Plot Summary

Noli Me Tángere begins at a dinner party hosted by Captain Don Santiago (Tiago), a wealthy resident of
Manila. Guests assembled at the party include other members of the upper class as well as friars of both
the Dominican and Franciscan orders. During dinner, Don Crisóstomo Ibarra arrives—the party being his
first stop post-returning from Europe. He is there to visit his fiancée María-Clara, Santiago’s daughter.
However, the celebratory atmosphere soon turns tense as one of the friars, Father Dámaso, becomes
angry at Ibarra’s arrival. After the party, Ibarra learns that his father, Don Rafael, died while in prison
and Father Dámaso had his corpse exhumed and removed from the Christian cemetery (i.e., dumped
into a river). The dramatic tension between Ibarra and Dámaso forms the central conflict.

As Ibarra reacclimates himself to his homeland, he looks to apply his progressive ideals to make life
better for the citizens of San Diego. After meeting with a school teacher, Ibarra’s first act is to build a
school. While he gains support from the local government, the religious order within the town views the
project with suspicion. They begin to see Ibarra as a threat to their power—with Dámaso in particular
seeing him as a rival who must be put in his place.

Ibarra and María-Clara’s relationship dates back to childhood. However, Dámaso is the godfather of
María-Clara and opposes the marriage. He wishes to drive the two apart and eventually achieves. He
arrives uninvited to a dinner party hosted by Ibarra and dishonors the memory of his late father, which
baits the latter into retaliation. Ibarra physically attacks Dámaso, holding him at knife point and
threatening to kill him. María-Clara intervenes and prevents Ibarra from completing the deed, but the
damage is done. As punishment for the assault, Ibarra is excommunicated and thus, the couple’s
engagement is annulled.

The Captain General, the King’s representative in the Philippines, intercedes on Ibarra’s behalf. Once
again, Dámaso and his colleague Father Salví are disgruntled and see the Captain General’s respect for
Ibarra as a threat to their power. Salví’s role in the novel becomes more prominent after this incident, as
he works on a scheme to take down Ibarra once and for all.

Ibarra befriends Elías, a fellow Filipino who is involved with a subversive group planning an uprising.
Because Elías is knowledgeable of the town’s underground, he is able to warn Ibarra of the attempts to
have him framed and killed. Their friendship is unusual as they are not of the same class, but they have
mutual respect for each other—and this respect enables them to strengthen their alliance.

Through no fault of his own, Ibarra’s life is turned upside down by the same forces that claimed the life
of his father. As the novel comes to a close, the progress that Ibarra advocated for is put on hold.
However, Dámaso suffers a private defeat as María-Clara holds a secret against him, one that would
destroy his reputation in town. Dámaso is eventually moved out of San Diego and with him out of the
way, the possibility of reform is made more possible than ever.