El Filibusterismo Summary

The protagonist of El Filibusterismo is a jeweler named Simoun. He is the new identity of Crisostomo
Ibarra who, in the prequel Noli, escaped from pursuing soldiers. It is revealed that Crisostomo dug up
his buried treasure and fled to Cuba, becoming richer and befriending Spanish officials.

After many years, the newly fashioned Simoun returns to the Philippines, where he is able to freely
move around. He is a powerful figure not only because of his wealth but also because he is a good
friend and adviser of the governor general.

Outwardly, Simoun is a friend of Spain; however, in secret, he is plotting a terrible revenge against the
Spanish authorities. His two obsessions are to rescue his paramour Maria Clara from the nunnery of
Santa Clara and to foment a Philippine revolution against Spain.

The story of El Filibusterismo begins on board a steamer ship sailing up the Pasig river from Manila to
Laguna de Bay. Among the passengers are Simoun; Doña Victorina, a pro-Spanish native woman who
is going to Laguna in search of her henpecked husband, Tiburcio de Espadaña, who has deserted her;
Paulita Gomez, her beautiful niece; Ben-Zayb (anagram of Ibañez), a Spanish journalist who writes silly
articles about the Filipinos; Padre Sibyla, vice-rector of the University of Santo Tomas; Padre Camorra,
the parish priest of the town of Tiani; Don Custodio, a pro-Spanish Filipino holding a position in the
government; Padre Salvi, thin Franciscan friar and former cura of San Diego; Padre Irene, a kind friar
who was a friend of the Filipino students; Padre Florentino, a retired scholarly and patriotic Filipino
priest; Isagani, a poet-nephew of Padre Florentino and a lover of Paulita; and Basilio, son of Sisa and
promising medical student, whose medical education is financed by his patron, Capitan Tiago.

A man of wealth and mystery, Simoun is a very close friend and confidante of the Spanish governor
general. Because of his great influence in Malacañang, he was called the “Brown Cardinal” or the
“Black Eminence”. By using his wealth and political influence, he encourages corruption in the
government, promotes the oppression of the masses, and hastens the moral degradation of the
country so that the people may become desperate and fight. He smuggles arms into the country with
the help of a rich Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who aspires to be Chinese consul of Manila. His first
attempt to begin the armed uprising did not materialize because at the last hour he hears the sad
news that Maria Clara died in the nunnery. In his agonizing moment of bereavement, he did not give
the signal for the outbreak of hostilities.

After a long time of illness brought about by the bitter loss of Maria Clara, Simoun perfects his plan to
overthrow the government. On the occasion of the wedding of Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez, he
gives a wedding gift to them a beautiful lamp. Only he and his confidential associates, Basilio (Sisa’s
son who joined his revolutionary cause), know that when the wick of his lamp burns lower the
nitroglycerine, hidden in its secret compartment, will explode, destroying the house where the
wedding feast is going to be held killing all the guests, including the governor general, the friars, and
the government officials. Simultaneously, all the government buildings in Manila will be blown by
Simoun’s followers.

As the wedding feast begins, the poet Isagani, who has been rejected by Paulita because of his liberal
ideas, is standing outside the house, sorrowfully watching the merriment inside. Basilio, his friend,
warns him to go away because the lightened lamp will soon explode.

Upon hearing the horrible secret of the lamp, Isagani realizes that his beloved Paulita is in grave
danger. To save her life, he rushes into the house, seizes the lightened lamp, and hurls it into the
river, where it explodes.

The revolutionary plot is thus discovered. Simoun is cornered by the soldiers, but he escapes. Mortally
wounded, and carrying his treasure chest, he seeks refuge in the home of Padre Florentino by the sea.
The Spanish authorities, however, learns of his presence in the house of Padre Florentino. Lieutenant
Perez of the Guardia Civil informs the priest by letter that he will come at eight o’clock that night to
arrest Simoun.

Simoun eludes arrest by taking poison. As he is dying, he confesses to Padre Florentino, revealing his
true identity, his dastardly plan to use his wealth to avenge himself, and his sinister aim to destroy his
friends and enemies.

The confession of the dying Simoun is long and painful. It is already night when Padre Florentino,
wiping the sweat from his wrinkled brow, rises and begins to meditate. He consoles the dying man
saying: “God will forgive you Señor Simoun. He knows that we are fallible. He has seen that you have
suffered, and in ordaining that the chastisement for your faults should come as death from the very
ones you have instigated to crime, we can see His infinite mercy. He has frustrated your plans one by
one, the best conceived, first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of preparation, then in some
mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him thanks!”

Watching Simoun die peacefully with a clear conscience and at peace with God, Padre Florentino falls
upon his knees and prays for the dead jeweler. The priest then takes the treasure chest and throws it
into the sea.

Summary V2
On the upper deck of the steamship Tabo, presumably in 1894, the passengers discuss its slow pace as
it sails along Pasig River on the way to Laguna Lake.[1] Meanwhile on the lower deck, the students
Basilio and Isagani discuss their plans to establish an academy that teaches Spanish to Capitan Basilio,
who expresses his doubts that their plan will be approved by the governor-general.[2] Back on the
upper deck, the passengers tell legends about the lake, including the tale of Crisostomo Ibarra.[3]

The narration then shifts to the tale of Cabesang Tales; a religious order laid claim to his land and
taxed him for it, which he tried to oppose but ended up losing against. With Tales captured by
bandits, his daughter Juli borrows money from Hermana Penchang to ransom him and works as her
servant in exchange.[4]

