Noli Me Tangere

PLOT

The novel Noli Me Tangere contains 63 chapters and epilogue. It begins with a reception given by Capitan Tiago (Santiago de los Santos) at his house in Calle Analogue (now Juan Luna Street) on the last day of October. The reception or dinner was been given in honor of Crisostomo Ibarra, a young and rich Filipino who had just returned after seven years of study in Europe. Ibarra was the only son of Don Rafael Ibarra, friend of Capitan Tiago, and a fiancé of beautiful Maria Clara, supposed daughter of Capitan Tiago.

Among the guests during the reception were Padre Damaso, a fat Franciscan friar who had been parish priest for 20 years of San Diego (Calamba), Ibarra’s native town; Padre Sybila, a young Dominican parish priest of Binondo; Señor Guevara, as elderly and kind lieutenant of the Guardia Civil; Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, a bogus Spanish physician, lame, and henpecked husband of Doña Victorina; and several ladies.

Ibarra, upon his arrival, produced a favorable impression among the guests, except Padre Damaso, who has rude to him. In accordance with a German custom, he introduced himself to the ladies.

During the dinner the conversation centered on Ibarra’s studies and travels abroad. Padre Damaso was in bad mood because he got a bony neck and a hard wing of the chicken tinola. He tried to discredit Ibarra’s remarks.

After dinner, Ibarra left Capitan Tiago’s house to return to his hotel. On the way, the kind Lieutenant Guevara told him the sad story of his father’s death in San Diego. Don Rafael, his father, was a rich and brave man. He defended a helpless boy from the brutality of an illiterate Spanish tax collector, pushing the latter and accidentally killing him. Don Rafael was been thrown in prison, where he died unhappily. He was buried in consecrated ground, but his enemies, accusing him being a heretic, had his body removed from the cemetery.

On hearing about his father’s sad story, Ibarra thanked the kind Spanish lieutenant and vowed to find out the truth about his father’s death.

The following morning, he visited Maria Clara, his childhood sweetheart. Maria Clara teasingly said that he had forgotten her because the girls in Germany were beautiful. Ibarra replied that he had never forgotten her.

After the romantic reunion with Maria Clara, Ibarra went to San Diego to visit his father’s grave. It was All Saint’s Day. At the cemetery, the gravedigger told Ibarra that the corpse of Don Rafael was removed by order of the parish priest to be, buried in the Chinese cemetery; but the corpse was heavy and it was a dark and rainy night so that he (the grave-digger) simply threw the corpse into the lake.

Ibarra was been angered by the gravedigger’s story. He left the cemetery. On the way, he met Padre Salvi, Franciscan parish priest of San Diego. In a flash, Ibarra pounced on the priest, demanding redress for desecrating his father’s mortal remains. Padre told him that he had nothing to do with it, for he was not the parish priest at the time of Don Rafael’s death. It was Padre Damaso, his predecessor, who was responsible for it. Convinced for Padre Salvi’s innocence, Ibarra went away.

In his town Ibarra met several interesting people, such as the wise old man, Tasio the philosopher, whose ideas were too advanced for his times so that the people, who could not understand him, called him “Tasio the Lunatic;” the progressive school teacher, who complained to Ibarra that the children were losing interest to their studies because of the lack proper school house and the discouraging attitude of the parish friar towards both the teaching of Spanish and of the use of modern methods of pedagogy; the spineless gobernadorcillo, who catered to the wishes of the Spanish parish friars; Don Filipo Lino, the teniente-mayor and leader of the cuardrilleros (town police); and the former gobernadorcillos who were prominent citizens Don Basilio and Don Valentin.

A most tragic story in the novel is the tale of Sisa, who was formerly a rich girl but became poor because she married a gambler, and a wastrel at that. She became crazy because she lost her two boys, Basilio and Crispin, the joy of her wretched life. These boys were sacristanes (sextons) in the church, working for a small wage to support their poor mother. Crispin the younger of the two brothers was accused by the brutal sacristan mayor (chief sexton) of stealing the money of the priest. He was tortured in the convent and died. Basilio, with his brother’s dying cries ringing in his ears, escaped. When the two boys did not return home, Sisa looked for them everywhere and, in her great sorrow, she became insane.

