Chapter 8: Noli Me Tangere
Published in Berlin (1887)
Winter of 1886
It was memorable in Rizals life
because:
1. He was hungry, sick, and sad in
a strange city
2. It brought him great joy
because he finally published his
first novel, Noli Me Tangere
Idea of Writing a Novel on the
Philippines
When he was a student in the
Central University of Madrid,
he read Harriet Beecher
Stowes novel, Uncle Toms
Cabin, which was about the
brutalities of American slavers
and slave owners and the
condition of African slaves. This
gave him the idea to write
about Filipinos under tyrant
rule.
Rizal proposed his idea of
writing a novel about the
Philippines by a group of
Filipinos at the Paterno
residence in Madrid. Among
those present were:
o Pedro, Maximino, and
Antonio Paterno
o Graciano Lopez-Jaena
o Evaristo Aguirre
o Eduardo de Lete
o Julio Llorente
o Melecio Figueroa
o Valentin Ventura
The project never materialized
because those who had to write
it, did not write anything. It was
supposed to be about all
aspects of Philippine life, but
everyone wanted to write about
women, which disgusted Rizal.
Rizal decided to write the novel
alone.
The Writing of the Noli
Rizal began writing Noli in
Madrid and finished around half
of it.
After finishing his studies in
Madrid, he went to Paris and
continued writing the novel
there. He wrote half of the
second half here in 1885.
In Germany, he finished the last
parts of the novel. And the last
few chapters were writing in
Wilhelmsfeld, finally finishing
the story in April-June 1886.
The final revisions of the novel
were done in Berlin in 1886.
Here, Rizal was sick and
penniless; he saw no hope in
having the novel published.
Years later he told his friend,
Fernando Canon that he almost
burned the manuscript in a fire.
Viola, Saviour of the Noli
Whilst in a state of
despondency, Rizal received a
telegram that his good friend,
Dr. Maximo Viola was coming to
Berlin.
o Dr. Maximo Viola was the
son of a rich family from
San Miguel, Bulacan
Shocked to see Rizal living in
squalor and very sick, Viola
agreed to finance the printing of
Noli and also loaned Rizal
money for living expenses. They
celebrated Christmas together
in Berlin in 1887.
To save printing costs, Rizal
deleted an entire chapter of his
book Elias and Salome and
some other passages.
 February 21, 1887- Noli Me
Tangere was finally finished and
ready for printing. They printed
Noli in Berliner Buchdruckrei-
Action-Gesselschaft Printing
store which charged 300 pesos
for 2,000 copies.
Rizal Suspected as a French
Spy
During the printing of Noli, one
morning the Berlin police visited
Rizals boarding house and
requested to see Rizals
passport. But Rizal had no
passport. They told him to get a
passport within 4 days or he
would be deported.
Viola and Rizal went to the
Spanish embassy to get help
from the Spanish ambassador,
the Count of Benomar, who
actually had no power to issue
passports.
After 4 days, Rizal went to the
German chief of police,
apologizing about not being
able to get a passport and
asked why he was to be
deported. The chief said they
thought he was a French spy for
the following reasons:
o Rizal made frequent visits
to villages in rural areas
o He entered Germany
from Paris
o Lived in Paris for a while
and was a lover of France
o He knew the language
and culture well
The relations between Germany
and France were strained due to
Alsace-Lorraine
Rizal was fluent in German and
was able to explain to the police
that he was not a French spy
but a Filipino physician and
scientist, specifically an
ethnologist who visits the rural
areas of countries to observe
the customs and life styles of
simple inhabitants.
After hearing this explanation,
the Chief allowed him to freely
live in Germany.
Printing of the Noli Finished
Every day they stayed at the
printing shop and proof-read the
printed papers.
Immediately after printing all of
the copies, Rizal sent the first
copies to his closest friends,
that include:
o Blumentritt
o Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor
o Graciano Lopez-Jaena
o Mariano Ponce
o Felix R. Hidalgo
Rizal wrote to Blumentritt that it
is the first impartial and bold
book on the life of the Tagalogs.
It was a history of the last 10
years. He knew the government
and friars would attack his work
and refute it.
