El Filibusterismo

Berlandino, De Roma, Jurquina, Posa, Tansinco

The novel

 It is the second novel written by Jose Rizal as a

sequel to Noli Me Tangere.

 Also written in Spanish

 “The Filibustering”

 “The Reign of Greed”

 Consists of 38 chapters
The Title

The ‘Filibusterismo’ in the novel’s title is derived from

the simpler term ‘filibustero’. Rizal defined the
word (‘filibustero’) to his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt
who encountered but did not fully comprehend the
word in the ‘Noli’. Rizal thus explained in a letter:

“The word filibustero is little known in the Philippines

…I heard it for the first time in 1872 when the tragic
executions [of the Gomburza] took place. I still
remember the panic that this word created. Our
father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words
Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed priests), etc.
The Title

The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply

this word to one whom they want to make a
revolutionary suspect. The Filipinos belonging to the
educated class fear the reach of the word. It …
means a dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged
or well, a presumptuous man.”
The Title

The word ‘filibustero’ thus contextually means

subversive, dissident, revolutionary, seditious,
insurrectionary, and treasonous.
GOMBURZA

Rizal dedicated the book to the memory of Gomez,

Burgos,, and Zamora (GOMBURZA), ,the three
Filipino patriotic priests who were accused of being
‘filibustero’ and thus executed.

The dedication partly reads:

To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez
(85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and
Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in the
Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872 …
I have the right to dedicate my work to you as victims
of the evil which I undertake to combat…”
GOMBURZA

The foreword of the Fili was nonetheless addressed

“To The Filipino People and Their Government”.

History of the Novel

 Rizal started writing El Filibusterismo in October

1887 in Calamba during his first homecoming.

 In London (1888), he revised the plot and some

chapters. Rizal continued to work on his
manuscript in Paris.

 He later moved to Brussels where the cost of

living was cheaper and he would be less likely to
be distracted by social events so he could focus
finishing the book.
History of the Novel

 He finally completed the book on March 29, 1891

in Biarritz.

 Jose Alejandrino, Rizal’s roommate in Belgium

related that he was the one who canvassed the
printing press for El Fili. He delivered proofs and
revisions to F. Meyer van Loo in Ghent.

 For his assistance, Rizal gave him the El Fili’s

corrected proofs and the pen used in doing the
corrections.
History of the Novel

 Initially, Rizal financed El Fili’s printing by pawning

his properties. In a letter to Jose Basa dated July
9, 1891, he related:

“For the past three months I have not received a

single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in
order to publish this book. I will continue
publishing it as long as I can; and when there is
nothing to pawn I will stop …”
History of the Novel

 Rizal’s next letter to Basa carried the sad news

that the printing had to be suspended for lack of
funds, and it was at this point where Valentin
Ventura came into the picture.

 Having known Rizal’s predicament, Ventura

immediately offered him financial help.

 In hindsight, we can assume that Ventura was

bothered by his conscience, hence his generous
monetary assistance for Rizal’s novel.
History of the Novel

 But even with Ventura’s help, Rizal found it

necessary to fundamentally shorten the novel,
erasing 47 whole pages from the 279-page
manuscript to save expenses (Ocampo, p. 111).

 September 18, 1891. The novel was published in

Ghent, partially funded by Valentin Ventura. Rizal
immediately sent on this date two printed copies
to Hong Kong – one for Jose Basa and other for
Sixto Lopez.
History of the Novel

 For Ventura’s salvific act, Rizal gave him the

novel’s original manuscript, a pen, and an
autographed printed copy.
History of the Novel

 The El Nuevo Regimen- liberal Madrid newspaper

serialized the novel in its issues of October 1891.

 Original manuscript of El Filibusterismo in Rizal’s

own handwriting is now preserved in the
Filipiniana Division of the Bureau of Public
Libraries in Manila
History of the Novel

 In 1925, the Philippine government bought the El

Fili manuscript from Ventura for a large sum of 10,
000 pesos (Zaide, p. 194).

 It is now being kept in the National Library.

