Noli Me

Tángere
CONTEXT AND CONTENT
The Publication
of the Noli
José Rizal’s first
novel, Noli Me
Tángere, is
considered one
of the most
important
written outputs
by the national
hero at the
height of his
intellectual
endeavours in
Europe.
As a sojourner in Europe, Rizal participated
in the movement of the ilustrados to utilize
propaganda to campaign for reforms in the
Philippines.

Utilizing their intellectual prowess, the

ilustrados released various written outputs
from new bits, to feature articles, and
commentaries.

They also produced creative outputs from

satirical pieces to world-class paintings.
The idea of publishing the book was
not alien to Rizal.

In a meeting of the ilustrados in 1884,

he proposed to write a book project to
be done collaboratively with his fellow
writers. Unfortunately, the project did
not materialize.

He eventually decided to write the

novel on his own.
He eventually decided to write the novel on his own.
He started to work on the project in 1884 and
completed it in 1887.

Madrid, Spain– when Rizal completed the first half of

the novel.
Paris – he completed one-fourth/completed the first
draft
Berlin, Germany – he finished the novel on February
21, 1887.`
Many of his biographers
cite several works that
influenced Rizal in the
writing of the Noli.
One of this
is Juan
Luna’s
painting,
Spoliarium,
which
depicted the
sufferings of
the
humanity in
the face of
inequalities.
Another is
Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, a
novel of
Harriet
Beecher
Stowe that
dealt with
slavery in
America.
The novel was published the
following year in Germany.

Lack of funds
delayed the
book’s publication
until a fellow
ilustrado, Maximo
Viola, insisted on
lending him 300
pesos for the
printing of the first
2,000 copies.
 By 1887, Rizal was already sending out
copies of the Noli to his friends and the
book began to take flight.

Berliner Buchdruckrei-Action-Gesselschaft –
published the novel
Charged the lowest rate P300.00 for 2,000 copies.
Ferdinand Blumentritt, Antonio Ma. Regidor,
Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Mariano Ponce and Felix
Resurreccion-Hidalgo received the first copies of
the novel.
Maximo Viola received the original handwritten
manuscript with the pen used by Rizal in writing the
novel as a sign of his gratitude to the man who help
in the printing of his novel.
Motivations behind
Writing the Noli
The title, Noli Me Tángere, had biblical
reference to the Gospel of John in which
Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and
uttered these words: “Touch me not, for I
am not yet ascended to my Father.”

The choice of title according to Rizal was

fitting because he intended to write about
themes that were taboo in the Philippines
for centuries; things that people dared not
touch.
According to his biographers, Rizal first
planned to write his novel in French,
considered to be the language of
intellectuals in the Europe that time.

He, however, shifted to Spanish because

he intended to reach out to his
countrymen in the Philippines.
Rizal explained: “I must wake from its
slumber the spirit of my country… I must
first propose to my countrymen an example
with which they can struggle against their
bad qualities, and afterwards, when they
have reformed, many writers would rise up
to present my country to proud Europe”

In the initial pages of the Noli, the

dedication titled “A Mi Patria” clearly
articulated Rizal’s purpose for writing the
novel:
To my Motherland
In the annals of human adversity, there is
etched a cancer, of a breed that so malignant
that the least contact exacerbates it, and stirs
in it the sharpest of pains. An thus, many times
amidst modern cultures I have wanted to evoke
you, sometimes for memories of you to keep me
company, others times, to compare you with
other nations – many times your beloved image
appears to me afflicted with a social cancer of
similar malignancy.
Desiring your well-being, which is our own and
searching for the best cure, I will do with you as
the ancients of old with their afflicted, expose
them on the steps of the temple so that each one
would come to invoke the Divine would propose a
cure for them.
And to this end, I will attempt to faithfully
reproduce your condition without much ado. I will
lift part of the shroud that conceals your illness,
sacrificing to the truth everything, even my own
self-respect, for, as your son, I also suffer in your
defects and feelings.
Jose Rizal, 1886
The project of writing the Noli, as
stated, was geared towards exposing
the ills of the Philippine colonial
society under Spain. Thus through the
passages within the Noli, readers also
get glimpses of how Rizal saw his
country.
Plot
The story of the Noli Me Tángere followed the
life of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra after he
returned to the Philippines from studying in
Europe.

The novel opened with Capitan Tiago

preparing a homecoming gathering for the
young ilustrado.

Throughout of the novel, the characters

would be seen navigating the complex
realities of the colonial Philippines.
Ibarra was shown to be rekindling links
with his betrothed Maria Clara.

But not everything was fine and dandy

for Ibarra.

Upon his return, he learned about the

ills that plagued his town as well as the
abuses of the friars to which his late
father fell victim to.
Ibarra found an antagonist in Padre
Damaso, the former curate of San Diego
who ordered that corpse of his father be
exhumed and reburied in the Chinese
cemetery.

Despite these personal travails, Ibarra

preserved to fulfil the plan of building a
school in San Diego staying true to his
belief that education was crucial for his
nation’s progress.
Ibarra almost got killed had it not for
Elias, a boatman, who saved him.

Elias also previously cautioned Ibarra

about his actions that could anger the
friars, after the incident, Ibarra organized
a luncheon.

Here, another confrontation occurred

between Ibarra and Damaso who
attended the luncheon uninvited.
In a fit of anger, Ibarra took a knife
against Damaso’s neck and threatened
to slit his throat as he told everyone of
the abuses committed by Damaso and
the desecration he did to Ibarra’s father.

Maria clara calmed Ibarra and prevented

him from killing the friar. Damaso, in act
of revenge, persuaded Capitan Tiago,
the father of Maria Clara, to not allow his
daughter to marry Ibarra.
After some time, a revolt was blamed on
Ibarra, which caused his incarceration.

With the help of Elias, he escaped and went

to see Maria Clara who was soon marrying a
man her father chooses for her.

In a heart-breaking confrontation, Ibarra and

Maria Clara exchanged accusations and in
the process, it was revealed that Damaso
was he true father of Maria Clara.
As turmoil and confusion engulfed the
town, Maria Clara thought that Ibarra had
been killed.

This caused her endless grief. She asked

to be confined to a nunnery lest she take
her own life.

It was later revealed that Ibarra was not

dead and that Elias was the one who was
fatally shot.
In the latter passages, the dying Elias was
waiting for Ibarra but instead, met and talked to
the young Basilio.

He instructed the orphaned boy (his mother

Sisa, who became insane looking for his sons,
had died) to find the treasure of Ibarra buried in
the cemetery and use it to get an education.

He reminded Basilio to never lose hope and if one

day, freedom and progress would come to his
country, to not forget those who labored in the night.
Within this general contour of the
narrative, Rizal wove a complex story and
subplots.

Reading through the novel, different

characters and their corresponding stories
unfold as told through the voice of an
unseen narrator.

Truly, the pages of the Noli reflected the

lives of people living in the complicated
world of colonial Philippines.
 Genelyn
Quijano
Marianne Belle
Gasmen
Danica Bravo
REPORTER

Dr. Clarence D.
Verceles