CHAPTER 9: NOLI ME TANGERE, CONTEXT AND CONTENT

José Rizal's first novel, Noll Me Tangere, is considered one Of the most important written
outputs by the national hero at the height of his intellectual endeavors 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 nineteenth century colonial life in the
Philippines. Many appreciate the Noll for its narrative that takes the readers, through the eyes of its
characters, on a journey of love and deception, struggles and triumphs; and in the process, presents
pressing questions about power and social inequalities.
This chapter will explore the context of the publication of the Non. The novel's major elements
will also be appraised from its main characters and settings and its plot and major conflicts will be
tackled.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:
 describe the context of the publication of the Noli Me Tangere;
 and discuss the major elements of the Noli Me Tangere as a novel.

VOCABULARY
Novel - a long written story most often about fictional events and characters
setting (in a novel) — the context in which the events take place; covers geographical areas in
particular periods of time
plot - the fiow of the narrative in a story

The Publication of the Noli

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 Tangere.
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.

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.

Motivations behind Writing the Noli

The title, Noli Me Tangere, had Biblical reference to the Gospel of John 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. Rizal explained: "l
must wake from its slumber the spirit of my country... I must first propose to my countrymen
an example with which they can struggle against their bad qualities, and afterwards, when
they have reformed, many writers would rise up to present my country to proud Europe"
(qtd. in Schumacher 1991, p. 93).
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.
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
Sources: Riza'. José (Translated by Ma. Soledad Lacson-Locsin). 1996 Noli Me Tangere Makati: Bookmark.

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.
Plot
The story of the Noli Me Tångere followed the life of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra after he returned
to the Philippines from studying in Europe. The novel opened with Capitan Tiago preparing a
homecoming gathering for the young ilustrado. Throughout the pages of the novel, the characters
could be seen navigating the complex realities of colonial Philippines. Ibarra was shown to be
rekindling links with his betrothed Maria Clara. But not everything was fine and dandy for
Ibarra. Upon his return, he learned about the ills that plagued his town as well as the abuses of
the friars to which his late father fell victim to. Ibarra found an antagonist in Padre Damaso, the
former curate of San Diego who ordered that the corpse of his father be exhumed and reburied in
the Chinese cemetery.
Despite these personal travails, Ibarra persevered to fulfill the Plan of building a school in San
Diego, staying true to his belief that education was crucial for his nation's progress. Ibarra
almost got killed had it not for Elias, a boatman, who saved him. Elias also previously cautioned
Ibarra about his actions that could anger the friars. After the incident, Ibarra organized a
luncheon.
Here, another confrontation occurred between Ibarra and Damaso who attended the luncheon
uninvited. In a fit of anger, Ibarra took a knife against Damaso's neck and threatened to slit his
throat as he told everyone of the abuses committed by Damaso and the desecration he did to
Ibarra's father. Maria Clara calmed Ibarra and prevented him from killing the friar. Damaso, in
an act of revenge, persuaded Capitan Tiago, the father of Maria Clara, to not allow his daughter
to marry Ibarra.
After some time, a revolt was blamed on Ibarra, which caused his incarceration. With the help
of Elias, he escaped and went to see Maria Clara who was soon marrying the man her father
chose for her. In a heartbreaking confrontation, Ibarra and Maria Clara exchanged accusations
and, in the process, it was revealed that Damaso was the true father of Maria Clara.
As turmoil and confusion engulfed the town, Maria Clara thought Ibarra had been killed. This
caused her endless grief. She asked to be confined to a nunnery lest she take her own life. It was
later revealed that Ibarra was not dead, and that Elias was the one fatally shot. In the latter
passages, the dying Elias was waiting for Ibarra but instead, met and talked to the young Basilio.
He Instructed the orphaned boy (his mother Sisa, who became insane looking for her young sons,
had died) to find the treasure of Ibarra buried in the cemetery and use it to get an education. He
reminded Basilio to never lose hope and if one day, freedom and progress would come to his
country, to not forget those who labored in the night.
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 reflected the lives of people
living in the complicated world of colonial Philippines.
CHAPTER 10: NOLI ME TANGERE, CONTINUING RELEVANCE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:
1. appreciate the importance of Rizal as a thinker; and
2. relate the issues raised in the novel to the changing landscape of the contemporary world.
VOCABULARY
censorship – the suppression of the release or publication of material deemed inappropriate,
obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security
critique – an evaluation, analysis, or assessment of a literary, philosophical, or scientific work
sociology – the social science dealing with the study of the development, structures, and
functioning of human society

LEARNING FOCUS
While the Noli Me Tangere triggered social conversations in the late nineteenth century
Philippines, it is important to note how the novel continues to resonate beyond its time. The
success of Rizal’s novel also rests on its timelessness in terms of present-day social issues and
political/economic realities. In this chapter, Noli’s legacy and continuing relevance will be
explained as a text not only in the field of literature but also in the areas of history and the social
sciences. The chapter will also look at Rizal as a social scientist who espoused early articulations
of a social-scientific manner of understanding and presenting the way of life, in this case, within
a colonial context. The lesson will start with a discussion of the incarnations of the Noli as it was
published after Rizal s time. This will be followed by a section on the study of colonial society

Noli After Its First Publication

At present, Noli Me Tangere 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.
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 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.
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. 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.

