Noli and Fili Compared

Noli FILI - Romantic Novel - political novel - Work of the heart - work of the head - A book of feeling - a
book of thought - It has freshness, color, - it contains bitterness, humor, lightness, and wit hatred, pain,
violence, and sorrow.

The original intention of Rizal was to make the FIli longer than the Noli. As printed, however, it is shorter
than the Noli. It contains 38 chapters as against the Noli’s 64. Rizal had to cut the Fili drastically owing to
lack of funds.

The issue of which is the superior novel. Noli or the Fili is purely academic. Both are good novels from
the point of view of history. Both depict with realistic colors the actual conditions of the Philippines and
the Filipinos 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 Philippine Revolution that brought
about the downfall of Spain and El Fili is a true twin of Noli.

Rizal’s The Unfinished 3rd Novel

September 22, 1891 Rizal wrote to Blumetritt saying that he’s thinking of writing a third novel where
ethics will play principal role. October 18, 1891 boarded the steamer Melbourne in Marseilles bound for
Hong Kong. During the voyage he wrote the third novel in Tagalog in which he intended for Tagalog
readers. In Hong kong he continued it, but did not finish it because his Tagalog was inadequate for
literary purposes. The unfinished 3rd novel has no title. It consists of 44 pages in Rizal’s handwriting. The
manuscript is still preserved in the Bureau of Public Libraries. The hero of the novel was Kamandagan, a
descendant of Lakan-Dula, last king of Tondo. He plotted to regain the lost freedom of his fathers. It is
said that Rizal was fortunate not to finish this novel, because it would have caused greater scandal and
more Spanish vengeance on him.

Rizal’s Other Unfinished Novels

Other Unfinished novels

• Makamisa - a tagalog novel - written in light sarcastic style - incomplete with only 2 chapters - consists
of only of 20 pages
• Dapitan - written in Ironic Spanish - he wrote it while in Dapitan to depict the town life and customs -
Consists of 8 pages
• A novel in Spanish about the life in Pili, a town in Laguna - consist of 147 pages - without title
• Another unfinished novel of Rizal, also without title, is about Cristobal, a youthful Filipino student who
has returned from Europe - consists if 34 pages
• The beginning of another novel are contained in two notebooks. The first notebook contains 31
written pages while the second contains 12 pages - written in Spanish and the style is ironic.