 Consists of 279 pages of long sheets paper

History of the Novel

 Not all of the text contained in the original

manuscript of the El Filibusterismo was included
in the printed book. Two such texts are
the Foreword and the Warning.
Unpublished Foreword

 The Foreword reads:

We have so often been frightened by the phantom

of filibusterism that from only a nurse's narration it
has become a positive and real being whose
name alone (in depriving us of our serenity)
makes us commit the greatest myths in order not
to meet the feared reality. Instead of fleeing, we
shall look at its face, and with determined, if
inexpert, hand we shall raise the veil to uncover
before the multitude the mechanism of its
skeleton.
Unpublished Warning

 The Warning reads:

They are going to waste their time who would attack this
book by holding on to trifles, or who from other motives,
would try to discover in it more or less known
physiognomies. True to its purpose of exposing the
disease, of the patient, and, in order not to divert himself
nor divert the reader, whilst he narrates only real facts
which happened recently and are absolutely authentic in
substance, he has disfigured his characters so that they
may not turn to be the typical pictures some readers
found in his first book. Man passes; his vices remain,
and to accentuate or show their effects, the pen of the
writer aspires.
Inscription
 The original title has an inscription of Ferdinand
Blumentritt, which is not found in the English
translations.
Themes
 El Filibusterismo exposes the real picture of
Filipino society at the hands of the Spanish
authorities.

 Socio-political issues mentioned in the Noli are

also dealt with in its sequel:
 the abuses and hypocrisy of the members of the
Spanish Catholic clergy
 superstitions disguising as religious faith
 the need for reform in educational system
 the exploitation and corruption of government
officials
 and the pretenses of some social-climbing
Filipinos and Spaniards.
Themes

 What makes El Fili essentially different from its

prequel is that it offers various means of attaining
social reform and somewhat hinted what the
author believed was ideal.

 The main character’s persistence to push through

with the rebellion, seems to suggest that
independence is attainable through revolution.

 However, the closing chapters rather insinuate

that freedom must be attained without bloodshed
as the story ends with the failure of Simoun’s
planned uprising.
Objectives

- To defend Filipino people from foreign

accusations of foolishness and lack of knowledge.

- To show how the Filipino people lived during the

Spanish colonial period and cries and woes of his
country against abusive officials.
- To discuss what religion and belief can really do to
everyday lives.

- To expose the cruelties, graft and corruption of the

false government and honestly show the wrong
doings of Filipinos that led to further failure.
Executive Summary

The book narrates the return of the

protagonist of Noli Me Tangere, Crisostomo Ibarra,
under the disguise of the wealthy jeweler named
Simoun. Disillusioned by the abuses of the Spanish,
Ibarra abandons his pacifist belief in order to return
to the Philippines and start a violent revolution.

Noli Me Tangere’s Basilio, now a young man

and skilled medical student, is recruited by Ibarra to
aid him in detoning a bomb in a social gathering,
signaling the beginning of the revolution.
Executive Summary

However, he warns his friend Isagani.

Realizing that the woman he loves is in the building,
Isagani throws the bomb into the river, averting the
explosion and the revolution. Simuon commits
suicide by taking poison and find resting place in the
home of a priest, Father Florentino, who hears his
last confession and assures him that not all hope is
lost.
Executive Summary

Father Florentino, upon Simoun’s death,

commends the jewel into the sea, remarking that the
jewels once used to bribe and corrupt people, would
one day be hopefully found to be used for a
meaningful purpose.
Characters

Simoun
- He is Juan Crisostomo
Ibarra of Noli Me Tangere
in disguise.

Basilio
- Son of Sisa, and a
promising medical
student
Characters

Isagani
- He is the nephew of
Father Florentino and the
lover of Paulita Gomez.

Senor Pasta
- He is an old Filipino
lawyer who refuses to
help the Filipino students
in their clamor for
educational reforms.
Characters

Placido Penitente and

Pecson
- They are the students
who asked for
educational reforms.

Father Irene
- He is a kind friar who is a
friend of the Filipino
students.
Characters

Father Florentino
- Isagani’s godfather and a
secular priest

Kabesang Tales
- Juli's father.
Characters

Maria Clara
- She is Ibarra's girlfriend.

Donya Victorina
- She is the ridiculously
pro-Spanish woman who
is going to Laguna in
search of her henpecked
husband.
Characters

Juli
- Basilio's sweetheart.