Capitan Tiago, Maria Clara, and Aunt Isabel (Capitan Tiago’s cousin who took care of Maria Clara, after his mother’s death) arrived in San Diego. Ibarra and his friends give picnic at the lake. Among those present in this picnic, were Maria Clara and her four girl friends the merry Siñang, the grave Victoria, the beautiful Iday, and the thoughtful Neneng; Aunt Isabel, chaperon of Maria Clara; Capitana Tika, mother of Siñang; Andeng, foster sister of Maria Clara; Albino, the ex-theological student who was in love with Siñang; and Ibarra and his friends. One of the boatmen was a strong and silent peasant youth named Elias.

An incident of the picnic was the saving of Elias’ life by Ibarra. Elias bravely grappled with a crocodile which was caught in the fish corral. But the crocodile struggled furiously so that Elias could not subdue it. Ibarra jumped into the water and killed the crocodile, thereby saving Elias. After the crocodile incident, was the rendering of a beautiful song by Maria Clara who had a sweet voice and they went ashore. They made merry in the cool, wooded meadow. Padre Salvi, Capitan Basilio (former gobernadorcillo and Siñang’s father) the alferez (lieutenant of the Guardia Civil) and the town officials were present. The luncheon was been served, and everybody enjoyed eating.

The meal over, Ibarra and Capitan Basilio played chess, while Maria Clara and her friends played the “Wheel of Chance”, a game based on a fortune-telling book. As the girls were enjoying their fortune-telling game, Padre Salvi came and tore to pieces the book, saying that it was a sin to play such game. Shortly thereafter, a sergent and four soldiers of the Guardia Civil suddenly arrived, looking for Elias, who was hunted for assaulting Padre Damaso and throwing the alferez into a mud hole. Fortunately Elias had disappeared, and the Guardia Civil went away empty-handed. During the picnic also, Ibarra received a telegram from the Spanish authorities notifying him the approval of his donation of a schoolhouse for the children of San Diego.

The next day Ibarra visited old Tasio to consult him on his pet project about the schoolhouse. He saw the old man’s writings were written in hieroglyphics. Tasio explained to him that he wrote in hieroglyphics because he was writing for the future generations who would understand them and say, “Not all were asleep in the night of our ancestors!”

Meanwhile San Diego was merrily preparing for its annual fiesta, in honor of its patron saint San Diego de Alcala, whose feast day is the 11^th of November. On the eve of the fiesta, hundreds of visitors arrived from the nearby towns, and there were laughter, music, exploding bombs, feasting and moro-moro. The music was furnished by five brass bands (including the famous Pagsanjan Band owned by the escribano Miguel Guevara) and three orchestras. 

In the morning of the fiesta there was a high mass in the church, officiated by Padre Salvi. Padre Damaso gave the long sermon, in which he expatiated on the evils of the times that were caused by certain men, who having tasted some education spread pernicious ideas among the people.

After Padre Damaso’s sermon, Padre Salve continued the mass. Elias quietly moved to Ibarra, who was kneeling and praying by Maria Clara’s side, and warned him to be careful during the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone of the schoolhouse because there was a plot to kill him.

Elias suspected that the yellowish man, who built the derrick, was a paid stooge of Ibarra’s enemies. True to his suspicion, later in the day, when Ibarra, in the presence of a big crowd, went down into the trench to cement the cornerstone, the derrick collapsed. Elias, quick as a flash, pushed him aside, thereby saving his life. The yellowish man was the one crushed to death by the shattered derrick.

At the sumptuous dinner that night under a decorated kiosk, a sad incident occurred. The arrogant Padre Damaso, speaking in the presence of many guests, insulted the memory of Ibarra’s father. Ibarra jumped to his seat, knocked down the fat friar with his fist, and then seized a sharp knife. He would have killed the friar, were it not for the timely intervention of Maria Clara.

The fiesta over, Maria Clara became ill. She was treated by the quack Spanish physician, Tiburcio de Espadaña, whose wife, a vain and vulgar native woman, was a frequent visitor in Capitan Tiago’s house. This woman had hallucinations of being a superior Castillan, and, although a native herself, she looked down on her own people as inferior beings. She added another “de” to her husband’s surname in order to more Spanish. Thus she wanted to be called “Doctora Doña Victorina de los Reyes de De Espadaña.” She introduced to Capitan Tiago’s young Spaniards, Don Alfonso Linares de Espadaña, cousin of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña and godson of Padre Damaso’s brother in law. Linares was a penniless and jobless, fortune hunter who came to the Philippines in search of a rich Filipino heiress. Both Doña Victorina and Padre Damaso sponsored his wooing of Maria Clara, but the latter did not respond because she loved Ibarra.