Arriving at San Diego on Christmas Eve, Basilio learns of Tales' abduction,[5] and makes his way to his
mother's grave. He recalls the events from thirteen years prior; it is also explained that he studied
with the help of his foster father Capitan Tiago and plans to marry his sweetheart Juli.[6] As Basilio is
about to leave, he runs into the jeweler Simoun, who turns out to be Crisostomo Ibarra in disguise.
Simoun attempts to recruit Basilio into his plans for revolution, but Basilio refuses.[7]

On Christmas Day, Juli starts her work as Hermana Penchang's servant; her grandfather Selo discovers
he has become dumb.[8] As people gossip about the misfortune of Selo and his family,[9] Tales
returns and entertains Simoun at his house as he sells jewelry to clients. He exchanges Juli's locket,
which originally belonged to Maria Clara, for Simoun's revolver and becomes a bandit, killing the friar
administrator stealing his land as well as the new tenant and his wife.[10]

On the last day of December, the governor-general and his advisers, as well as some friars, take a rest
in Los Baños. The governor-general asks their opinion on the students' plans for a Spanish academy;
met with disparate opinions, no decision is made.[11]

In Manila, the student Placido Pentitente goes to school; his sycophant friend Juanito Pelaez speaks
with him on the way.[12] In his class in physics, Placido gets in an argument with his professor Padre
Millon and walks out in anger.[13] At the students' dormitory, the wealthy Makaraig announces that
the decision to establish the Spanish academy has been passed to a commission headed by Don
Custodio. The students devise plans to convince him, as well as the lawyer Señor Pasta, to approve
the plan.[14]

Isagani then approaches Señor Pasta, only for him to refuse for fear of angering the friars.[15] At his
house, the Chinese businessman Quiroga entertains guests for dinner. Simoun asks him to store rifles
in his warehouse in exchange for absolving part of his debt to him.[16] The guests then leave
Quiroga's house to attend the Quiapo Fair;[17] at the American Mr. Leeds' show, the supposed Sphinx
tells a story similar to that of Ibarra's and calls out Padre Salvi, causing him to faint.[18]

Later on, Placido meets with Simoun and learns of his plans to instigate a revolution and rescue Maria
Clara from the nunnery.[19] As Don Custodio puzzles over his decision,[20] people of Manila go to
Teatro de Variadades to watch Les Cloches de Corneville.[21] During the performance, the students
learn of Don Custodio's decision.[22]

At Capitan Tiago's house, Basilio is visited by Simoun; the man attempts to recruit him once again,
only to become distraught when Basilio informs him that Maria Clara has died.[23] In Malecon,
Isagani meets with his sweetheart Paulita Gomez and tells her about his dreams for reform; Paulita
dismisses them as being idealistic and unattainable.[24]

The students later organize a banquet to order Don Custodio's decision; Don Custodio has decided
that the academy be supervised by a Dominican order and that the students merely collect
contributions.[25] Basilio later goes to the hospital and learns that seditious posters have been seen,
with the student organization being implicated. As he goes to Makaraig's house to ask for a loan, he is
ultimately arrested as well.[26] Meanwhile, Isagani and Padre Fernandez argue regarding the friars'
education of the students.[27]

As gossip spreads regarding the students' imprisonment,[28] Capitan Tiago dies and his will is
executed by Padre Irene, who has forged it and distributed his properties, which were meant for
Basilio, to the Sta. Clara convent and other religious corporations.[29] Back in San Diego, Juli learns of
Basilio's imprisonment and is reluctantly convinced to seek the help of Padre Camorra; she then kills
herself when the priest assaults her.[30]

As a high official attempts to convince the governor-general to release Basilio, whom he believes to be
innocent, the governor-general refuses.[31] Later on, the students Pecson, Tadeo, and Juanito, are
freed from prison but suspended from their classes; it is revealed that Juanito is to marry Paulita.[32]

Basilio is released from prison, having learned of Juli's death, and joins Simoun in his revolution,
learning that the man plans to place a dynamite-laden lamp at an important gathering as a signal for
the attack.[33] As Basilio walks along the streets later on, he sees the wedding reception of Juanito
and Paulita, surmising it to be the gathering Simoun was referring to.[34] He then sees Isagani, whom
he tells to leave because of the bomb; as the guests panic over the lamp bearing a note from Ibarra
which is presumed to be dead years ago, Isagani rushes into the house and throws the lamp into the
river before escaping.[35]

Later on, news circulates about bandits attacking a friar country house. The bandits confess to a
mestizo matching Simoun's description being the mastermind of the attack.[36] The day after the
wedding reception, Isagani discusses the events with several individuals; the silversmith Chichoy
reveals Simoun was the one who planned the attack.[37]

As members of the Guardia Civil escort prisoners, they are ambushed by bandits; one of the soldiers,
Carolino, kills their leader, Cabesang Tales, and another one kills the old man Selo. It is then revealed
that Carolino is actually Tano, Tales' son and Juli's brother.[38] Later on, Simoun escapes to the house
of Isagani's uncle Padre Florentino; pursued by the Guardia Civil, he kills himself by taking poison in
order to avoid arrest. Afterward, Padre Florentino throws his jewel chest into the sea.[39]
Major Characters
Simoun
Basilio
Isagani
Cabesang Tales
Don Custodio
Paulita Gomez
Makaraig
Juli
Juanito Pelaez

Trivia
The novel's title is Spanish for "the subversion", referring to the characters' actions against the
Spanish colonial government.
Rizal dedicated the novel to the memory of priests Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora.
Both Noli and Fili were banned in some parts of the Philippines because of Rizal's portrayal of the
Spanish government, and are one of the reasons that led to Rizal's exile and execution.
Rizal's novels later on indirectly became the inspiration to start the Philippine Revolution.[40]
Rizal regretted that he killed Elias instead of Ibarra because he believed that he would never write a
continuation and talk about a revolution.