Noli Me Tangere (novel)

Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisstomo Ibarra y

Magsalin came back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his honor,
Don Santiago de los Santos, a family friend also known as Captain Tiago,
threw a get-together party, which was attended by friars and other prominent
figures. One of the guests, former San Diego curate Father Dmaso
Vardolagas belittled and slandered Ibarra. Ibarra brushed off the insults and
took no offense; he instead politely excused himself and left the party
because of an allegedly important task.
The next day, Ibarra visits Mara Clara, his betrothed, the beautiful daughter
of Captain Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo, Manila. Their long-standing
love was clearly manifested in this meeting, and Mara Clara cannot help but
reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe.
Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a guardia civil, reveals
to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a
rich hacendero of the town.
According to Guevara, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in
addition to being a filibuster an allegation brought forth by Father Dmaso
because of Don Rafael's non-participation in the Sacraments, such as
Confession and Mass. Father Dmaso's animosity against Ibarra's father is
aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight
between a tax collector and a child fighting, and the former's death was
blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those who
thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was imprisoned,
and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail. Still
not content with what he had done, Dmaso arranged for Don Rafael's corpse
to be dug up from the Catholic church and brought to a Chinese cemetery,
because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic a Catholic burial
ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight
of the cadaver, the undertakers decided to throw the corpse into a nearby
lake.[1]
Revenge was not in Ibarra's plans; instead he carried through his father's plan
of putting up a school, since he believed that education would pave the way
to his country's progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain
and the Philippines as two different countries, which form part of a same
nation or family, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter).
During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a
sabotage had Elas a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a
plot to assassinate him not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an
unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too
traumatic for Mara Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily cured by the
medicine Ibarra sent.
After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a luncheon during which Father Dmaso,
gate-crashing the luncheon, again insulted him. Ibarra ignored the priest's
insolence, but when the latter slandered the memory of his dead father, he

was no longer able to restrain himself and lunged at Dmaso, prepared to

stab him for his impudence. As a consequence, Dmaso excommunicated
Ibarra, taking this opportunity to persuade the already-hesitant father of
Mara Clara to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra. The friar wished
Mara Clara to marry a Peninsular named Linares who had just arrived from
Spain.
With the help of the Captain-General, Ibarra's excommunication was nullified
and the Archbishop decided to accept him as a member of the Church once
again. But, as fate would have it, some incident of which Ibarra had known
nothing about was blamed on him, and he is wrongly arrested and
imprisoned. The accusation against him was then overruled because during
the litigation that followed, nobody could testify that he was indeed involved.
Unfortunately, his letter to Mara Clara somehow got into the hands of the
jury and is manipulated such that it then became evidence against him by
the parish priest, Father Salvi. While frail in appearance, Father Salvi was
revealed to be the most cunning character in the novel. With Machiavellian
precision, Father Salve framed Ibarra and ruined his life just so he could stop
him from marrying Maria Clara and making the latter his concubine.
Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago's residence, a party was being held to announce
the upcoming wedding of Mara Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with the help of
Elas, took this opportunity to escape from prison. Before leaving, Ibarra
spoke to Mara Clara and accused her of betraying him, thinking that she
gave the letter he wrote her to the jury. Mara Clara explained that she would
never conspire against him, but that she was forced to surrender Ibarra's
letter to Father Salvi, in exchange for the letters written by her mother even
before she, Mara Clara, was born. The letters were from her mother, Pa Alba,
to Dmaso alluding to their unborn child; and that Mara Clara was therefore
not Captain Tiago's biological daughter, but Dmaso's.
Afterwards, Ibarra and Elas boarded a boat and fled the place. Elas
instructed Ibarra to lie down and the former covered the latter with grass to
conceal his presence. As luck would have it, they were spotted by their
enemies. Elas, thinking he could outsmart them, jumped into the water. The
guards rained shots on him, all the while not knowing that they were aiming
at the wrong man.
Mara Clara, thinking that Ibarra had been killed in the shooting incident, was
greatly overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she
asked Father Dmaso to confine her into a nunnery. Dmaso reluctantly
agreed when she threatened to take her own life, demanding, "the nunnery
or death!"[2] Unbeknownst to her, Ibarra was still alive and able to escape. It
was Elas who had taken the shots.
It was Christmas Eve when Elias woke up in the forest fatally wounded, as it is
here where he instructed Ibarra to meet him. Instead, Elias found the altar
boy Basilio cradling his already-dead mother, Sisa. The latter lost her mind
when she learned that her two sons, Crispin and Basilio, were chased out of
the convent by the sacristan mayor on suspicions of stealing sacred objects.

