“NOLI ME TANGERE”: JOSE RIZAL PHILIPPINES HISTORY NOVEL

October 15, 2009 at 11:45 pm | Posted in Asia, Books, Globalization, History, Literary, Philosophy, Third World | Leave a comment

Noli Me Tangere (novel)

Author José Rizal

original cover

Author José Rizal

Country Philippines (first printing in Berlin)

Language Spanish

Genre(s) novel

Publisher Setzerinnenschule des Lette-Vereins

Publication date 1887

Media type Print

Followed by El filibusterismo

Noli Me Tangere (novel)

Author José Rizal

Noli Me Tangere (commonly referred to by its shortened name Noli) is a novel written in Spanish by Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal, first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. The English translation was originally titled The Social Cancer, although more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.

The writing of the novel

When Rizal read Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s novel on the abuse of black slaves in America, he thought that a novel should be written about the abuses that Philippine natives were suffering at the hands of the Spanish friars. He proposed to his Filipino friends in Madrid in 1884 that they collaborate in writing a novel on the Philippines. This group of friends included his hosts, the Paternos (Pedro, Maximo, and Antonio), and Graciano Lopez Jaena. Although the other men approved of the idea of writing on Philippine life, they all wanted to write about women rather than about national problems and in any case preferred to gamble and flirt than to write. Rizal then decided he would have to write the entire book himself.

Rizal began work on the Noli while still in Madrid, Spain. Of the remainder, most was written in Paris. He finished the book in Berlin, Germany. Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, a well-known writer and political activist, volunteered to be the proofreader and consultant.

When he was finishing the book in December 1886, Rizal was penniless and despaired of ever publishing it. The novel might never have seen print had it not been for the support of his wealthy friend, Maximo Viola, who came to visit him in Berlin. Rizal gratefully presented him with the galley proofs of Noli on 29 March 1887, the day that Noli was printed.

The title

Noli me tangere is a Latin phrase that Rizal took from the Bible, meaning “Touch me not.” In John 20:13-17, the newly-risen Christ says to Mary Magdalene: “Touch me not; I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.”

It has also been noted by French writer D. Blumenstihl that “Noli me tangere” was a name used by ophthalmologists for cancer of the eyelids. That as an ophthalmologist himself Rizal was influenced by this fact is suggested in his dedication, “To My Country”:

“Recorded in the history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a character that the least touch irritates it and awakens in it the sharpest pains. Thus, how many times, when in the midst of modern civilizations I have wished to call thee before me, now to accompany me in memories, now to compare thee with other countries, hath thy dear image presented itself showing a social cancer like to that other!”

As shown by this excerpt, the alternate English title, The Social Cancer, is taken from the book’s dedication.

Summary

Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisostomo Ibarra comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his honor, Captain Tiago throws a get-together party, which is attended by friars and other prominent figures. In an unfortunate incident, former curate Father Dámaso belittles and slanders Ibarra. But Ibarra brushes off the insult and takes no offense; he instead politely excuses himself and leaves the party because of an allegedly important task.

The day after the humbling party, Ibarra goes to see María Clara, his love interest, a beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago and an affluent resident of Binondo, Manila. Their long-standing love is clearly manifested in this meeting, and María Clara cannot help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a guardia civil, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town.

According to the Lieutenant, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a filibuster—an allegation brought forth by Father Dámaso because of Don Rafael’s non-participation in the Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass. Father Dámaso’s animosity against Ibarra’s father is aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax collector and a student fighting, and the former’s death was blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail. Still not content with what he had done, Father Dámaso arranged for Don Rafael’s corpse to be dug up and transferred from the Catholic cemetery to the Chinese cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic such as Don Rafael a Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight of the cadaver, the men in charge of the burial decided to throw the corpse into the lake.^[1]

^{Revenge was not in Ibarra’s plans; instead he carries through his father’s plan of putting up a school, since he believes that education would pave the way to his country’s progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain and the Philippines as two different countries which form part of a same nation or family, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter). During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage had Elías—a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate him—not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too traumatic for María Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily cured by the medicine Ibarra sent her}

^{After the inauguration, Ibarra hosts a luncheon during which Father Dámaso, uninvited and gate-crashing the luncheon, again insults him. Ibarra ignores the priest’s insolence, but when the latter slanders the memory of his dead father, he is no longer able to restrain himself and lunges at Father Dámaso, prepared to stab the latter for his impudence. As a consequence, Dámaso excommunicates Ibarra. Father Dámaso takes this opportunity to persuade the already-hesitant father of María Clara to forbid his daughter from marrying Ibarra. The friar wishes María Clara to marry a Peninsular named Linares who just arrived from Spain.}