Rizal gave the galley proofs of
Noli with the pen he wrote it
with and another printed copy
to Viola with the inscription To
my dear friend, Maximo Viola,
the first to read and appreciate
my work Jose Rizal
The Title of the Novel
Noli Me Tangere is a latin phrase
which means Touch Me Not, he
took it from a passage in the
Bible
He wrote to Felix R. Hidalgo that
the words were taken from the
Gospel of Saint Luke do not
touch me. However Rizal made
a mistake as the verse should
be instead in the Gospel of Saint
John.
 The Gospel of Saint John, 20:
13-17, Mary Magdalene visited
the Sepulcher and Jesus had
just arisen from the dead saying
Touch me not; I am not yet
ascended to my Father, but go
to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father,
and your Father; and to my God
and your God.
The Authors Dedication
Rizal dedicated Noli Me Tangere
to the Philippines To My
Fatherland
Social Cancer He referred to
the disease of the Philippines
Synopsis of Noli
There are 63 chapters in Noli Me
Tangere plus an epilogue
It starts with a reception in
Captian Tiagos (Santiago de los
Santos) house in Calle Anloague
(Now Juan Luna Street) held in
honour for the return of
Crisostomo Ibarra back from 7
years in Europe, who was the
son of Don Rafael Ibarra and the
fianc of Maria Clara, daughter
of Kapitan Tiago. Guests are
the reception included :
o Padre Damaso, parish
priest of Ibarras home
town of San Diego, Padre
Sybila, Senor Guevara,
Don Tiburcio de
Espadana, Dona Victorina
and several other ladies.
Ibarra got along with everyone
in the party except Padre
Damaso who was in a bad mood
because he got the neck and
wings of the chicken tinola.
After the party, Ibarra and
Guevara walked back and Ibarra
was told of his fathers death
Ibarra tried to find Don Rafaels
body but the gravediggers told
him that a priest ordered them
to the Chinese cemetery but the
body was too heavy so he threw
it in the lake.
After storming off from the
cemetery, Ibarra ran into Padre
Salvi, a priest from San Diego,
and attacked him asking why he
desecrated his fathers remains.
Salvi told him that it wasnt him.
Ibarra met many people in his
town including:
o Pilosopong Tasio
o Maestro
o The Gobernadorcillio
o Don Filipo Lino
o Don Melchor
o Don Basilio
o Don Valentin
The story of Sisa was the most
tragic one in the book. It talks of
a former rich girl, Sisa, who
married a gambler and had two
sons, Basilio and Crispin. They
were sacristans in the church.
Crispin was accused of stealing
money by the sacristan mayor
and was tortured and died.
Basilio ran away. When the two
boys did not return home, Sisa
went out and looked for them
everywhere, eventually going
insane with grief and worry.
When Maria Clara, Kapitan
Tiago, and Tia Isabel came to
San Diego, Ibarra threw a picnic
party. Present at the picnic
were:
o Sinang, Victoria, Iday,
Neneng, Capitana Tika,
Andeng, Albino, and a
silent boatman named
Elias
Elias fought with a crocodile,
and was saved by Ibarra.
Afterwards, Maria Clara played
the hard and sang the Song of
Maria Clara. Then Maria Clara
and her friends played Wheel
of Chance, and Padre Salvi
 arrived and said it was a sin to
play the game.
After, a sergeant and four
soldiers arrived looking for Elias
because he assaulted Padre
Damaso and threw the alferez
into a mudhole, but Elias
disapperead
Ibarra received a telegram
saying that his donation to the
schoolhouse was approved.
Ibarra visited Pilosopong Tasio
to ask about the school house.
Tasio was pessimistic about
being able to build the school
house only using Ibarras
money, but continued to build it
with architect Nor Juan
San Diego was preparing for the
feast of San Diego de Alcala,
November 11. On the morning
was a mass by Padre Salvi.
Padre Damaso gave the homily.
During this, Ibarra was
approached by Elias who told
him about a plot to kill him.
Ibarra suspected the Yellow
Man, this happened to be true.
During dinner after the event,
Padre Damaso was insulting
Don Rafael and Ibarra
threatened him at knife-point
and wouldve killed him if not
for Maria Clara, this caused two
things:
o Ibarra and Maria Claras
engagement was broken
o Ibarra was
excommunicated
The Governor-general mended
this.
