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Lesson 10. In the Eyes of Noli Me Tangere

This lesson provides a summary of Rizal’s novel, Noli Me Tangere. It focuses on the
symbolic representations used by Rizal in depicting the social, cultural, and political issues
during the Spanish colonial era. This lesson presents the context in which Noli Me Tangere was
written and published, as well as the manner of its distribution.

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Vocabulary

• Appraise important characters in the
novel by identifying their symbolic
representations as used by Rizal in the
novel;
• Analyze the present Philippine situation
critically through the examples provided
in Noli Me Tangere; and
• Assess how Rizal’s message in Noli Me
Tangere can be applied to the social
conditions of 21st century Philippines.
✓ buri – palm tree (buri) is the largest and most common palm
found in the Philippines.
✓ carretela – a type of light two-wheeled carriage, typically
having passenger seats and drawn by a single horse.
✓ denounced – to criticize something or someone strongly
and publicly.
✓ emancipation – the process of giving people social or
political freedom and rights:
✓ heretical – opposite to or against the official or popular
opinion.
✓ impious – showing no respect, especially for God or religion
✓ scandalous – disgraceful; shameful or shocking; improper
✓ wrought – made or done in a careful or decorative way

Getting Started:

After finishing his medical studies in 1885 at the Universidad Central de Madrid, Rizal was
able to finish the manuscript of Noli Me Tangere in 1887. To keep up with the very expensive
publication cost, Rizal had to remove some chapters of the novel to reduce the number of
pages. With the help of some friends in Madrid, the loan offer of Maximo Viola, and portions
of his allowance sent by his brother Paciano, Rizal was able to print 2000 copies of the novel
in Berlin. He sent some of the copies to his friends in Madrid, to Ferdinand Blumentritt, and to
the Philippines wherein the Archbishop of Manila immediately denounced it as heretical,
impious, and scandalous.

Learning Module on The Life and Works of Jose Rizal

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Episode 13 https://youtu.be/KEdm0KOcsww

Episode 14 https://youtu.be/-lCiEDWMtpI

Noli Me Tangere original cover

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The story of how Noli Me Tangere was distributed in the Philippines amidst the strict
censorship implemented by the Spaniards, can be attributed to the efforts of Jose Ma. Basa,
the hero-smuggler of the Propaganda Movement. Through his connections and his thriving
business, he was able to arrange Hong Kong – Manila trips for Filipinos which became the way
for subversive and anti-friar pamphlets to reach the hands of the Filipinos. One of them was
Noli Me Tangere.

According to reports, the Filipino travelers who served as couriers were instructed to
disembark the ships without the books which were usually hidden in the coal bin of the ships.
They would then hire a carretela and the books, usually placed inside buri sacks, would be
loaded to the carretela. Afterwards, they would pretend to forget something in the ship. They
would ask permission from a crew member to walk back to the ship, leaving the buri sacks in
the carretela. After sometime, the cochero would inspect the buri sacks and find the books.
He would either dispose or leave them and another arranged carretela would pick up the
sacks for people to freely get copies, thus, disseminating them to the Filipinos.

The role of Noli Me Tangere in the development of the Filipino consciousness can never
be discounted. However, its significance in the 21st century has greatly diminished considering
that the Philippines is no longer a colony and has long been an independent nation.
Nevertheless, many of the points raised by Rizal in Noli Me Tangere remain relevant today,
especially with the current threats to Philippine sovereignty.

Noli Me Tangere After its First Publication

At present, Noli Me Tangere is considered by many as a landmark piece of literature.

The themes of the novel revolved around societal issues experienced in the Philippines under
the Spanish colonial rule. As such, the novel did not go unnoticed and became a subject of
discussion and debate.

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In the immediate months and years after its release in 1887, the Noli Me Tangere
generated reactions from the readers, Filipinos and foreigners alike. Responses ranged from
praise to outright ridicule.