Paulita Gomez
- The beautiful niece of
Doña Victorina.
Characters

Juanito Pelaez
- Paulita’s futuring
husband

Ben Zayb
- Spanish journalist who
writes silly articles about
the Filipinos
Characters

Don Custodio
- Famous journalist who
asked by the students
about his decision for the
Acadmia de Castellano

Quiroga
- A Chinese businessman
who dreamt of being a
consul of a “Consulate of
China” in the Phlippines.
Characters

Makaraig
- One of Isagani's
classmates at the
University of Santo
Tomas.

Padre Camorra
- The lustful parish priest
of Tiani, San Diego's
adjacent town who has
longtime desires for
young women.
Characters

Gobernador Heneral
- The powerful highest
official of the Philippines

Padre Fernandez
- The priest-friend of
Isagani
Characters

Padre Sibyla
- vice-rector of the
University of Santo
Tomas

Padre Salvi
- director and chaplain of
the Santa Clara convent.
Characters

Sandoval
- The vice-leader of
Macaraig's gang. A
Spanish classmate of
Isagani

Pepay
- Don Custodio's
supposed "girlfriend".
Other Characters

Hermana Penchang
- Sagpang's rich pusakal (gambler).

Tiburcio de Espadana
- Don Tiburcio is Victorina de Espadaña's lame husband.

Don Timoteo Pelaez

- Juanito's father.

Tandang Selo
- father of Kabesang Tales

Hermana bali
- Another wealthy gambler in Tiani.
Other Characters

Father Millon
- A Dominican friar who serves as the Physics professor of
the University of Santo Tomas.

Tadeo
- Macaraig's classmate.

Leeds
- An American who holds stage plays starring severed
heads.

Tano
- Kabesang Tales's elder son after his older sister, Lucia
died in childhood.
Message of the novel

The theme and plot of the novel was

changed to convey the message that the
present system of government in the
Philippines through corrupt officials,
dominated by the friars can lead to the
downfall of Spain.
Message of the Novel

This point was stressed by Simoun in

the novel, when he said, “what is a man to do
when he is denied justice? Take the law into
his own hands or wait for Spanish to give him
rights…”
Message of the Novel

• The government is subjective, cruel, completely

lacking in a sense of justice or of responsibility, and
without interest or trust in the people it governs.

• Conveys to his countrymen the action to be taken

if Spain does not heed his warning

• Condemned Filipino corruption, greed, self-

righteousness, hypocrisy, and cowardice, which
share in, or permit Spanish abuses
Message of the Novel
• Criticized weak-willed students who lack self-
respect and courage to fight a dampening system of
education and the superstition and fanaticism of the
women of San Diego

• The task for the Filipinos is to prepare

themselves, to make themselves worthy of freedom,
and then God will grant the means, be it revolution or
peaceful separation from Spain.

• Education, decent lives, and willingness to

sacrifice for one's convictions, even to suffer
martyrdom
Comparison between Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo

Noli Me Tangere El Filibusterismo

- A romantic novel - A political novel

- A book of the heart - A book of the head
- A book of feeling - A book of thought
- It has freshness, - It contains bitterness,
color, humor, and hatred, pain, violence,
intelligence and sorrow
- Contains 64 chapters - Contains 38 chapters
Comparison between Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo

 In depicting the social conditions in the

country, both novels employ satires and
caricatures.

 El Fili however is more serious as there is less

humor and more bitterness in the treatment of
situations.
Comparison between Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo

 In the Noli, the author reveals the cruelty and

exploitation suffered by the natives at the
hands of colonizers.

 In El Fili, Rizal depicts a society at the brink of

rebellion as the natives’ minds have been
awakened and revolutionary forces have been
formed.
Comparison between Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo

 Generally, El Fili presents a gloomier depiction

of the country under the Spanish regime.

 More radical and revolutionary, the novel has

less idealism and romance than the Noli.

 The El Fili manifests Rizal’s more mature and

less hopeful attitude toward the socio-political
situation in the country.
Comparison between Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo

 The grimmer outlook and more tragic mood

can be attributed to the persecutions and
sufferings the author and his family
experienced from the Spanish friars and
officials in the years he was writing the novel.

 Jose wrote to Blumentritt: “I have not written in

it [Fili] any idea of vengeance against my
enemies, but only for the good of those who
suffer, for the rights of Tagalogs ..."
-END-