(The truth is that, it was the sacristan mayor who stole the objects and only
pinned the blame on the two boys. The said sacristan mayor actually killed
Crispin while interrogating him on the supposed location of the sacred
objects. It was implied that the body was never found and the incident was
covered-up by the parish priest, Father Salvi).
Elias helped Basilio bury his mother and while he lay dying, he instructed
Basilio to continue dreaming about freedom for his motherland with the
words: "I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland. You,
who shall see it, salute it! Do not forget those who have fallen during the
night." He died thereafter.
In the epilogue, it was explained that Kapitan Tiago became addicted to
opium and was seen to frequent the opium house in Binondo to satiate his
addiction. Maria Clara became a nun where Father Salvi, who has lusted over
Maria Clara from the beginning of the novel, regularly used her to fulfill his
lust. One stormy evening, a beautiful crazy woman was seen at the top of the
convent crying and cursing the heavens for the fate it has handed her. While
the woman was never identified, it is is suggested that the said woman was
Maria Clara.
Publication history
Rizal finished the novel on December 1886. At first, according to one of
Rizal's biographers, Rizal feared the novel might not be printed, and that it
would remain unread. He had been struggling financial constraints that time
and thought it would be hard to pursue printing the novel. A financial aid
came from a friend named Mximo Viola. Rizal at first, however, hesitated but
Viola insisted and ended up lending Rizal P300 for 2,000 copies; Noli was
eventually printed in Berlin, Germany. The printing was finished earlier than
the estimated five months. Viola arrived in Berlin in December 1886, and by
March 21, 1887, Rizal had sent a copy of the novel to his friend Blumentritt. [3]
On August 21, 2007, a 480-page then-latest English version of Noli Me
Tangere was released to major Australian book stores. The Australian edition
of the novel was published by Penguin Books Classics, to represent the
publication's "commitment to publish the major literary classics of the world".
[4]
American writer Harold Augenbraum, who first read the Noli in 1992,
translated the novel. A writer well-acquainted with translating other Latin
literary works, Augenbraum proposed to translating the novel after being
asked for his next assignment in the publishing company. Intrigued by the
novel and having been known more about it, Penguin nixed their plan of
adapting existing English versions of the novel, and instead translate on their
own.[4]
Major characters in Noli Me Tangere

Ibarra - Juan Crisstomo Magsalin Eibarramendia, commonly referred to

the novel as Ibarra or Crisstomo, is the protagonist in the story. Son of a

Filipino business man, Don Rafael Ibarra, he studied in Europe for seven
years Ibarra is also Mara Clara's fianc. Several sources claim that Ibarra
is also Rizal's reflection: both studied for Europe and both person invest
the same idea. Upon his return, Ibarra requested the local government of
San Diego to construct a public school to promote education in the town.
Mara Clara - Mara Clara de los Santos y Alba, commonly referred to as
Mara Clara, is Ibarra's fiance. She was raised by Capitn Tiago, San
Diego's cabeza de barangay and is the most beautiful and widely
celebrated girl in San Diego. In the later parts of the novel, Mara Clara's
identity was revealed as an illegitimate daughter of Father Dmaso,
former parish curate of the town, and Doa Pa Alba, wife of Capitn
Tiago. In the end she entered local covenant for nuns Beaterio de Santa
Clara. In the epilogue dealing with the fate of the characters, Rizal stated
that it is unknown if Mara Clara is still living within the walls of the
covenant or she is already dead.
The character of Mara Clara was patterned after Leonor Rivera ne
Kipping, Rizal's first cousin and childhood sweetheart .

Capitn Tiago - Don Santiago de los Santos, known by his nickname

Tiago and political title Capitn Tiago is a Filipino businessman and the
cabeza de barangay or head of barangay of the town of San Diego. He is
also the known father of Mara Clara. In the novel, it is said that Capitn
Tiago is the richest man in the region of Binondo and he possessed real
properties in Pampanga and Laguna de Bay. He is also said to be a
good Catholic, friend of the Spanish government and was considered as a
Spanish by colonialists. Capitn Tiago never attended school, so he
became a domestic helper of a Dominican friar who taught him informal
education. He married Pa Alba from Santa Cruz.[7]
Padre Dmaso Dmaso Verdolagas, or Padre Dmaso is a
Franciscan friar and former parish curate of San Diego. He is best known
as a notorious character that speaks with harsh words and has been a
cruel priest during his stay in the town. He is the real father of Mara Clara
and an enemy of Crisstomo's father, Rafael Ibarra. Later on, he and Mara
Clara had bitter arguments whether she marry Alfonso Linares or go to
covenant. At the end of the novel, he again re-assigned into a distant town
and was found dead one day.
In popular culture, when a priest was said to be like Padre Dmaso, it
means that he is a cruel but respectable individual. When one says a child
is "anak ni Padre Damaso" (child of Padre Dmaso), it means that the
child's father's identity is unknown.