^{With the help of the Captain-General, Ibarra’s excommunication is nullified and the Archbishop decides to accept him as a member of the Church once again. But, as fate would have it, some incident of which Ibarra had known nothing about is blamed on him, and he is wrongly arrested and imprisoned. But the accusation against him is overruled because during the litigation that followed, nobody could testify that he was indeed involved. Unfortunately, his letter to María Clara somehow gets into the hands of the jury and is manipulated such that it then becomes evidence against him.}

^{Meanwhile, in Captain Tiago’s residence, a party is being held to announce the upcoming wedding of María Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elías, takes this opportunity and escapes from prison. But before leaving, Ibarra talks to María Clara and accuses her of betraying him, thinking that she gave the letter he wrote her to the jury. María Clara explains to Ibarra that she will never conspire against him but that she was forced to surrender Ibarra’s letter to her in exchange for the letters written by her mother even before she, María Clara, was born. The letters were from her mother, Pía Alba, to Father Dámaso alluding to their unborn child; and that she, María Clara, is therefore not the daughter of Captain Tiago, but of Father Dámaso.}

^{Afterwards, Ibarra and Elías board a boat and flee the place. Elías instructs Ibarra to lie down and the former covers the latter with grass to conceal the latter’s presence. As luck would have it, they are spotted by their enemies. Elías thinks he could outsmart them and jumps into the water. The guards rain shots on the person in the water, all the while not knowing that they are aiming at the wrong man.}

^{María Clara, thinking that Ibarra has been killed in the shooting incident, is greatly overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she asks Father Dámaso to confine her into a nunnery. Father Dámaso reluctantly agrees when María Clara threatens to take her own life. demanding, “the nunnery or death!”[2] Unbeknownst to her, Ibarra is still alive and able to escape. It was Elías who has taken the shots. It is Christmas Eve when Ibarra wakes up in the forest, gravely wounded and barely alive. It is in this forest that Ibarra finds Basilio and his lifeless mother, Sisa.}

^{Publication history}

^{Rizal finished the novel on December 1886. At first, according to one of Rizal’s biographers, Rizal feared the novel might not be printed, and that it would remain unread. He had been struggling financial constraints that time and thought it would be hard to pursue printing the novel. A financial aid came from a friend named Maximo Viola. Rizal at first, however, hesitated but Viola insisted and ended up lending Rizal P300 for 2,000 copies; Noli was eventually printed in Berlin, Germany. The printing was finished earlier than the estimated five months. Viola arrived in Berlin in December 1886, and by March 21, 1887, Rizal had sent a copy of the novel to his friend Blumentritt.[3]}

^{On August 21, 2007, a 480-page then-latest English version of Noli Me Tangere was released to major Australian book stores. The Australian edition of the novel was published by Penguin Books Classics, to represent the publication’s “commitment to publish the major literary classics of the world”.[4] American writer Harold Augenbraum, who first read the Noli in 1992, translated the novel. A writer well-acquainted with translating other Latin literary works, Augenbraum proposed to translating the novel after being asked for his next assignment in the publishing company. Intrigued by the novel and having been known more about it, Penguin nixed their plan of adapting existing English versions of the novel, and instead translate on their own.[4]}

^{Reaction and legacy}

^{Noli Me Tangere was Rizal’s first novel. He was 26 at its publication. This book was historically significant and was instrumental in the establishing of the Filipino’s sense of national identity. The book indirectly influenced a revolution although the author, José Rizal, actually advocated for direct representation to the Spanish government and larger role of the Philippines inside the Spaniard political affairs. The novel was written in Spanish, the language of the educated at a time when Filipinos were markedly segregated by diverse native languages and regional cultures.}

^{The novel created so much controversy that only a few days after his arrival, Governor-General Emilio Terrero summoned him to the Malacañang Palace and told him of the charges saying that the Noli was full of subversive ideas. After a discussion, the liberal Governor General was appeased; but he mentioned that he was unable to offer resistance against the pressure of the Church to take action against the book. The persecution can be discerned from Rizal’s letter to Leitmeritz: “My book made a lot of noise; everywhere, I am asked about it. They wanted to anathematize me [‘to excommunicate me’] because of it … I am considered a German spy, an agent of Bismarck, they say I am a Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul and evil. It is whispered that I want to draw plans, that I have a foreign passport and that I wander through the streets by night …”}

^{Rizal depiction of nationality by emphasizing the qualities of Filipinos: devotion of a Filipina and her influence to a man’s life, the deep sense of gratitude, and the solid common sense of the Filipinos under the Spanish regime.}

^{This novel and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (nicknamed Fili), were banned in some parts of the Philippines because of their portrayal of corruption and abuse by the country’s Spanish government and clergy. A character which has become a classic in the Philippines is “Maria Clara” who has become a personification of the ideal Filipino woman, loving and unwavering in her loyalty to her spouse. Another classic character is the priest “Father Dámaso” which reflects the covert fathering of illegitimate children by members of the Spanish clergy. In the story, Father Dámaso impregnates a woman. Copies were smuggled in nevertheless, and when Rizal returned to the Philippines after completing medical studies, he quickly ran afoul of the local government. First exiled to Dapitan, he was later arrested for “inciting rebellion” based largely on his writings. Rizal was executed in Manila on December 30, 1896 at the age of thirty-five.}

