic. She considered it the happiest point of her life. Apparently, Rizal's mother and sisters, except Narcisa who was very
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| Casa Redonda: Rizal's replica clinic in Dapitan Photo by Ric Canizares |
sympathetic to Dr. Rizal's dulce extranjera, did not get along well with Josephine because they suspected her of being a spy of the friars. The relationship bore a son but died prematurely at eight months on the way as a result of an accident arising from an innocent prank sprang by Rizal on Josephine that caused the latter to bump her tummy on an iron stand. (Austin Craig: Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal p. 216) Neighbors account that Rizal buried his son himself under a gazebo in his vast estate and burned the whole place as he cried in despair.
He applied as a volunteer doctor in the Cuban war, probably to escape the hellhole he was in. However, he was arrested and confined to his cabin when the ship that was taking him to Cuba reached Barcelona, Spain. He was immediately brought back to the Philippines on the next trip to stand the mock trial that eventually condemned him to face the firing squad on December 30, 1896. Hours before his execution, Rizal and Josephine were afforded the sacred rite of marriage solemnized by the Jesuit, Fr. Vicente Balanguer, after supposedly having secured a retraction from Rizal about his loyalty to the Catholic faith.
His death accelerated the pace of revolution.
next page: Role In The Revolution
His death accelerated the pace of revolution.
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| Scene of Rizal's Execution |
next page: Role In The Revolution
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