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 writing 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. 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.

CHAPTER 11: LOOKING AT THE FILIPINO PAST

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:
1.argue the reasons why Jose Rizal decided to annotate Antonio Morga’s work, Sucesos de las
Islas Filipinas;
2.relate how Rizal’s annotation conform with the overall aims of the Propaganda
Movement; and
3.create their own annotations of a sample text.
VOCABULARY
Audiencia – the Royal Audiencia or the royal court of justice in Spain and its colonies
ecclesiastics– the religious missionaries
secular– having ideas and attitudes not determined by any religious bias
During the Spanish colonial period, Philippine history was primarily written by the
Spaniards. Early Spanish historians took note of the native's appearance and way of life.
However, many of these early histories depicted the Filipinos in negative terms and often
contained biases against the colonized people. José Rizal's annotation of Antonio Morga's work,
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, was an attempt to redress this biased view of the Filipinos.
Although Rizal's annotations have been "largely disregarded." his work has been credited as the
first Philippine history to be written from the viewpoint of a Filipino.
Antonio Morga was a Spanish administrator who served in the Philippines in the late
sixteenth century. He was born in Seville in 1559 and began working for the government in
1580. He served as the Lieutenant-Governor-second most powerful position in the colony-of the
Philippines in 1593 and then as a judge of the Audiencia in 1598. By 1615, he moved to Mexico
where he served as the president of the Audiencia. He was later investigated for corruption and
was found guilty. Before being sent to the gallows, however, he died in 1636.
Morga's work, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, was published in 1609 in Mexico and
consisted of eight chapters. The first seven chapters dealt with the terms of the governor-generals
who had served in the Philippines from the time of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565 to Pedro de
Acuña in 1606. The last chapter, titled "An account of the Philippine Islands," provided ample
descriptions of early Filipinos upon the arrival of the Spaniards in the sixteenth century.
While at the British Museum in late 1889, Rizal found a copy of the first edition of
Antonio Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas and began copying the text by hand. He annotated
the work along the way with the intention of creating a critical work on the history of the
Philippines. Despite hopes of getting the work published through the help of Antonio Regidor,
Rizal ended up with no publisher when his annotations were done. By September 1889, Rizal
decided to publish the annotations himself in Garnier Hermanos, a printing press based in Paris.
Rizal's choice of annotating Morga's work among all other early chronicles written by
Spaniards is not coincidental. Historian Ambeth Ocampo provides five reasons behind Rizal's
choice.
The first reason, according to Ocampo, was the fact that Morga's work in its original
Spanish edition was rare. In fact, the original Spanish text had never been reprinted in full until
Rizal published his annotations in 1889. Second, unlike other early Spanish chronicles written by
ecclesiastics, Morga was a civil administrator and therefore provided a secular view of historical
events during the early Spanish colonial period. This second reason relates to Rizal's belief that a
secular account was more credible than those written by religious missionaries, which is the third
reason for his choice. Fourth, it was more sympathetic towards the natives in contrast to the
biased accounts written by the friars. Finally, Morga's work was a fitting choice because he was
an eyewitness to historical events that occurred in the Philippines during the period of early
Spanish colonization.
With the publication of his annotations to Sucesos, Rizal presented an outline of a linear
conception of history. While Noli Me Tangere dealt with the nineteenth century or Rizal's
present, and El Filibusterismo and the essay titled "The Philipines a Century Hence" covered the
future, the annotations of Sucesos tackled the past.
More than an attempt to write the country's history, however, Rizal's annotation of
Morga's Sucesos must also be seen within the context of the Propaganda Movement. At a time
when Filipino propagandists were clamoring for reforms in Spain, presenting a critical narrative
of the country's history might be considered as an endeavor to create a sense of national
consciousness or identity that was anchored on a glorious past. Whereas early Spanish
chroniclers ridiculed the early Filipinos for being barbarians, Rizal's copious notes of Sucesos
revealed early Filipino culture as rich and flourishing. Thus, Rizal's annotations may be
considered an effort to assert Filipino identity within an oppressive colonial framework.

