NOLI ME

TANGERE
 NOLI ME TANGERE
THE WRITING AND PUBLICATION
OF THE NOVEL
José Rizal's first novel, Noli Me Tángere, is considered one of the most
important written outputs by the national hero at the height of his
intellectual endeavors in Europe.

As a sojourner in Europe, Rizal participated in the movement of the

ilustrados to utilize propaganda to campaign for reforms in the Philippines.
Utilizing their intellectual prowess, the ilustrados released various written
outputs from news bits, to feature articles, and commentaries. They also
produced creative outputs from satirical pieces to world-class paintings.
Within this artistic and literary collection, Rizal's exemplary mastery of
words was clearly evident in one of his most celebrated works, his first novel,
Noli Me Tángere.
 NOLI ME TANGERE
THE WRITING AND PUBLICATION
OF THE NOVEL
The idea of publishing a book was not alien to Rizal. In a meeting of the
ilustrados in 1884, he proposed to write a book project to be done
collaboratively with his fellow writers.
Unfortunately, the project did not materialize. He eventually decided to write
a novel on his own. He started work on the project in 1884 and completed it in
1887.
Many of his biographers cite several works that influenced Rizal in the
writing of the Noli. One of these is Juan Luna's painting, Spoliarium, which
depicted the sufferings faced by humanity in the face of inequalities. Another
is Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that dealt with slavery
in America.
 NOLI ME TANGERE
THE WRITING AND PUBLICATION
OF THE NOVEL

Rizal finished the first half of the novel in Spain, supposedly the other half in
France, then completed the draft in 1886. The novel was published the
following year in Germany. Lack of funds delayed the book's publication until
a fellow ilustrado, Maximo Viola, insisted on lending him 300 pesos for the
printing of the first 2,000 copies. By 1887, Rizal was already sending out
copies of the Noli to his friends and the book began to take flight.
NOLI ME TANGERE
NOLI ME TANGERE
MOTIVATION BEHIND WRITING THE NOLI

NOLI ME TANGERE
 NOLI ME TANGERE
In the initial pages of the Noli, the dedication titled "A Mi
Patria" clearly articulated Rizal's purpose for writing the
novel:
To my Motherland
In the annals of human adversity, there is etched a cancer, of a breed
so malignant that the least contact exacerbates it, and stirs in it the
sharpest of pains.
An thus, many times amidst modern cultures I have wanted to evoke
you, sometimes for memories of you to keep me company, other times,
to compare you with other nations-many times your beloved image
appears to me afflicted with a social cancer of similar malignancy.
Desiring your well-being, which is our own and searching for the best
cure, I will do with you as the ancients of old did with their afflicted,
expose them on the steps of the temple so that each one who would
come to invoke the Divine would propose a cure for them.
 NOLI ME TANGERE
And to this end, I will attempt to faithfully reproduce your
condition without much ado. I will lift part of the shroud that
conceals your illness, sacrificing to the truth everything, even my
own self-respect, for, as your son, I also suffer in your defects and
failings.

Jose Rizal, 1886

The project of writing the Noli, as stated, was geared towards exposing the
ills of Philippine colonial society under Spain. Thus, through the passages
within the Noli, readers also get glimpses of how Rizal saw his country.
Ang binatang si Juan Crisostomo Ibarra ay isang Pilipino ngunit

THE SYNOPSIS
siya ay pinag-aral ng ama na si Don Rafael sa ibang bansa.
Mahigit pitong taon itong tumira sa Europa bago ito muling
bumalik ng Pilipinas.

Naghanda ng malaking salu-salo sa bahay ni Kapitan Tiago

upang salubungin ang binata. Inimbitahan din ang ilang
panauhin katulad nina Padre Damaso, Padre Sibyla, Tinyente
Guevarra, Donya Victorina, at ilang may impluwensya sa lipunan.

