RUTHELYN B.

MIRANDO

SUBJECT: RIZAL

BEE III

NOLI ME TANGERE

The title in Latin meaning Touch me not, refers to John 20:17 in the
Bible (King James Version) as Mary Magdalene tried to touch the newly
risen Jesus, He said “ Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father”.

On June 2, 1884, Rizal proposed the writing of a novel about the

Philippines written by a group of Filipinos.

His proposal was an unanimously approved by the Filipinos present at

the party, among whom where Pedro, Maximo and Antonio Paterno,
Graciano Lopez Jaena, Evaresto Aguirre, Eduardo de Lete, Julio Llorente
and Valentin Ventura.

Rizal finished the novel in December 1886. Rizal feared the novel might
not be printed , and that would remain unread. A financial aid came
from a friend named Maximo Viola which help him print his book at a
fine print media in Berlin named Berliner Buchdruckerei-
Actiengesellschaft.

Major Characters:

Crisostomo Ibarra – Son of a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael Ibarra, he

studied in Europe for seven years. Ibarra is also Maria Clara’s fiancé.
Several sources claim that Ibarra is also Rizal’s reflection. He promotes
education for his hometown.

Maria Clara – (Leonor Rivera) Ibarras’s fiancée. She was raised by

Capitan Tiago and is the most beautiful and widely celebrated girl in
San Diego, an illegitimate daughter of Father Damaso. She believes
Ibarra died and disappears into a nunnery.

Capitan Tiago –( Capitan Hilario Sunico of San Nicolas) Santiago de los

Santos, known by his nickname Tiago and political title Capitan Tiago is
a Filipino businessman and the cabeza de barangay or head of barangay
of the town of San Diego. Became a wealthy local official due to his
cooperation with the friars. He is also the known father of Maria Clara.

Padre Damaso – Damaso Verdolagas, or Padre Damaso is a Franciscan

friar and the former parish curate of San Diego. He is best known as a
notorious character, who speak with harsh words and has been a cruel
priest during his stay in the town. Typical of the bad Spanish friar during
Rizals time.

Padre Salvi – Padre Antonio Piernavieja (hated Augustinian friar in

Cavite who was killed by the patriots during the revolution.

Elias – (Rizal) is Ibarra’s mysterious friend and ally, he wants to

revolutionize the country and to be freed from Spanish oppression.

Pilosopong Tacio – (Paciano Rizal) Seeking for reforms from the

government, he expresses his ideals in paper written in a cryptographic
alphabet “that the future generations may be able to decipher it” and
realized the abused and oppression done by the conquerors.
Doῆ a Victorina – ( Doῆa Agustina Medel) Is an ambitious Filipina who
classifies herself as a Spanish and mimics Spanish ladies by putting on
heavy make-up.

Basilio and Crispin – (Crisostomo brothers of Hagonoy) Sisa’s two sons,

they are altar boys of Padre Salvi who suffer various misfortunes.

Sisa -the mother of Basilio and Crispin, described as beautiful and

young , although she loves her children very much, she cannot protect
them from the beatings of her husband, Pedro.

Story

Having completed his studies in Europe, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y

Magsalin comes back to the Philippines after a 7 year of absence.

In his honor, Don Santiago de los Santos “Captain Tiago” a family

friend, threw a get together party, which was attended by friars and
other prominent figures. One of the guests, former curate Fray Damaso
Vardolagas belittled and slandered Ibarra.

The next day, Ibarra visits Maria Clara, his love, the beautiful daughter
of Captain Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo. Their long-standing
love was clearly manifested in this meeting, and Maria clara cannot
help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he
went to Europe.

According to Guevara, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a

heretic, in addition to being a subversive- an allegation brought forth by
Damaso because of Don Rafael’s non-participation in the Sacraments,
such as confession and Mass. Damaso’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 formers
death was blamed on him, although it was not in purpose. 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 died
of sickness in jail.

Revenge was not in Ibarra’s plans, instead he carried through his

father’s plan of putting up a school, since he believe that education
would pave the way to his country’s progress ( all over the novel the
author refers to both Spain and the Philippines).

During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in
a sabotage had Elias- a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier
to assassinate him-not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an
unfortunate incident and died. After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a
luncheon during which Damaso, get-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 Damaso, prepared to stab him for his
impudence. As a consequence, Damaso excommunicated Ibarra, taking
this opportunity to persuade the already-hesitant Tiago to forbid his
daughter from marrying Ibarra. The friar wished Maria Clara to marry
Linares, a Penninsular who had just arrived from Spain

With the help of the Governor-General, Ibarra’s excommunication was

nullified and the Archbishop decided to accept him as a member of the
Church once again. Meanwhile in Capitan Tiago’s residence, a party was
being held to announce the upcoming wedding of Maria Clara and
Linares. Ibarra with the help of Elias, took this opportunity to escape
from prison. Before leaving, Ibarra spoke to Maria Clara and accused
her of betraying him, thinking that she gave the letter he wrote her to
the jury. Maria 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,
Maria Clara, was born. Maria Clara, thinking that Ibarra had been killed
in the shooting incident, was greatly overcome with grief. Robbed of
hope and severely disillusioned, she asked Damaso to confine her into a
nunnery. Damaso reluctantly agreed when she threatened to take her
own life, demanding , the nunnery or death. Unbeknownst to her,
Ibarra was still alive and able to escape. It was Elias 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. Elias convinced that he would die
soon, instruct Basilio to build a funeral pyre and burn his and Sisa’s
bodies to ashes. He tells Basilio that, if nobody reaches the place, he
come back later on and dig for he will find gold. He also tells him to
take the gold he finds and go to school. In his dying breath, 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”. Elias died there after.

The novel has an epilogue which recounts what happened to the

other characters.
Maria Clara, out of her loyalty to the memory of Ibarra, the man she
truly loved, entered the Santa Clara nunnery.

Padre Salvi left the Parish of San Diego and became a chaplain of the
nunnery.

Padre Damaso was transferred to a remote province, but the next

morning he was found dead in his bedroom.

Capitan Tiago the former genial host and generous patron of the church
became an opium addict and a human wreck.

Doῆa Victorina, still henpicking poor Don Tiburcio, had taken to wearing
eye-glasses because of weakening eyesight.

Linares, who failed to win Maria Clara’s affection, died of dysentery and
was buried in Paco cemetery.

The alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the

barracks, was promoted major. He returned to Spain, leaving behind his
shabby mistress, Doῆa Consolacion.

The novel ends with Maria Clara, an unhappy nun in Santa Clara
nunnery – forever lost to the world.

Sir Antonio Bustamante

Professor