NOLI ME TANGERE
Chapter 55 to 64
Chapter 55: The Catastrophe
Characters:
• Father Salvi
• Crisostomo Ibarra
• Maria Clara
• Elias
• Alperes
Highlight of the Chapter:
Ibarra enters Capitan Tiago’s house, as soon as
he hears shots fired near the convent. Ibarra returns to his
house, and is arrested by the Guardia Civil. Seeing what
has happened, Elias enters Ibarra’s house, and
intentionally sets a fire to destroy any evidence that could
implicate Ibarrra in the failed attack.
Analysis:
✓ Ibarra willingly allows the guards to arrest him
without resisting, understanding the limited power
of civilians in dealing with the colonial
government.
✓ This highlights Ibarra's reluctance to openly
challenge authorities.
✓ Elias remains a loyal friend to Ibarra,
emphasizing the importance of letting go of
revenge, as advised by Tasio.
✓ The idea is that acting for the benefit of one's
country is a key to success in Filipino society.
Chapter 56: Rumors and Beliefs
Characters:
• People of San Diego
Highlight of the Chapter:
Rumors circulate in the terrified town, after the
eventful night. Some people assume that Don Filipo and
Crisostomo Ibarra have been arrested by the Guardia
Civil, while others think that some bandits were caught in
the night. Bruno—one of the brothers
whom Lucas convinced to sack the barracks—has
confessed that Ibarra organized the revolt in order to get
revenge on Captain Tiago for calling off his wedding and
engaging María Clara to Linares. Elsewhere, Lucas’s
body is found hanging from an apple tree. Disguised as a
peasant, Elías inspects Lucas’s body and sees the seeds
of a certain kind of tree stuck to the man’s collar. He then
goes to the church and sees the head sacristan, noting
that the same seeds are attached to his shirtsleeves.
Analysis:
✓ Seeds on the sexton's shirt hint that the church
might be linked to the attack.
✓ Father Salví is worried that Lucas might expose
his involvement in planning the attack.
✓ To cover his tracks, Salví orders Lucas to be killed
by the head sacristan.
✓ This highlights the corruption within the church,
as it's willing to eliminate its own members
instead of supporting them.
Chapter 57: Vae Victis!
Vae Victis = Woe to the Conquered
Characters:
• Alperes
• Father Salvi
• Donya Consolacion
• Tarsillo/ Tarsilyo
Highlight of the Chapter:
The Guardia Civil imprison the individuals
implicated in the failed attack. They torture Tarsilo to
obtain a confession from him and to make him disclose
the mastermind of the failed attack. But Tarsilo remains
silent up to his death.
Analysis:
✓ Társilo's honesty in clearing Ibarra's name is
commendable.
✓ However, Társilo's own story demonstrates that
seeking revenge can result in a violent and
painful death.
✓ This aligns with Tasio's counsel to Ibarra, urging
him to let go of revenge and concentrate on
establishing the school.
Chapter 58: The Accursed
Characters:
• Crisostomo Ibarra
• The arrested
• The relatives of the persons arrested
Highlight of the Chapter:
The crying relatives of those arrested wait outside
the barracks of the Guardia Civil. Ibarra, together with the
other prisoners, are led out of their cells to be transported
to the provincial capital. Along the way, Ibarra is cursed,
stoned, and ridiculed by the people, blaming him for their
misfortunes and hardships. Meanwhile, Old
Tasio watches the procession from a hill. He observes the
crowd until it disappears into the distance. After standing
idle for some time, he turns around and sets off for home.
He is found the next day, deceased “on the very threshold
of his solitary refuge.”
Analysis:
✓ Tasio's death highlights the consequence of
isolation for free-thinkers.
✓ Rizal describes Tasio's death as occurring "on the
very threshold of his solitary refuge."
✓ This illustrates that Tasio died just as he was
about to find safety and comfort, indicating that
his life of isolation did not bring any real benefit.
Chapter 59: Patriotism and Private Interests
Characters:
• Captain Tinong
• Captain Tinchang
• Primitivo
• People of Intramuros
Highlight of the Chapter:
In various churches across the Philippines, the
friars are talking about the news of Ibarra's supposed
rebellion. They use it as an excuse to have big religious
celebrations and cheer for Salví. At the same time,
Captain Tinong is sad about the problems his friend Tiago
is facing. He understands that he needs to distance
himself from Tiago because of his connection to Ibarra.
This kind of discussion is happening among the upper-
class people too, and it's evident that the Captain General
is no longer maintaining his good relationship with Ibarra.
Analysis:
✓ Social connections in the Philippines are shallow
and fragile.
✓ Priests, government officials, and the upper class
prefer to associate with respected individuals.
✓ Reputation is crucial because it equates to power
in this society.
✓ People distance themselves from Ibarra due to
his tarnished reputation, leaving him isolated in a
system biased against independent thinkers.
Chapter 60: Maria Clara Weds
Characters:
• Captain Tiago
• Captain Tinong
• Linares
• Mr. and Mrs. de Espadaña
• Maria Clara
• Crisostomo Ibarra
• Elias
• Señor Guevarra
• Father Salvi and Father Sibyla
• Alperes
Highlight of the Chapter:
Captain Tiago invites guests and visitors to
celebrate the impending marriage of Maria Calara and
Linares. Maria Clara goes to the azotea, where she sees
Crisostomo leaping out from a boat. She asks Crisostomo
for forgiveness since she is about to be married to
someone else, but declares that she would never forget
her vow of faithfulness to him.
