El Filibusterismo

(The Subversive)
 Writing of El Filibusterismo
Rizal had began writing the Fili in October
1887 and finished the manuscript on March
29, 1891—taking him three years to write
the second novel.
Rizal had been working on his second novel
on and off ever since the publication of the
Noli. He had been haunted by fear that he
would never finish it.
He had premonitions for two months before
his 29th birthday, dreaming almost every
night of his dead relatives.
 Writing of El Filibusterismo
 Two unhappy events moved Rizal to
work harder to finish the Fili:
1. Leonor Rivera’s infidelity;
2. Rizal’s humiliation in Madrid when he
abdicates his leadership of the
Propaganda movement.
 In his letter to Blumentritt: “I am
writing the Fili with more ardor than
the Noli, and although, it is not so
cheerful, it is more profound and
perfect.”
 Printing of El Filibusterismo
Rizal published the Fili in Ghent where
he found a printing press that was willing
to print his book in installment basis.
Rizal encountered severe difficulties in
funding for the publication of the Fili.
 There was now no Paciano on whom to
pin his hopes.
 His friends who promised to help him had
abandoned him and did not send the
expected funds.
 Printing of El Filibusterismo
In his letter to Basa on July 1891,
Rizal described his predicament as
follows:
“I have already pawned all my jewels. I
live in a small room. I eat in the cheapest
restaurant in order to economize and be
able to publish my book; soon I will have to
stop its publication if no money comes…”
The printing of the Fili was suspended
on August 1891 because of lack of
funds.
Ventura, Savior of the Fili
Once more, Rizal felt desperate and
in a moment of bitter disillusionment,
he almost hurled the manuscript of
the Fili into the flames, just as he
almost did in the Noli.
But help came from an unexpected
source when Valentin Ventura heard
of Rizal’s predicament and
immediately sent him the necessary
funds.
With Ventura’s assistance, the
printing of the Fili was resumed.
 The Fili Comes Off the Press
On September 18,
1891, El Filibusterismo
came off the press
after a “long difficult
birth”.
Because he was short
of funds, Rizal was
compelled to cut short
the novel drastically.
Rizal gave Ventura the
original manuscript
and an autographed
printed copy of the
second novel.
 The Fili Comes Off the Press

Almost all copies of

the first edition were
shipped to Hong
Kong but they were
confiscated and the
books were lost.
The book became
rare and the few
available copies
were sold at very
high prices.
Dedication of the Fili to GomBurZa
In all the years of his studies, travels
and labors, Rizal had not forgotten the
martyrdom of the three priests as he
dedicated his second novel in their
memory.
In his dedication:
“The Church, by refusing to degrade you, has
placed in doubt the crime that has been imputed on
you; the Government by surrounding your trials with
mystery and shadows, causes the belief that there
were some error committed in fatal moments; and all
the Philippines, by worshipping your memory and
calling you martyrs in no sense recognizes your
culpability.”
Dedication of the Fili to GomBurZa
In his dedication:
“I have the right to dedicate my work to
you as victims of the evil which I
undertake to combat. And while we wait
expectantly upon Spain some day to
restore your good name and cease to be
answerable to your death, let these pages
serve as tardy wreath of dried leaves over
your unknown tombs, and let it be
understood that every one who without
clear proofs attacks your memory stains
his hands in your blood!”
The Title “El Filibusterismo”
In his letter to Blumentritt, Rizal
described the word “filibustero” as a
dangerous patriot who will soon be
in the gallows, or else a conceited
fellow.
In his novel, the whole point is:
what would a man do if he is
denied justice—take the law into
his own hands or wait for Spain
to give him his rights?
Comparison of the Noli
and the Fili
 Noli and Fili Compared
The two novels of Rizal
vary in many respects,
although they were written
by the same author and are
supposed to be dealing with
the same story and have the
same characters.
 Noli and Fili Compared
The Noli is a romantic novel—it
is a “work of the heart,” a “book of
feeling;” it has freshness, color,
humor, lightness and wit.
The Fili is a political novel—it is
a “work of the head”, a “book of
thought;” it contains bitterness,
hatred, pain, violence and sorrow.
 Noli and Fili Compared
In terms of length, the original
intention of Rizal was to make
the Fili longer than the Noli.
But lack of funds forced Rizal
to drastically shorten the Fili to
only 38 chapters compared to
Noli which had 64 chapters.
 Noli and Fili Compared
Storyline and themes:
 In the Noli, Rizal had concentrated his fire on
the friars.
 In the Fili, Rizal indicted the entire Spanish
regime including its native defenders and
supporters.
The Fili was more profound politically than
the Noli because it prescribed a solution to
the problem when reforms would not be
granted.
Rizal had declared in the Fili that the
Filipinos may eventually “prefer to die than
to endure the miseries any longer.”
 Noli and Fili Compared
In the Fili, Rizal is no longer
the loyal reformer.
He has become the
“subversive separatist,”
making little effort to conceal
this in the title and in his
dedication of his second novel.
Which of the Noli and the Fili
is more superior?
On the opinion that the Noli is
superior to the Fili:
 Rizal himself considered the Noli as
superior to Fili as a novel (perhaps
because the latter was drastically
shortened), thereby agreeing with
Marcelo H. del Pilar and Wenceslao
Retana who had the same opinion.
 Which of the Noli and the Fili
is more superior?
On the opinion that the Fili is superior
to the Noli:
 Blumentritt, Rafael Palma and Graciano Lopez
Jaena regarded the Fili superior to Noli.
 Blumentritt described the Noli as “the greatest
literary work ever written by a Filipino… a work
written with the heart’s blood of a patriot,” but
regarded the Fili superior than the Noli.
 Graciano Lopez Jaena also considered the Fili
superior to Noli, but he was not satisfied with the
conclusion saying, “the end is not a worthy climax
to a work so beautiful.”
 Noli and Fili Compared
Both are good novels from the point of
view of history.
Both depict the realistic colors of the
actual conditions of the Philippines
during the decadent days of Spanish
rule.
Both are instrumental in awakening the
spirit of Filipino nationalism.
Both are responsible in paving the
ground for the Philippine Revolution that
brought about the downfall of Spain.