Chapter 12: Indolence or Industry

In the opening scene of Noli Me Tangere, a social gathering in the house of Kapitan
Tiago serves as a venue for guests to mingle and converse. In one such occasion, Father Damaso
explicitly states his opinion of the indio. While speaking to a young man about the native
Filipinos, Damaso exclaims, "As I believe in the Gospel! The Indian is so indolent!" To this, the
young man poses the question, "Does this indolence actually, naturally, exist among the natives
or is there some truth in what a foreign traveler says that with this indolence we excuse our own,
as well as our backwardness and our colonial system?"
Indolence in the natives was a view commonly held by foreigners who came to the
Philippines as evident in the conversation narrated above. Rizal and the other propagandists,
however, felt that this view was misguided and made efforts for its rectification. One such
attempt was through Rizal's essay, “Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos” (On the Indolence of
the Filipinos), which will serve as the topic of this chapter.
VOCABULARY
indio - a term used by the Spaniards to refer to the native Filipinos; occasionally used in a
derogatory manner
Moro piracy - a series of raids in several Philippine towns committed by Muslims from
Mindanao during the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries
Filipinos during the period of Spanish colonization were commonly described as lazy.
Several foreigners visiting the Philippines from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries
affirmed this view with their observations. Gemelli Careri, an Italian traveler who came to the
country in the seventeenth century, remarked, "It is their laziness that makes them appear less
ingenious; and they are so entirely addicted to it, that if in walking they find a thorn run into their
foot, they will not stoop to put it out of the way, that another may not tread on it.” A more
scathing portrayal was given by friar Gaspar de San Agustin in 1720. He stated that "their
laziness is such that if they open a door, they never close it; and if they take any implement for
any use, such as a knife, pair of scissors, hammer, etc., they never return it whence they took it,
but drop it there at the foot of the work." Indolence was also commented upon by the German
scholar Feodor Jagor in the nineteenth century, "Along the river Pasig, somebody might be seen
asleep on a heap of coconuts. If the nuts run ashore, the sleeper rouses himself, pushes off with a
long bamboo, and contentedly relapses into slumber, as his eccentric rafts regains the current of
the river.” More than simple observations, the remarks given by these foreigners resulted in a
perennial view of the Filipinos as incapable or inherently lacking in abilities.
Rizal's work, “Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos" (On the Indolence of the Filipinos),
was an attempt to rectify this view. The essay was serialized in six issues of La Solidaridad from
July 15 to September 15, 1890. It addressed the accusations made by foreign observers by
establishing through careful argumentation that indolence was not an inherent trait but was an
effect of other conditions imposed upon the Filipinos.
Rizal's reasoning echoes the ideas laid down earlier by Gregorio Sancianco's El Progreso
de las Filipinas in 1881. Sancianco advocated for reforms in the government's taxation system
because he believed that public revenues were necessary for the overall development of the
country. He also confronted the issue of the laziness of Filipinos by attributing the trait to the
poor economic conditions that rendered the natives lethargic and unmotivated.
 Rizal's essay, though, addresses the issue of the Filipino's laziness more directly
"inasmuch as the talk about it has continued, not only by employees who blame it to cover their
own stupidity, not only by friars who consider it necessary the perpetuation of their pretention
that they cannot be replaced, but also by serious-minded and disinterested persons."
From the outset, Rizal does not deny the existence of indolence in the Filipinos. “The
predisposition exists," he notes,"[because) the warm climate demands of the individual quietness
and rest, just as cold climate stirs up men to work and to be active.” However, he asserts that the
evil does not lie in the existence of indolence, but in the way that it is perpetuated. He points out,
"The evil is found in the fact that indolence in the Philippines is an exaggerated indolence, a
snowball indolence, so to speak, a vice which increases four-fold as time elapses."
The Filipinos were not always lazy, according to Rizal. When one looked back at the
precolonial past, he/she would see the industry, agriculture, and commerce the early Filipinos
engaged in. Rizal cites as one example an account written by Pigafetta who described the
flourishing trade of goods such as cinnamon, pepper, nuts, and other articles. Mining was also
practiced by early Filipinos as evidenced by Pigafetta's descriptions of vessels and utensils made
of pure gold.
If early Spanish accounts were in agreement on the industry of the Filipinos, what then
brought about a change in them? Rizal determines that the circumstances that produced a
predisposition towards laziness were the constant wars waged during the early stages of
colonization, the Moro piracies that occurred in the centuries that followed, and the abuses
committed by the Spaniards against the Filipinos. All the death and destruction brought about by
these situations, according to Rizal, took away from the Filipinos their desire to work.
Yet, Rizal also argues that while the previous circumstances made it possible for laziness
to take root in the Filipino's constitution, other factors ensured its maintenance. Rizal points out
that while the government did not provide the economic and moral incentives to encourage
industry among the Filipinos, the Filipinos themselves also had their own flaws. He states that
the defect of education and lack of national sentiment seen in the Filipinos only contributed to
maintaining the Filipino's predisposition towards indolence.
Having explained the reasons why the Filipinos became lazy, Rizal concludes that all
attempts to reform the Filipino would only be successful with education and freedom. With this,
Rizal argues convincingly that indolence in the Filipinos is not an inherent trait, but rather a
malady with its own causes and cures.