Filosofo Tacio - Filosofo Tacio, known by his Filipinized name Pilosopo

Tasyo is another major character in the story. Seeking for reforms from the
government, he expresses his ideals in paper written in a cryptographic
alphabet similar from hieroglyphs and Coptic figures[13] hoping "that
the future generations may be able to decipher it" and realized the abuse
and oppression done by the conquerors.

His full name is only known as Don Anastacio. The educated inhabitants of
San Diego labeled him as Filosofo Tacio (Tacio the Philosopher) while
others called him as Tacio el Loco (Insane Tacio) due to his exceptional
talent for reasoning.

Elas - is an important character in the story and was once Ibarra's

mysterious friend. Elas made his first appearance as a pilot during a
picnic of Ibarra and Mara Clara and her friends. He wants to revolutionize
the country and to be freed from Spanish oppression.
The 50th chapter of the novel explores the past of Elas and history of his
family. In the past, Ibarra's grandfather condemned Elas' grandfather of
burning a warehouse which lead into the misfortune of Elas' family. His
father was refused to be married by his mother because his father's past
and family lineage was discovered by his mother's family. In the long run,
Elas and his twin sister was raised by their maternal grandfather. When
they were teenagers, their distant relatives called them hijo de bastardo
or illegitimate children. One day, his sister disappeared which led him to
search for her. His search led him into different places, and finally, he
became a fugitive and anti-government.

Doa Victorina - Doa Victorina de Espadaa, commonly known as Doa

Victorina, is an ambitious Filipino woman who classifies herself as a
Spanish and mimicking Spanish ladies by putting on heavy make-ups.[11]
The novel narrates Doa Victorina's younger days: she had lots of
admirers but she never choose one of them because nobody was a
Spaniard. Later on, she met Don Tiburcio de Espadaa, an official to the
customs bureau, which is about ten years junior than her. [18] Even though
she got married, they never had a child.
Her husband assumes the title as medical doctor even though Tiburcio
never attended medical school. Using fake documents and certificates,
Tiburcio is practicing illegal medicine. The usage of Tiburcio of the title Dr.
also made Victorina to assume the title Dra. (doctora, female doctor).[18]
Apparently, she uses the whole name Doa Victorina de los Reyes de de
Espadaa, with double de to emphasize her marriage surname.

Other characters

Padre Hernando de la Sibyla (Padre Sibyla) a Dominican friar. He

is described as short and has fair skin. He is instructed by an old priest
in his order to watch Crisstomo Ibarra.
Padre Bernardo Salv (Padre Salvi) the present curate of San
Diego,a secret admirer of Mara Clara. He is described to be very thin
and sickly.
Narcisa (Sisa) the mother of the two sacristans Basilio and Crispn,
who went insane after losing them.
The Alfrez chief of the Guardia Civil. Mortal enemy of the priests for
power in San Diego and husband of Dona Consalacion.

Basilio Sisa's 10-year-old son. A belfry boy, he faced the dread of

losing his younger brother and falling of his mother into insanity. At the
end of the novel, Elas wished Basilio to bury him by burning in
exchange of chest of gold located on his death ground.
Crispn (Crispin) Sisa's 7-year-old son. An altar boy, he was unjustly
accused of stealing money from the church. After failing to force
Crispn to return the money he allegedly stole, Father Salv and the
head sacristan killed him.
Doa Consolacon (Donya Consolacion) wife of the alfrez, a former
laundrywoman who passes herself as a Peninsular; best remembered
for her abusive treatment of Sisa.
Don Tiburcio de Espadaa (Don Tiburcio) Spanish husband of
Doa Victorina who is limp and submissive to his wife; he also pretends
to be a doctor.
Teniente Guevara (Sp. - lieutenant, Tinyente Guevara) - a close friend
of Don Rafael Ibarra. He reveals to Crisstomo how Don Rafael Ibarra's
death came about.
Alfonso Linares (Linares) A distant nephew of Tiburcio de Espanada,
the would-be fianc of Mara Clara.
Ta Isabel (Tiya Isabel) - Capitn Tiago's cousin, who raised Maria
Clara.
Gobernador General (Gobernador Heneral) Unnamed person in the
novel, he is the most powerful official in the Philippines, a hater of
secular priests and corrupt officials, and Ibarra's sympathizer.
Don Filipo Lino (Don Filipo) vice mayor of the town of San Diego,
who is the leader of the liberals.
Padre Manuel Martn (Padre Martin) - he is the linguistic curate of a
nearby town, who says the sermon during San Diego's fiesta.
Don Rafael Ibarra (Don Rafael) - father of Crisstomo Ibarra. Though
he is the richest man in San Diego, he is also the most virtuous and
generous.
Dona Pa Alba (Donya Pia) - wife of Capitan Tiago and mother of
Mara Clara. She died giving birth to her. In reality, she was raped by
Dmaso so she could bear a child.