Understanding José Rizal’s background grants greater insight into the motives and psychology of the novel’s main characters, Simoun/Ibarra and Basilio. Furthermore, his history provides credence for the abuses by the clergy and government since he was a period writer and witnessed such abuses, even experiencing some firsthand.

The novel’s setting and characters are influenced by Rizal’s life. Rizal came from a relatively wealthy family with mestizo origins (being of Spanish and Indigenous heritage), much like Ibarra. His full name was José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda. He exhibited intellectual and artistic talents as a youth and attended the Ateneo Municipal in Manila, which appears in the novel. Rizal also studied at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila, which the novel’s students attend. Later, he went to Europe for university education and attended the Universidad Central de Madrid, the Université de Paris, and the Universität Heidelberg. Ibarra also studied in Europe, his time in Germany being reflected in allusions to German philosopher Friedrich Schiller (The Robbers, William Tell), as Rizal himself was an admirer of Schiller’s works. Rizal became a professional ophthalmologist, which mirrors Basilio’s medical trajectory; he was also a polymath.