^{The book was instrumental in creating a unified Filipino national identity and consciousness, as many Filipinos previously identified with their respective regions to the advantage of the Spanish authorities. It lampooned, caricatured and exposed various elements in the colonial society.}

^{Nowadays, Noli me Tangere and its sequel, El Filibusterismo, is studied by Third Year and Fourth Year secondary school students in the Philippines as part of the curriculum, usually as part of their Filipino subject. The novel is also often among the topics of the required course on the study of Rizal’s life in tertiary education in the country. Textbooks designed for students were made by various publishers, and the text itself is oftentimes condensed or shortened to facilitate learning among students.}

^Adaptations

^{The Noli has since been adapted in many art forms. A 180-minute film of the same name was produced in 1961.[5] A tv series existed in 1992, and a musical play was staged in 1994. There is also a comic book adaptation.}

^Characters

^{Rizal included around 30 characters in the novel. Below are the major characters of the story.}

• ^{Crisóstomo Ibarra – also known in his full name as Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin,[6] a Filipino who studied in Europe for 7 years, the love interest of Maria Clara. Son of the deceased Don Rafael Ibarra; Crisostomo changed his surname from Eibarramendia to Ibarra, from his ancestor’s surname.Elías – Ibarra’s mysterious friend, a master boater, also a fugitive. He was referred to at one point as “the pilot.” He wants to revolutionize his country. In the past, Ibarra’s grandfather condemned his grandfather of burning a warehouse, making Elias the fugitive he is.María Clara – María Clara de los Santos, Ibarra’s sweetheart; the illegitimate daughter of Father Dámaso and Pía AlbaFather Dámaso – also known in his full name as Dámaso Verdoglagas,[7] Franciscan friar and María Clara’s biological fatherDon Filipo – A close relative of Ibarra, and a filibuster.Linares – A distant nephew of Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, the would-be fiance of Maria Clara.Captain-General (no specific name) – The most powerful official in the Philippines, a hater of secular priests and corrupt officials, and a friend of Ibarra.Tandang Pablo – The Leader of the rebels, whose family was destroyed because of the Spaniards.Tarcilo and Bruno – Brothers, whose father was killed by the Spaniards.Sisa – the mother of Basilio and Crispín, who went insane after losing her sonsBasilio – the elder son of Sisa.Crispín – the younger son of Sisa who died from the punishment of the soldiers from the false accusation of stealing an amount of money.Padre Sibyla – Hernando de la Sibyla, a Filipino friar. He is described as short and has fair skin.Kaptain Tiago – also known in his fullname as Don Santiago de los Santos[8] the known father of María Clara but not the real one; lives in BinondoPadre Salví – also known in his full name as Bernardo Salví,[7] a secret admirer of María ClaraPilosopo Tasyo – also known as Don Anastasio, portrayed in the novel as pessimistic, cynic, and mad by his neighborsThe Alférez – chief of the Guardia Civil ; mortal enemy of the priests for power in San DiegoDon Tiburcio – Spanish husband of Donya Victorina who is limp and submissive to his wife; he also pretends to be a doctorDoña Victorina – Victorina de los Reyes de De Espadaña, a woman who passes herself off as a PeninsularDoña Consolación – wife of the alférez, another woman who passes herself as a Peninsular; best remembered for her abusive treatment of SisaPedro – abusive husband of Sisa who loves cockfighting…}
• ^References

1. ^{“The Social Cancer by Jose Rizal“. FullBooks.com. pp. 3. http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Social-Cancer3.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22.}
2. ^{(Spanish) Father Dámaso Explains}
3. ^{“Noli Me Tangere“. Jose Rizal University. http://www.joserizal.ph/no01.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22.}
4. ^{a b Ubalde, Mark J. (2007-08-22). “Rizal’s Noli hits major Aussie book shelves“. GMA News. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/57101/Rizals-Noli-hits-major-Aussie-book-shelves. Retrieved 2008-10-22. ^ “Noli Me Tangere (1961)“. The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/349068/Noli-Me-Tangere/overview. Retrieved 2008-10-22. “The Social Cancer by Jose Rizal“. FullBooks.com. pp. 2. http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Social-Cancer2.html. Retrieved 2008-11-04. a b “The Social Cancer by Jose Rizal“. FullBooks.com. pp. 5. http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Social-Cancer5.html. Retrieved 2008-11-04. “The Social Cancer by Jose Rizal“. FullBooks.com. pp. 1. http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Social-Cancer1.html. Retrieved 2008-11-04.}

Noli Me Tangere (novel)

Author José Rizal