After the fiesta, Maria Clara got
sick and they called Don
Tiburcio de Espadana, whose
wife was Dona Victorina de los
Reyes de De Espadana.
Dona Victorina and Padre
Damaso tried to get Don
Alfonso Linares De Espadana to
woo Maria Clara, but she loved
Ibarra.
A fight between Dona
Consolacion and Dona Victorina
ensued but was stopped by
Padre Salvi.
The Story of Elias: Elias
grandfather was wrongly
accused of burning a warehouse
and was flogged and left for
dead. His wife became a
prostitute to care for her sick
husband and son. After giving
birth to her second son, fled to
the mountains after her
husband died. The first son was
called Balat and was beheaded.
The younger fell in love with his
masters daughter. Elias father
was sent to jail and his mother
gave birth to twins. Elias
studied in the Jesuit College and
his sister in La Concordia
College. Elias and his sister fled
after they found out their true
birth origin and lost track of
each other. He found out a girl
matching his sisters description
was found dead.
Ibarra was arrested for a crime
he did not commit. And when
Elias found this out, he burned
all of Ibarras incriminating
papers and his house. He freed
Ibarra and helped him escape in
a boat filled with grass. Ibarra
stopped at Tiagos house and
forgave Maria Clara for giving
the letters to the Guardia Civil.
Maria Clara revealed that she
received a letter written by her
mother, Pia Alba, in return.
Here, she found out that her
real father was Padre Damaso.
Ibarra then returned to the boat
and hid under the grass. They
were chased by a police boat
and Elias jumped into the water
to lead the soldiers away. He
 was gravely shot but Ibarra was
able to escape.
Elias dragged himself to the
forest, here he met a boy,
Basilio, who was crying over the
body of Sisa, who had died. He
told Basilio to make a pyre out
of his and Sisas bodies when he
died. As he died, Elias looked to
the east and said I die without
seeing the dawn brighten over
my native land! You, who have
it to see, welcome it and
forget not those who have fallen
in the night.
The epilogue of Noli talked
about the lives of the other
characters:
o Maria Clara: Joined the
nunnery
o Padre Salvi: Became a
chaplain of the nunnery
o Padre Damaso: died
o Kapitan Tiago: Became
an opium addict
o Dona Victorina: Starts to
wear eyeglasses
o Linares: died of dysentery
o Alferez: promoted major
o Dona Consolacion: Left by
the alferez.
Noli Based on the Truth
It was a true story of Philippine
conditions during the last few
decades of Spanish rule, characters
and situations truly existed
The characters were drawn from
Rizals life:
o Maria Clara: Leonor Rivera
o Ibarra and Elias: Jose Rizal
o Pilosopong Tasio: Paciano
o Padre Salvi: Padre Antonio
Piernavieja, who was a hated
Augustinian priest from
Cavite
o Kapitan Tiago: Captain
Hilario Sunico of San Nicolas
o Dona Victorina: Dona
Agustina Medel
o Basilio and Crispin:
Crisostomo brothers of
Hagonoy
o Padre Damaso: typical friar
during the days of Rizal (i.e.
Arrogant, Immoral, and anti-
filipino)
The Missing Chapter of Noli
Entitled Elias and Salome, after
Chapter XXIV (24).
It was deleted for economic
purposes.
It talked about Elias and his lover,
Salome and how she was going to
Mindoro and that Elias couldnt go
with her because he hasnt found
what he was looking for.
Rizals Friends Praise Noli
Rizals friends loved the book, his
enemies hated it.
One letter stood out from the rest
of the letters Rizal received from
his friends. Blumentritt wrote that
the word filibustero has a certain
meaning not in Spanish people
from Spain or America. He said that
Rizal could become one of those
great mean who exert influence on
his people.
In London, Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor,
an exiled lawyer, read Noli and was
very much impressed with the
author. He said Rizal had dealt a
mortal blow to the old tree full of
blemishes and decay, every Filipino
will read his book and will be
inspired and regard the book as the
master piece of a Filipino and the
proof that those who though
Filipinos incapable of producing
great intellects are mistaken or
lying.