Analysis:
✓ Captain Tiago ensured his safety by separating
from Ibarra and arranging María Clara's match
with Linares.
✓ People's opinions in the community can easily
shift from admiration to disgrace.
✓ Aunt Isabel's desire for María Clara to marry
Linares highlights the significance of social status
in San Diego.
✓ Father Salví's involvement suggests the church's
corruption and influence over the government.
✓ Maria Clara’s choice manifests that love is also
about sacrifices.
Chapter 61: The Chase on the Lake
Characters:
• Elias
• Crisostomo Ibarra
Highlight of the Chapter:
The two boatloads of Guardia Civil pursue Elias
and Ibarra on the lake. Elias jumps into the river to
mislead the pursuers, thus saving Ibarra.
Analysis:
✓ Elías decides to stay in the country because he
believes that isolation won't help. He thinks it's
better to fight against oppression, even if it means
suffering or dying, rather than abandoning his
own country.
✓ Ibarra, who is now facing accusations and
criticism, is starting to see why some people
might prefer a complete revolution over gradual
reforms. This change in his perspective confirms
that only those who have experienced
persecution can truly understand this.
 ✓ Ibarra is becoming more like a revolutionary,
while Elías advises caution. Ibarra is excited by
the idea that oppressive systems can turn people
into criminals and rebels, which has been a
recurring theme in the story. This idea is seen in
Crispín's desire to steal from the parish house.
✓ Elías's willingness to risk himself for Ibarra shows
his strong loyalty to his friend, even though
Ibarra's great-grandfather brought shame and
poverty to Elías's family for generations.
✓ Elías has mixed feelings about Ibarra, similar to
his complicated relationship with his homeland.
He both resents and respects Ibarra, just as he
knows he must fight for his country even if he
can't fully love or be happy in it.
Chapter 62: Padre Damaso Explains
Characters:
• Maria Clara
• Father Damaso
Highlight of the Chapter:
Maria is distraught when she learns that Ibarra
has been killed, while trying to escape. Out of
desperation, Maria Clara asks Father Damaso to break
her marriage engagement and to permit her to enter the
nunnery. After vainly arguing with Maria Clara, Father
Damaso gives his permission.
Analysis:
✓ María Clara, usually passive with powerful
priests, asserts herself for the first time by telling
Father Dámaso not to mention Linares's name.
✓ This moment reveals her ability to stand up for her
beliefs, in contrast to Captain Tiago, who wouldn't
dare to challenge a friar.
✓ Father Dámaso's reluctance to let María Clara
become a nun suggests he's more interested in
power than spirituality.
✓ María Clara's statement, "the convent or the
grave," signifies her growing personal agency
and her willingness to stand up to Dámaso.
Chapter 63: Christmas Eve
Characters:
• Basilio
• Sisa
• Elias
Highlight of the Chapter:
Basilio returns to San Diego to look for his insane
mother. Upon seeing her in the town, he runs after her
until they enter the forest owned by the Ibarras. Sisa dies,
after eventually recognizing her son. When Basilio
regains consciousness, Elias orders him to cremate his
him and his mother.
Analysis:
✓ Sisa's inability to recognize her son Basilio
reveals how her isolation from society has deeply
affected her.
✓ She may not welcome Basilio because she
knows she no longer fits into society and can't
reintegrate him into San Diego's everyday life.
Her isolation is a defense mechanism to shield
herself from further heartache.
✓ Sisa's death upon realizing the boy is Basilio
suggests that her failure to recognize him earlier
was a psychological defense mechanism. Seeing
Basilio brought her out of her daydreams,
overwhelming her.
✓ Two signs confirm that the man who meets
Basilio is Elías: he knows the location of hidden
gold, and his dying words express his desire to
fight for his country's independence. This
character is Elías, not Ibarra, as Rizal wrote "El
Filibusterismo" as a sequel to "Noli Me Tangere."
Chapter 64: Epilogue
Characters:
• Padre Damaso
• Padre Salvi
• Maria Clara
• Captain Tiago
• Aunt Isabel
• Doña Victorina
• Don Tiburcio
Summary:
Padre Damaso is reassigned as parish priest to a
distant province but is found dead the day after. Maria
Clara enters the Sta. Clara nunnery, where Padre Salvi
regularly preaches and holds an important office. Capitan
Tiago stops going to church, and is now addicted to opium
and gambling. The Alferez who has been promoted as a
2nd lieutenant, goes back to Spain, leaving his wife, Doña
Consolacion, behind. Doña Victorina still tries to live the
life of a Spanish woman, while her cousin Linares dies of
dysentery. Two Spanish guards see an insane nun
standing at the top of the Sta. Clara convent during a
raging storm. When the authorities try to investigate the
nun’s case, the abbess prohibits the inquiry, invoking the
name of Religion and the Holy Statutes.
Analysis:
✓ Captain Tiago's life takes a sad turn as he
isolates himself and becomes addicted to opium,
 reflecting Rizal's disapproval of solitude in such
cases.
✓ Father Salví remains a vain and power-seeking
figure, demonstrated by his decision to remove
his rival, Dámaso, far away.
✓ Rizal likely refers to María Clara and the
"violence of hypocrisy," pointing to Father Salví,
who preaches at Santa Clara and is implicated
in sexual assaults, highlighting the unchecked
power of friars in the Philippines.