Ipinahiya ni Padre Damaso, ang dating kura ng San Diego, si

Ibarra ngunit wala itong ginawa bagkus pinagpasensyahan lang
niya ang pari. Magalang itong nagpaalam at nagdahilang may
ibang pupuntahan.
.

THE SYNOPSIS
Si Maria Clara ang magandang kasintahan ni Crisostomo Ibarra.
Siya ang anak-anakan ni Kapitan Tiago, mayamang taga-Tondo.
Dumalaw si Ibarra kay Maria Clara kinabukasan pagkatapos
dumalo sa pagtitipon. Nagkaroon ng pagkakataon ang
magkasintahan na muling balikan ang kanilang mga ala-ala.
Muling binasa ng dalaga ang liham na binigay ng binate bago pa
ito tumungo sa Europa.

Pinuntahan naman ni Ibarra si Tinyente Guevarra bago ito umalis

upang ipagtapat ang pagkamatay ng ama. Isinalaysay ng tinyente
na naakusahan ang ama na erehe at pilibustero dahil sa hindi nito
pagsisimba at pangungumpisal.
 THE SYNOPSIS
.Ipinakulong si Don Rafael dahil sa pagkamatay ng isang Kastila
sa kasalanang di naman siya ang may gawa. Malapit na sanang
malutas ang paglilitis nang magkasakit at kalauna’y namatay ang
ama ni Ibarra.

Ipinag-utos ni Padre Damaso sa isang sepulturero na hukayin ang

bangkay nito at ilipat sa libingan ng mga Intsik. Dahil sa lakas ng
ulan ay hindi kinaya na buhatin ang bangkay kung kaya’t
itinapon nalang ito sa lawa.

Sa kabila ng nangyari ay hindi hinangad ni Ibarra na

makapaghiganti, sa halip ipinagpatuloy niya ang adhikain ng
ama na makapagtayo ng paaralan.
 THE SYNOPSIS
..Naghanda ng isang pananghalian si Ibarra pagkatapos ng
pagbabasbas. Muli na namang tinira ni Padre Damaso ang binata.
Sa pagkakataong ito ay hindi na nakapagpigil si Ibarra.
Kamuntikan na niyang saksakin ang pari kung hindi lang siya
napigilan ni Maria Clara. Dahil sa nagawa ni Ibarra ay naging
ekskumunikado siya.

Sinamantala ni Padre Damaso ang pagiging ekskomunikado ni

Ibarra at inutusan si Kapitan Tiago na itigil ang pagpapakasal ni
Maria Clara kay Ibarra. Nagpasya si Padre Damaso na ipakasal si
Maria Clara kay Alfonso Linares.
 THE SYNOPSIS
Sa labis na pagdaramdam ng dalaga ay nagkasakit ito. Sa tulong
ng Kapitan Heneral ay napawalang bisa ang pagiging
ekskomunikado ni Ibarra.

Subalit may mga taong sumalakay sa kwartel at si Ibarra ang

pinagbintangan. Kahit walang kasalanan ay dinakip at binilanggo
ang binata. Nakatakas si Ibarra sa tulong ni Elias.

Nabigyan naman ng pagkakataon ang magkasintahan na

makapag-usap bago gawin ang planong pagtakas. Doon nalaman
ni Ibarra na si Padre Damaso ang totoong ama ni Maria Clara
kung kaya’t tutol ito sa pagmamahalan at planong pagpapakasal
ng dalawa.
 THE SYNOPSIS
Gamit ang bangka ay tinakas ni Elias si Ibarra. Nakalagpas man
sila sa ilang gwardiya sibil nasundan pa din ang kanilang
bangkang sinasakyan. Inisip ni Elias na iligaw ang mga
humahabol sa pamamagitan ng paglusong nito sa tubig.

Sa pag-aakalang si Ibarra ang tumalon ay hinabol at pinaputukan

ng mga sibil hanggang sa magkulay dugo ang tubig. Nawalan ng
pag-asawa si Maria Clara dahil pag-aakalang patay na si Ibarra.

