The conclusion draws attention to an unlikely figure to nominate as ushering in the diasporic maternal: the national hero José Rizal. The figure of Rizal looms large over the nation and those in the diaspora; like the nation itself, his figure remains prominent. This final chapter examines an important essay where he articulates the obligations of Filipina mothers toward an incipient nationalism, which may be understood as one origin for the politicized claims made upon diasporic maternal figures. Given this genealogy, it becomes crucial to rethink the nationalist archive, and the Epilogue that follows briefly considers Rizal’s death in order to claim him not as the father of the nation, but as a diasporic maternal figure.
JOSÉ RIZAL: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL VIEW OF HISTORY AND NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE PHILIPPINES
