Chapter 8:

Noli Me Tangere Published in Berlin (1887)

STEPHEN
The bleak winter of 1886 was memorable in the life of Rizal for
two reasons: first, it was a painful episode for he was hungry,
sick and despondent in a strange city and, second, it brought
him great joy, after enduring sufferings, because his first novel
Noli Me Tangere came off the press in March. 1887.

Idea of Writing a Novel on the Philippines

•The reading of Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin"-

which portrays the brutalities of American slave-owners and
the pathetic conditions of the unfortunate Negro slaves,
inspired Dr. Jose Rizal to prepare a novel on the Philippines.
• Rizal was a student in the Central University of Madrid.

January 2, 1884

Rizal proposed the writing of a novel about the Philippines

during the reunion of Filipinos in the house of the Paternos in
Madrid.

His proposal was unanimously approved by:

Paternos (Pedro, Maximo, and Antonio)
Graciano Lopez Jaena
Evaristo Aguirre
Eduardo de Lete
Julio Llorente
Melecio Figueroa
Rizal's project did not materialize

The compatriots who were expected to collaborate on the

novel did not write anything.
The novel was designed to cover all phases of Philippine life.
However, most of them wanted to write on women.

He was disgusted to see his companions wasting their time

gambling and flirting with Spanish se?oritas.
Undaunted by his friend's indifference, he determined to write
the novel alone.

The Writing of the Noli

End of 1884 - Rizal began writing the novel in Madrid and

finished about one-half of it.
Paris, in 1885 - Completed his studies in Central University of
Madrid and continued the writing of the novel, finishing one-
half of the second half.
He wrote the last fourth chapters of the novel in Wilhelmsfeld,
Germany from April-June, 1886.

Berlin, February 1886

Rizal made the final revisions on the manuscript of the Noli.

Sick and penniless, he almost threw the manuscript into the
fire.
He was desperately despondent because he saw no hope of
having it published.
Years later, he wrote to his good friend Fernando Canon telling
him what he have been through in making the novel.
 JOEMER Viola, Savior of the Noli

Viola, Savior of Noli

Rizal received a telegram from Dr. Maximo Viola informing him

that he is coming to visit.
Maximo Viola, a scion of a rich family of San Miguel, Bulacan.
Viola, arrive in Berlin shortly before Christmas Day of 1886.
He was shocked to find Rizal living in poverty and deplorably
sickly due to lack of proper nourishment.
He lend some funds to finance the printing cost of the Noli and
loaned Rizal some money for living expenses,
After Christmas season, Rizal put the Finishing touches on his
novel.

To save printing expenses, he deleted certain passages of his

manuscript including the whole chapter of "Elias and Salome".

February 21. 1887- the novel was finally finished and ready for
printing.

They managed to find cheap printing shop: Berliner

Buchdruckrei - Action Gesselschaft. Charging them with only
300 pesos for 2,000 copies of the novel.

Rizal Suspected as Frenchy Spy

In old days of travel, it was possible to travel from another

country without having a passport.
This lead German Police to suspect him as a French Spy
because he doesn't have any passport to show, including the
intelligence report of his frequent visits to villages and rural
areas arousing the German government to suspect him.
However, Viola quickly accompanied Rizal to the Spanish
Embassy to seek help from the Spanish Ambassador. But the
ambassador failed to keep his promise due to that he had no
power to issue the passport.
Being fluent in German language, Rizal explained to the police
chief that he was not a French Spy, but was a Filipino physician,
scientist and ethnologist.
The chief was impressed by his explanation and fascinated by
his mastery of German language and personal charisma, so the
police chief allowed him to stay freely in Germany.

Printing of the Noli Finished

March 21, 1887 - the Noli Me Tangere came of the press.

Immediately.

Rizal sent the first copies to his close friends:

Blumentritt
Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor
G. Lopez Jaena
Mariano Ponce
Felix R. Hidalgo

March 29, 1887 - Rizal gave Viola the galley of proofs of the
Noli carefully rolled around the pen that he used in writing the
novel and a complimentary copy

JOHN PAUL The Title of the Novel

Noli Me Tangere - is a Latin phrase which means "Touch Me

Not". It is however, not originally conceived by Rizal, for he
admitted taking it from the Bible.
March 5, 1887 - Rizal wrote to Felix R. Hidalgo and said: "The
words were taken from the Gospel of Saint Luke, signify "do not
touch me"".
However, Rizal made a mistake. It should be the Gospel of Saint
John (Chapter 20, verses 13 to 17).
Rizal dedicated his Noli Me Tangere to the Philippines - "To My
Fatherland"

Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) - father of Maria Clara

and a friend of Ibarra.
Crisostomo Ibarra - a young and rich Filipino who had just
returned after seven years of study in Europe. The only son Don
Rafael Ibarra. A fiance of Maria Clara.
Padre Damaso - a fat Franciscan friar who had been parish
priest for 20 years of San Diego (Calamba).
Padre Sybila - a young Dominican parish priest of Binondo.