The story of Elias like that of Sisa, was a tale of pathos and tragedy. He related it to Ibarra. Some 60 years ago, his grandfather, who was then a young bookkeeper in a Spanish commercial firm in Manila, was wrongly accused of burning the firm’s warehouse. He was flogged in public and was left in the street, crippled and almost died. His was pregnant, beg for alms and became a prostitute in order to support her sick husband and their son. After giving birth to her second son and the death of her husband, she fled, with her to sons to the mountains.

Years later the first boy became a dreaded tulisan named Balat. He terrorized the provinces. One day the authorities caught him. His head was been cut off and was hung from a tree branch in the forest. On seeing this gory object, the poor mother (Elias’ grandmother) died.

Balat’s younger brother, who was by nature kindhearted, fled, and became a trusted laborer in the house of rich man in Tayabas. He fell in love with the master’s daughter. The girl’s father, enraged by the romance, investigated his past and found out the truth. The unfortunate lover (Elias’ father) was been sent to jail, while the girl gave birth to twins, a boy (Elias) and a girl. Their rich grandfather took care of them, keeping secret their scandalous origin, and reared them as rich children. Elias was educated in the JesuitCollege in Manila, while his sister studied in La Concordia College. They lived happily, until one day, owing to certain dispute over money matters; a distant relative exposed their shameful birth. They were disgraced. An old male servant, whom they used to abuse, was been forced to testify in court and the truth came out that he was their real father.

Elias and his sister left Tayabas to hide their shame in another place. One day the sister disappeared. Elias roamed from place to place, looking for her. He heard later that a girl answering to his sister’s description was been found died on the beach of San Diego. Since then, Elias lived a vagabond life, wandering from province to province – until he met Ibarra.

Elias, learning of Ibarra’s arrest, burned all the papers that might incriminate his friend and set Ibarra’s house on fire. Then he went to prison and helped Ibarra escape. He and Ibarra jumped into a banca loaded with sacate (grass). Ibarra stopped at the house of Capitan Tiago to say goodbye to Maria Clara. In the tearful last scene between the two lovers, Ibarra forgave Maria Clara for giving up his letter to her to the Spanish authorities who utilized them as evidence against him. On her part, Maria Clara revealed that those letters were exchanged with a letter from her late mother, Pia Alba which Padre Salvi gave her. From his letter, she learned that her real father was Padre Damaso.

After bidding Maria Clara farewell, Ibarra returned to the banca. He and Elias paddled up the PasigRiver toward Laguna de Bay. A police boat, with the Guardia Civil on board, pursued them as their banca reached the lake. Elias told Ibarra to hide under the zacate. As the police boat was overtaking the banca, Elias jumped into the water and swam swiftly toward the shore. In this way, he diverted the attention of the soldiers on his person, thereby giving Ibarra a chance to escape. The soldier fired at the swimming Elias, who was been hit and sank. The water turned red because of his blood. The soldiers, thinking that they had killed the fleeing Ibarra returned to Manila. Thus, Ibarra was able to escape.

Elias seriously wounded, reached the shore, and staggered into the forest. He met a boy, Basilio, who was weeping over his mother’s dead body. He told Basilio to make a pyre on which their bodies (his and Sisa) were to be burned to ashes. It was Christmas Eve, and the moon gleamed softly in the sky. Basilio prepared the funeral pyre. As life’s breath slowly left his body. Elias looked toward the east and murmured: “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land.” You, who have it to see, welcome it! In addition, forget not those who have fallen during the night.

The novel has an epilogue, which recounts what happened to the other characters. Maria Clara, out of her loyalty to the memory of Ibarra, the man she truly loved, entered the Santa Clara nunnery. Padre Salvi left the parish of San Diego and became a chaplain of the nunnery. Padre Damaso was been transferred to a remote province, but the next morning he was found dead in his bedroom. Capitan Tiago the former genial host and generous patron of the church became an opium addict and a human wreck. Doña Victorina, still henpecking poor Don Tiburcio, had taken to wearing eyeglasses because of weakening eyesight. Linares, who failed to win Maria Clara’s affection, died of dysentery and was been buried in Paco cemetery.

The Alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the barracks, was been promoted major. He returned to Spain, leaving behind his shabby mistress, Doña Consolacion.

The novel ends with Maria Clara, an unhappy nun in Santa Clara nunnery – forever lost to the world.