Name: Victorina
Sex: Female
Race: Indio
Occupation:
Aliases: Tia Torina
Affiliations:
Background
Dona Victorina is a rich Filipina whose source of wealth is unknown. She married Don Tiburcio de Espedana fifteen years before the events of El Filibusterismo (El Fili). Right after getting married, she wanted to “Europeanize” herself and managed to do so with make-up, to the point that many people didn’t know what her race was. Her marriage was not a happy one, and eventually Don Tiburcio hit her with a crutch and escaped the house, fleeing to Laguna. Dona Victorina has been looking for him ever since. She resides in Manila and is often seen accompanying her niece, Paulita Gomez.
Story
Chapter 1: Dona Victorina is first introduced as one of the main characters (and the only female character mentioned) sitting on deck of Steamship Tabo. She is the only woman in her group, and is said to be going to Laguna to look for her husband Don Tiburcio. When Steamship Tabo gets stuck in the mud, Dona Victorina blames the Indios. Dona Victorina listens to the others suggest ideas on how to develop the river. When Don Custodio suggests using ducks to clear the sandbars, Dona Victorina gets angry and says there would be too many balut eggs, which she finds disgusting.
Chapter 2: While talking to each other, Isagani and Basilio mention Dona Victorina. Isagani tells Basilio that Dona Victorina asked him to look for her husband, Don Tiburcio. They laugh about Dona Victorina not knowing that Don Tiburcio is hiding in Padre Florentino’s house. It is revealed that Padre Florentino will not join the other priests on the deck of Steamship Tabo because he is afraid that Dona Victorina might ask about Don Tiburcio.
Later, Padre Florentino talks to Isagani and tells him not to go on deck. Isagani thinks it’s because Padre Florentino doesn’t want him to talk to Dona Victorina.
Chapter 12: Dona Victorina visits UST with Paulita Gomez. They are there to visit the Virgin of the Rosary on Dona Victorina’s “favorite day”. Dona Victorina notices Juanito Pelaez and smiles at him, while he takes off his hat and bows while greeting her.
Chapter 17: Dona Victorina is seen at the Quiapo Fair with Paulita Gomez and Isagani. Juanito Pelaez greets them, and Dona Victorina calls him over. It is revealed that Dona Victorina prefers Juanito Pelaez to Isagani.
Chapter 19: On Iris Street, Dona Victorina is seen together with Isagani, Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez by Simoun and Placido Penitente.
Chapter 21: While watching people outside Teatro de Variedades on the night of the performance, Tadeo notices Dona Victorina with Juanito Pelaez, Paulita Gomez and Paulita Gomez’s friend.
Chapter 22: Dona Victorina watches the play with Juanito Pelaez, Paulita Gomez and Paulita Gomez’s friend. Dona Victorina gets along with Juanito Pelaez, so she compliments him and even agrees with him when he interprets the play wrong. It is mentioned that Dona Victorina wants to marry Juanito Pelaez when Don Tiburcio passes away.
Chapter 24: When Isagani meets Paulita Gomez at the Malecon, she shows up with her friend and Dona Victorina. Dona Victorina asks for news on Don Tiburcio but Isagani lies and says he doesn’t know anything. Dona Victorina gets angry, saying she shouldn’t have to wait ten years to marry. This surprises Isagani. Dona Victorina then asks him about Juanito Pelaez and Isagani praises him. Dona Victorina is pleased by Isagani’s compliments for Juanito Pelaez. Dona Victorina is then left alone with Paulita Gomez’s friend after she says she dropped her fan on the beach.
Paulita Gomez and Isagani talk privately and Paulita Gomez explains to Isagani that it was Dona Victorina who forced her to watch the play. Paulita Gomez says that Dona Victorina is in love with Juanito Pelaez, which makes Isagani laugh.
After their talk, Dona Victorina returns and Isagani is invited to share their carriage, so he does.
Chapter 35: Dona Victorina attends the wedding fiesta at Capitan Tiago’s house. She arrives together with the newly married couple, Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez.
Chapter 39: Dona Victorina is mentioned as the reason for Don Tiburcio leaving Padre Florentino’s house. He thinks that a letter from the guardia civil warned him that Dona Victorina knows he is hiding there and wants him dead or alive. Don Tiburcio is surprised, thinking Dona Victorina wants him shot, so he leaves to hide in a woodcutter’s hut.
Physical Description
“Because all [Dona Victorina’s] aspiration had been to Europeanize herself since that unfortunate day of her marriage, thanks to reprehensible efforts she gradually succeeded little by little in transforming herself in such a way that now Quatrefages and Virchow together would not have known how to classify her among the known races.” (Chapter 1)
Dona Victorina, despite being Filipino, does not want to be seen as one and thus tries to look and act as European as possible. It is implied she dresses like a European and wears a lot of make-up. As a result, people are confused by her appearance and don’t know what race she belongs to. This implies that she doesn’t look like an India but does not manage to look like a European either. In Chapter 12, she is described as walking with a limp due to her big feet, and because of that she has to lean on her niece, Paulita Gomez.
Personality
Dona Victorina is a religious woman, a strict guardian and an Indio who hates other Indios. She is often in a bad mood, and even in public she can often be found complaining about something, finding ways to blame Indios or her husband Don Tiburcio. She is very open about her emotions and never hides her opinions, making it very obvious whenever she likes someone or not. She is the only character to openly insult Don Custodio’s projects to his face (Chapter 1). She is protective of her niece Paulita Gomez and is almost always seen accompanying her.
Skills
Relationships
See Relationships of Dona Victorina
Beliefs
On Indios
Dona Victorina openly shows to other characters that she does not like Indios. She refers to them as a separate race, implying that she does not consider herself as one of them. In Chapter 1, she blames them after steamship Tabo gets stuck in the mud, and complains about being disgusted by balut eggs, an Indio dish. According to Paulita Gomez, Dona Victorina believes that the Indios will always be enslaved (Chapter 24), though Isagani argues that Dona Victorina thinks that because she needs to have slaves.
Trivia
- In Chapter 1, Dona Victorina is the only female character sitting with the other major characters on the deck of Steamship Tabo.
- In Chapter 12, Dona Victorina visits the Virgin of the Rosary at the UST with her niece Paulita Gomez. It is mentioned that the current day is “her favorite day”. It is not known whether this refers to the precise date (which is not given) or simply the day of the week (Saturday).
Quotes
“But Don Custodio! If everyone were to breed ducks there would be an excess of balut eggs. Ugh! How disgusting! Leave the sandbars alone!” (Chapter 1)