One sector that espoused utmost disdain for the novel was the Spanish clergy as well as
some Spanish colonial officials. It is thus understandable that Spanish friars vehemently
prohibited the circulation of the novel in 1887 when Fray Salvador Font, chair of censorship
commission, outlawed the reading and possession of Rizal’s novel. Many other friars assessed
and judged the book as pernicious. They enjoined devout Catholics not to read the novel to
avoid committing capital sins. Not only confined in the Philippines, critiques of the novel
coming from Spanish officials and academics also circulated in Spain.

As much as Rizal’s critics came from various sectors, his novel also found ardent
defenders among his peers. Many of his colleagues in the Propaganda Movement praised his
novel. One example is Marcelo H. Del Pilar, who even wrote essays in response to critics of the
Noli Me Tangere. Rizal’s friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, also an academic, expressed support for
the novel.

Noli Me Tangere and the Study of a Colonial Society

A remarkable aspect of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere lies in its text which espoused the
national hero’s articulations of a social scientific view of the 19th century Philippines he was
describing.

Taken together with Rizal’s other writing, the Noli Me Tangere makes an important
contribution to the understanding of a colonial society and of the workings of the Spanish
empire in the Philippines. The novel portrayed the lives of the characters of diverse positions
from which people in the 19th century Philippines thought and acted in relation to others. Many
scholars interpret the Noli Me Tangere as Rizal’s diagnosis of the ills of colonial society as he
assessed the role played by the church, the state, and the people.

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In the Noli Me Tangere, Rizal highlighted some of his ideas on how the Philippine society
could be emancipated from the bondage of colonial rule. He underscored the importance
of education as a powerful tool to achieve progress. However, he also exposed the
complexities and constraints wrought by the colonial condition not only on foreigners, but also
on some misguided Filipinos that contributed to the ills of society.

As Rizal exposed the vile realities of the context he wrote about, he also emphasized
the good qualities of the Filipinos, which needed to be harnessed in order to succeed in the
struggle for emancipation.

Motivations behind Writing the Noli Me Tangere

The title, Noli Me Tangere, had a Biblical reference to the Gospel of John, (John 20:17)
in which Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and uttered these words: “Touch me not, for I
am not yet ascended to my Father.” The choice of title according to Rizal was fitting because
he intended to write about themes that were taboo in the Philippines for centuries; things that
people dared not touch.

According to his biographers, Rizal first planned to write his novel in French, considered
to be the language of the intellectuals in Europe at that time. He, however, shifted to Spanish
because he intended to reach out to his countrymen in the Philippines.

In the initial pages of the Noli Me Tangere, the dedication titled “A Mi Patria” clearly
articulated Rizal’s purpose for writing the novel.

The project of writing the Noli Me Tangere, as stated, was geared towards exposing the
ills of Philippine colonial society under Spain. Thus, through the passages within the Noli Me
Tangere, readers also get glimpses of how Rizal view and saw his country.

Plot https://youtu.be/4f4YUST8w-8

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Within this general contour of the narrative, Rizal wove a complex story and subplots.
Reading through the novel, different characters and their corresponding stories unfolded as
told through the voice of an unseen narrator. Truly, the pages of the Noli Me Tangere reflected
the lives of people living in the complicated world of colonial Philippines.

Summary

• Jose Rizal’s first novel, Noli Me Tangere, is considered one of the most important written
outputs by the national hero at the height of his intellectual endeavours in Europe.
• In this novel, Rizal mustered his academic acumens as he tapped his knowledge of
various fields and wove a narrative that aimed to represent, if not expose, the realities
of 19th century colonial life in the Philippines.

References:

Obias, R., Mallari, A. & Estella, J. (2018), The Life and Works of Jose Rizal, C& E Publishing, Inc.,
Clemente, J. & Cruz, G. (2019), The Life and Works of Rizal Outcome-Based Module, C& E
Publishing, Inc.,
Crudo, E., Guiwa, H. & Pawilen, R. (2019), A Course Module for The Life, Works, and Writings of
Jose Rizal, Rex Bookstore, Inc.,

Learning Module on The Life and Works of Jose Rizal