NOLI ME TANGERE 2

Lambujon. Letrondo. Lood. Lopez

TTh, 9:00 – 10:30 AM
Why Was The
Rizal Hero A
Creole?
Creole
- stable natural language that has developed from a
pidgin

- someone with Spanish ancestors

17th and 18th Century

Philippine Creoles were Filipino in the

sense that their lives were entirely
devoted to the service of the country.
WHY WAS THE RIZAL HERO A
CREOLE?

This article explained why Rizal

used the character of Juan
Crisostomo Ibarra, a creole, as his
hero in his novels.
 Who is Creole and who is
Filipino?
Don Saturnino Ibarra (Creole)

- Violent, at times cruel, but very active and industrious

- He transforms San Diego from “a miserable heap of huts” to a

thriving town that attracts new settlers and the Chinese.
 Who is Creole and who is
Filipino?
Don Rafael Ibarra (Filipino)

- Outrages the Peninsulars

- He has been influenced by the liberalism of the 1860s

 Who is Creole and who is
Filipino?
Peninsulars

- Spanish-born Spaniard, or a mainland Spaniard, residing in

the New World or the Spanish East Indies.
Clash Between The Creole
and The Peninsulars
first Transition from Don Pedro to Don Saturnino

second Clash between Ibarra and Padre Damaso

third Clash between Ibarra and Linares

The Relationship between
Elias and Ibarra
Rizalʼs ironic comment on the alliance
between Creole and Indio

It is Ibarra, not Elias, who becomes revolutionary.

Reasons Why the Creole
Revolution Always Failed
Creole had this idea of threat coming from the
Indio after the revolution broke out

Creole always wanted to assure their hold in the

society
Rizalʼs choice of a creole hero played
a role in treatment of Rizalʼs position
in the Revolution. Rizalʼs battle was
not the battle of the Indios but the
battle of the Creoles.
The Fiction of a
Knowable Community
Did Padre Damaso Rape Pia Alba?
Reticence, Revelation, and
Revolution in Jose Rizal’s Novels
Debate inspired by the RH bill
The “Damaso Act”
Debate inspired by the RH bill
Carlos Celdran - A popular
tour guide and Reproductive
Health (RH) Bill advocate.
- “ I really believe arts and
culture is the best way to
change society”.
-“Damaso represents abuse of
power”.
- January 28, 2013 : found
guilty for offending religious
feelings (Art. 133 of the
Revised Penal Code”
- faces up to 1 year of prison
for his act of free speech
Debate inspired by the RH bill

The church long battle against the passing of

Reproductive Health Bill (aka House Bill 4110)
was signed into law ast the Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act
(Republic Act 10354).
Interpreting the Damaso Act

Celdran’s act does not “rise to the level of

notorious offense” because “none of the
witnesses for the prosecution were able to
identify the religious dogma, ritual or belief that
they feel ridiculed or insulted”
Interpreting the Damaso Act

the OSG took issue with the RTC’s own finding

that “ In the mind of this court, only eyes with
prejudice and bias cannot see that theses acts of
accused-appellants were meant to mock, insult
and ridicule those clergy whose beliefs and
principles were diametrically opposed to his
own”
Interpreting the Damaso Act

For the solicitor general, the ambiguity of the

word “Damaso” proves resistant to the
prosecution’s effort to definitely fix Celdran’s act
as one “notoriously offensive to the feelings of
the faithful”
Debating the Character of
Padre Damaso
In popular Culture, Damaso is remembered less
as a symbol of Spanish tyranny than as a
hypocritical lecher. While hectoring others on
morality, he seduces women, and one of his
victims is Pia Alba, wife of Capitan Tiago, a
village chief. Pia is seduced, her vulnerability
coming in part because she so desperately wants
to have a child. In the end though, she is raped-
and dies at childbirth.
Allusion and Reticence in the
Pia Alba-Damaso Relationship
Revealing details are not always forthcoming in
the Noli. The narrative reticence is particularly
pronounced in the novel’s account of Padre
Damaso’s relationship with Pia Alba.