Synopsis of the "Noli"

The Characters:

Sennor Guevara - an elderly and kind lieutenant of the Guradia

Civil.

Don Tiburcio de Espadana - a bogus Spanish physician, lame,

and henpecked husband of Dona Victoria.

Maria Clara - a childhood faithful sweetheart of Crisostomo

Ibarra, a good friend and obedient daughter. She symbolizes
purity and innocence of a sheltered native woman.

Padre Salvi - Franciscan parish priest of San Diego.

Tasio the Philosopher (Pilosopo Tasio) - a wise oldman whose

ideas were too advance for his times so that the people who
could not understand him and called him the "Tasio the
Lunatic".
Don Filipo Lino - the teniente - mayor and leader of the liberal
faction.

Don Melchor - the captain of the cuadrilleros (town police).

Don Basilio and Don Valentin - former gobernadorcillos and

were prominent citizens.

Sisa - the tale of sisa - formerly a rich girl who married a

gambler and became poor. She's also the deranged mother of
Basilio and Crispin.

Basilio - an acolyte (servant) tasked to ring the church bells for

Angelus. Accused of crimes he did not commit.

Crispin - an altar boy and who was as well accused of stealing

money from the church.

Dona Consolacion - the vulgar mistress of the Spanish Alferez.

Dona Victorina - the flamboyantly dressed wife of a henpecked

Spanish quack doctor.

JOHN PAUL DIRI TAMAN Elias - distrusts human judgment and

prefers God's justice instead. He prefers a revolution over the
reform.

Pia Alba - a young beautiful and spiritual woman. Maria Clara's

mother.

Gobernador Heneral - occupies the second most powerful rank

in the colonial government, second only to the King . Supported
Ibarra against Padre Damaso.
Alferez - lieutenant of the Guardia Civil.

Alfonso Linares - cousin of Don Tiburcio and godson of Padre

Damaso's brother-in-law.

Don Rafael Ibarra -father of Crisostomo Ibarra, a rich and brave

man who was envied by Padre Damaso because of his wealth
and was accused of being "heretic".

Synopsis of the "Noli" The Setting:

Calle Anloague (Juan Luna Street)

San Diego Cemetery
Lake of San Diego
Pasig River & Laguna de Bay
Forest

Synopsis of the "Noli"

The Plot:

Having completed his studies in Europe, Juan Crisistomo Ibarra

y Magsalin comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year
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 San Diego curate Fray D?maso

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.

Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a Civil

Guard, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his
father, Don Rafael Ibarra, rich haciendero of the town.

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 former's
death was blamed on him, although it was not on 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. During the
inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a
sabotage had El?as 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.

After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a luncheon during which

Damaso, gatecrashing 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 D?maso, prepared to stab him
for his impudence.
As a consequence, Damaso excommunicated Ibarra, taking this
opportunity to persuade the already
You sent
hesitant Tiago to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra. The
friar wished Maria Clara to marry Linares, a Peninsular who had
just arrived from Spain.

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 El?as, 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 D?maso 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.

Elias, convinced that he would die soon, instructs 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.

Synopsis of the "Noli"

Epilogue:

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 Salvi, who has lusted after her
from the beginning of the novel, regularly used her just to fulfill
his lust.

Moral Lesson:

The moral lesson of this novel is seeking justice should be

placed on the hands of the authorities and not on the hands of
the one seeking it.

The "Noli" Based on Truth

A true story of Philippine condition during the last decades of

Spanish rule.
The places, the characters, and the situations really existed.
The characters were all drawn by Rizal from person who
actually existed

Characters in real life:

Maria Clara - Leonor Rivera

Ibarra and Elias
Tasio the Philosopher - elder brother of Rizal, Paciano.
Padre Salvi - Padre Antonio Piernavieja
Capitan Tiago - Capitan Hilario Sunico
Doña Victorina - Doña Agustina Medel
Basilio and Crispin - the Crisostomo brothers in Hagonoy.
Padre Damaso - typical domineering friar, arrogant, immoral
and anti - Filipino.

Rizal's Friend Praise the Noli

Friends of Rizal hailed the novel, praising it in glowing colors.

Rizal wrote to Blumentritt - "The government and the friars will

probably attack the work, refuting my statements, but I trust in
the God of truth and in the person who have actually seen our
sufferings."

Blumentritt read Rizal's novel and praised and said "As we

Germans say written with the blood of the heart and so the
heart also speaks." Rizal being an extraordinary person.

Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor - a Filipino patriot and lawyer exiled

due to his complicity in the Cavite mutiny of 1872. Avid read
the Noli and was very impressed.