Napagdesisyunan nitong pumasok sa kumbento upang maging

isang madre. Napilitang pumayag si Padre Damaso sa dalaga
dahil magpapakamatay daw ito pag hindi ito pumayag.
 THE SYNOPSIS
Noche Buena na nang makarating si Elias sa gubat ng mga Ibarra
na sugatan at nanghihina. Doon ay natagpuan niya si Basilio at
malamig na bangkay ni Sisa.

Bago tuluyang bawian ng buhay ay nanalangin si Elias.

Mamamatay siyang hindi nakikita ang maningning na
pagbukang liwayway. Ngunit para sa mga makakakita, bilin niya
na batiin ito at huwag ding makakalimot sa mga nabulid sa dilim
ng gabi.
 THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
At present, Noli Me Tángere is considered by many as a landmark
piece of literature. In his account of the literary history of the
Philippines, scholar Resil Mojares even went to the extent of
naming Rizal as the father of the Filipino novel (Testa-De Ocampo,
2011). As already discussed in the previous chapter, 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.
 THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
In the immediate months and years after its release in 1887, the
Noli generated reactions from 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 the 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 SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
the novel coming from Spanish officials and academics also
circulated in Spain. One staunch critic of the novel was the Spanish
academic Vicente Barrantes who wrote several articles in Spanish
newspapers ridiculing Rizal as a "man of contradictions."
Barrantes lamented that Rizal's lambasting of the friars and the
Spaniards was reflective of the author and telling more about the
Filipinos.
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. Rizal's friend, Ferdinand
Blumentritt, also an academic, also expressed support for the
novel.
 THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
As the Noli stirred controversy in social circles in nineteenth
century Philippines, it is remarkable to realize that even beyond its
time, the novel continued to be a subject of debate and discussion.
In the immediate years after its publication, the Noli was
translated into several languages. One of the earliest translations
of the novel was done in French. Many scholars posit that there
were early attempts to translate the novel into German (by
Blumentritt) and even Tagalog (by Rizal's brother, Paciano) but
these plans never came to fruition. At the turn of the twentieth
century, during the American colonial period, several other
translations and editions of the novel came out. Arguably the most
circulated versions were the English translations of Charles
Derbyshire.
 THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
. By the 1930s, Rizal's Noli had several Spanish editions, translations
into English, French, Japanese, and also into several languages in the
Philippines including Tagalog, Cebuano, Waray, Iloko, and Bikol (Testa-
De Ocampo, 2011).

The very controversy that surrounded the passage of the Rizal Law
indicated the relevance of the text in the 1950s and even beyond. In
academia, many scholars have also made it a point to discuss the politics
of translation and the nuances of transforming the text in several forms.
As Testa-De Ocampo points out, as much as the novel is elevated in the
highest echelons of Philippine literary history, seldom do we find
Filipinos reading it in the original Spanish. Versions and translations of
the Noli also did not go without scrutiny from academics like Benedict
Anderson. Truly, be it about its content, context, or the way it is read or
used, the value of Rizal's novel is definitely felt in the Philippines.
.

THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL

Noli and the Study of a Colonial Society
A remarkable aspect of Rizal's Noli lies in its text which espoused the
national hero's articulations of a social-scientific view of the nineteenth
century Philippines he was describing.
Sociologist Syed Fareed Alatas even went as far as describing Rizal as
"probably the first systematic social thinker in Southeast Asia."
Taken together with Rizal's other writings, the Noli 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 nineteenth century Philippines thought and acted in
relation to others. Many scholars interpret the Noli as Rizal's diagnosis
of the ills of colonial society as he assessed the role played by the church,
the state, and the people. In the Noli, Rizal highlighted some of his ideas
on how the Philippine society could be emancipated from the bondage of
colonial rule.
 THE SPIRIT OF THE NOVEL
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.