The Noli is reticent on the precise nature of Dona

Pia’s sexual entanglement with Padre Damaso.
Allusion and Reticence in the
Pia Alba-Damaso Relationship
The evidence of Dona Pia’s letter is similarly
inconclusive. They only suggest that Pia had
written the in her remorse when she was already
pregnant with Maria Clara, that neither Pia nor
Damaso wanted the child; and that both had
conspired to have the child aborted

The novel’s reticence allows different slants of

interpretation
Allusion and Reticence in the
Pia Alba-Damaso Relationship
Whether Padre Damaso actually raped Pia Alba
cannot be definitively established by the facts to
be found in the novel

It may be well that Dona Pia had been raped

indeed and that either the people around her had
not noticed any change in her behavior
immediately after the rape or Pia herself had
successfully hidden her distress from the people
around her.
 The Play of Reticence and
Revelation in Noli me Tangere

- The novel’s portrait of Padre Salvi, the other

villain
- Murder of Crispin
 The Play of Reticence and
Revelation in Noli me Tangere
The narrative reticence serves to humanize Padre
Damaso without necessarily excusing his
wrongdoings. It also helps to turn the screw,
building up tension and intrigue to spur
meaning making on the part of the reader.
 The Play of Reticence and
Revelation in Noli me Tangere
Rizal larded his text with plenty of allusions.
Allusions serve to demonstrate the author’s
erudition and in the case of Rizal, to show up the
colonizer’s ignorance of the colony alongside
their backwardness in the production of
Orientalist knowledge in Europe, to stoke the
reader’s interest and emotion, and to enrich as
well as suggest meanings
Crowds, Community, and
Commentary
The novels conjure up community through their
frequent depictions of crowds, of people
gathering or assembling for various purposes.

The novels render the crowds not simply

onlookers, but also as movers and doers, and
above all as commentators.
Crowds, Community, and
Commentary

- Crowds can be malicious

- Crowds can become aroused and restive as
well, even dangerous
Crowds, Community, and
Commentary
A crowd sufficiently inflamed by collective
agitation and in a state of extreme emotional
tension can, under a specific set of historical and
social conditions, turn or else be incited to
violent action by people whose personal
experiences of injustice may color their own
attitudes toward violence and who may use
violence as an instrument or as an end itself
Crowds, Community, and
Commentary
- People may be seen to talk, gossip, and
comment
- The novels give readers a chance to
eavesdrop on some of the conversations

Gossip, rumors, conversations, debates – the Noli

reports them all to the reader, who occupies a
privileged position as the one who is in the best
position to make sense of the occurrences in the
novel, to sort out the truths from the lies, to sift
the wheat of fact from the chaff of speculation.
Reading Rizal's Dedication: A
mi Patria

The tension between the “proper”, “correct” way

of reading and interpreting the novels and
openness of these novels to being read and
interpreted according to the interests and moral
precepts of whoever reads them is evident -- and
powerfully thematized -- in Rizal's “A mi Patria,”
which opens the Noli.
 To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886
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. And 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.

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.
To My Motherland by Jose
Rizal, 1886

“lifting a part of the veil that covers the evil, sacrificing

to the truth even amor propio itself, for as your own
son, I, too, suffer your defects and shortcomings”

Charles Derbyshire and and Harold Augenbraum differ

substantively in their translation of this famous passage.
To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886

Charles Derbyshire's quite literal transation of the

passage:
“Desiring thy welfare, which is our own, and seeking the best
treatment, I will do with thee what the ancients did with their sick,
exposing them on the steps of the temple so that every one who
came to invoke the Divinity might offer them a remedy”
To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886

Soledad Lacson-Locsin's translation:

“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.”
To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886

Harold Augenbraum offers his translation:

“Therefore, because I desire your good health, which is indeed
all of ours, and because I seek better stewardship for you, I will
do with you what the ancients did with their infirmed; they
placed them on the steps of their temples so that each in his
own way could invoke a divinity that might offer a cure”
To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886

The difference in translation is not a simple mistake or

misunderstanding on the part of Augenbramm. It appears that
Rizal has brought together two different classical references to
two different ancient traditions of practicing medicing:
- Healing temples founded by the followers of Aeculapius in
Greece and later Rome
- Herodotus to the Babylonians
“The Histories”
 “The Histories”

It appears that Rizal melded the Greek and Babylonian

traditions in dedication, placing the sick on the temple
steps (Greece) to solicit advice from the public
(Mesopotamia)
 To My Motherland by Jose Rizal, 1886
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. And 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.

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.
 The Narrator's Shifting
Perspective
The Noli's narrator, who adopts both the omniscient
and limited perspectives at different parts of the novel,
embracing the viewpoint of the “gente” from time to
time, also enacts this tension between truth and
interpretation.
 The Narrator's Shifting
Perspective
In most instances, the narrator undertakes the role of a
modern-day Celdran, acting as tour guide and explaining
the customs and practices of his fellow Tagalog and
occasionally commenting on the personages and scenes.

Also in several instances, the narrator actively puts

himself in the position.

This openness of Rizal's novels to interpretation has

generated substantial commentary in different media and
languages; and decades and different spaces.
The Narrator's Shifting Perspective
Elias: Self-Sacrifice for the
Coming Struggle
The openness of the Noli and Fili to multiple
interpretations and relevance is evident in the lively
debates these novels have provoked since their
publication.

There is the ability to imagine something new, something

otherwise, something that does not yet exist but may
become real or, just as important, be made real.
 Elias: Self-Sacrifice for the
Coming Struggle
The conjuring power of Noli and Fili comes into focus
through the political speech and action of two of their
principal male characters, Elias and Ibarra/Simoun, and their
liminal, ambiguous relationship to colonial society.

Rizal used allusion and argumentation to question the

basic foundations of colonial society.

This gave rise to images, thoughts and fantasies among

readers and audiences that far exceeded Rizal's own stated
political intentions.
 The Character of Elias
Noli me tangere tackles the challenge of representing
“the people.”

Although possessed of striki looks, Elias appears in the

eyes of colonial authorities like every other “indio,” and
for this reason he is able to elude capture.

While his defiance of colonial authority, Elias resists the

label “tulisan” and “criminal” imposed indiscriminately by
the colonial government on vandits and rebels alike,
having been known to fought the tulisanes who
attempted to rob a house.

Elias as the 'bearer of people's complaints.”

 The Character of Elias
Choosing a life of self-exile from colonial society, Elias fits
between the two worls of the taga-labas and taga-loob.
Elias' own family also straddles between these two
worlds.

Elias is a man of the people, he also strives to give voice

to the persecuted, serving as their interpreter.

Ibarra and Elias are both graduates from “Jesuit College”

and even if he speaks Spanish fluently, he is not qualified
as an 'ilustrado' because he elects not to attend
university.
 The Character of Elias
Elias is different from Ibarra because of his deep
knowledge of the everyday conditions of the country.

Ibarra and Elias's first exchange centers on their

disagreement over the status of the civil guard:
-Ibarra - “Necessary evil for ensuring security”
-Elias - “Source of abuse, suffering, and
resentment among the people”
The Character of Elias
 The Character of Elias
Although Machiavelly, did not believe in the truth of
religion, he thought it necessary to incorporate religion
into the practice of politics as a way of upholding civic
and moral virtues necessary for order and unity.

Ibarra's - Ignorant People

Elias's - Innocent People who will suffer

The Character of Elias
 The Character of Elias

A restatement of Elias's thinking and action can be found

in Walter Benjamin's Critique of Violence.
Critique of Violence
Elias's act of self-sacrifice
Simoun: Conjuring Revolution
Noli Me Tangere
- deals with fake revellion staged by a Spanish priest to frame a
young reformist..

El Filibusterismo
- focuses on revolution masterminded by one bent on
destroying the rotten order

“Filibustero”
- embody both positive ideas of independence (freedom) and
negative ideas of plunder (terror)

The Philippine Colonial state itself was quick to react to any hint,
even rumor, of conspiracy or rebellion.
Simoun: Conjuring Revolution
El Filibusterismo
- revolution is no longer just
talk but now assumes flesh,
form, and intent in the figure of
Simoun
It is the figure of Simoun, above all, who embodies Filibusterismo in
its most incendiary form.
Simoun Strategies
- to stir up trouble
- Stimulate greed and corruption
- Investigating crime
- Committing acts of cruelty
-Feeding the desire to plunder
Rizal, Author of Revolution
While the Fili imagined a revolution led by a Spanish-mestizo
descendant of creoles, Rizalʼs novels were being read,
interpreted, and acted upon by a different social group.

Urban middle sector would in fact seize the initiative to establish

the revolutionary secret society, the
KATIPUNAN.
 Rizal, Author of Revolution
Rizal denied his authorship of the 1896 revolution
He argued that the Katipunan had fundamentally misread and
misinterpreted him

The prosecution argued for Rizalʼs guilt based on the capacity of his
writingsas expressions of political speech.

There was to be no protected right to free speech in his time, for

Filipinos was under colonial rule, now under serious threat from
anticolonial revolution.

The trial was swift, there was to be no appeal, and by the end of
the month, Rizal was executed.
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