Summary of the Chapter 8 "Noli me Tangere Published in

Berlin (1887)"

The bleak winter of 1886 in Berlin was Rizal’s darkest winter

because no money arrived from Calamba and he was flat
broke. The diamond ring which his sister, Saturnina, gave him
was in the pawnshop. It was memorable in the life of Rizal for
two reasons. It was a painful episode for he was hungry, sick
and despondent in a strange city. It brought him great joy after
enduring so much sufferings, because his first novel, Noli Me
Tangere came off the press in March, 1887. Like to the
legendary Santa Claus, Dr. Maximo Viola, his friend from
Bulacan, arrived in Berlin at the height if his despondency and
loaned him the needed funds to publish the novel.

Idea of Writing a Novel on the Philippines

His reading of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin -

inspired Dr. Rizal to prepare a novel that would depict the
miseries of his people which is the Filipinos under the lash of
Spanish tyrants.

January 2, 1884- in a reunion of Filipinos in the Paterno

residence in Madrid, Rizal proposed the writings of a novel
about the Philippines by a group of Filipinos. His proposals
were approved by PATERNOS which is Pedro, Maximo and
Antonio, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Evaristo Aguirre, Eduardo De
Lete, Julio Llorente, Melecio Figureoa and Valentin Ventura.

The Writing of the Noli

Toward the end of 1884, Rizal began writing the novel in

Madrid and finished about one-half of it.

When Rizal went to Paris, in 1885, after completing his

studies in the Central University of Madrid, he continued
writing the novel, finishing one half of the second half.
 Rizal finished the last fourth of the novel in Germany. He
wrote the last few chapters of the Noli in Wilhelmsfeld in
April-June, 1886.

In Berlin during the winter days of February, 1886, Rizal

made the final revisions on the manuscript of the Noli Me
Tangere.

Viola, Savior of the Noli

Dr. Maximo Viola- Rizal’s rich friend from Bulacan, arrived in

Berlin at the height of Rizal despondency and loaned him the
needed funds to publish the novel; Viola was shocked to find
Rizal in a dirty place, just not to waste money for the printing
of Noli Me Tangere.

After the Christmas season, Rizal put the finishing touches

on his novel. To save printing expenses, he deleted certain
passages in his manuscript, including a whole chapter
—“Elias and Salome”.

February 21, 1887- the Noli was finally finished and ready for
printing.

Berliner Buchdruckrei-Action-Gesselschaft- a printing shop

which charged the lowest rate, that is, 300 pesos for 2,000
copies of the novel

Rizal Suspected as French Spy.

During the printing of NOLI, the chief of police Berlin visit

Rizal’s boarding house and requested to see his passport,
unfortunately, that time to travel with or without passports is
possible. The police chief then told him to produce a passport
after 4 days.

Immediately Viola accompanied Rizal in the Spanish

Ambassador, the Court of Benomar, who promised to attend to
the matter. But the ambassador failed to keep his promise, but
it turns out that he had no power to issue the required
passport.
 The 4 day ultimatum expired. RIZAL himself apologize to the
chief police, while asking why has he to be deported, the police
chief answered that he was always seen visiting many villages,
thereby pronouncing him as a French Spy..

Rizal in fluent German explained to the police, that he was a

Filipino ethnologist, who visits rural areas to observe customs
and lifestyles of their simple inhabitants. The chief impressed
and fascinated on Rizal’s explanation, allowed him to stay freely
in Germany..

Printing of the Noli Finished

Every day, Rizal and Viola were always at the printing shop
proof reading the printed pages.

March 21, 1887- the Noli Me Tangere came off the press,
Rizal immediately sent the first copies to Blumentritt, Dr. Antonio
Regidor, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Mariano Ponce, and Felix R. Hidalgo.

“I am sending you a book, my first book, bold book on the life of

tagalogs, Filipinos will find it the history of the last ten years”

March 29, 1887- Rizal, in token of his appreciation and

gratitude, gave Viola the galley proofs of the Noli carefully
rolled around the pen that he used in writing it and a
complimentary copy, with the following inscription: “To my
dear friend, Maximo Viola, the first to read and appreciate
my work—Jose Rizal”

The Title of the Novel

The title Noli Me Tangere is a Latin phrase which means

“Touch Me Not”. It is not originally conceived by Rizal, for he
admitted taking it from the Bible.

Rizal, writing to Felix Hidalgo in French on March 5, 1887,

said: “Noli Me Tangere, words taken from the Gospel of St.
Luke, signify “do not touch me” but Rizal made a mistake, it
should be the Gospel of St. John (Chapter 20 Verses 13 to
17).
 “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”.

The Author' Dedication. Rizal dedicated his Noli Me Tangere to

the Philippines—“To My Fatherland”.

The cover of Noli Me Tangere was designed by Rizal. It is a

ketch of explicit symbols. A woman’s head atop a Maria Clara
bodice represents the nation and the women, victims of the
social cancer. One of the causes of the cancer is symbolized
in the friar’s feet, outsized in relation to the woman’s head.
The other aggravating causes of oppression and
discrimination are shown in the guard’s helmet and the iron
chains, the teacher’s whip and the alferez’s scourge. A slight
cluster of bamboo stands at the backdrop; these are the
people, forever in the background of their own country’s
history. There are a cross, a maze, flowers and thorny plants,
a flame; these are indicative of the religious policy, the
misdirected ardor, the people strangled as a result of these
all.

Synopsis of the "Noli" .The novel Noli Me Tangere contains 63

chapters and an epilogue.

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 is 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 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 grave digger 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 angered by the grave-digger’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 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 11th 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, the mass was continued by Padre Salve. 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 he was caught by the authorities. His head was 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 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 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 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 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! And 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
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 eye-glasses because of
weakening eyesight. Linares, who failed to win Maria Clara’s affection, died of
dysentery and was buried in Paco cemetery.

The alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the barracks, was
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.

The "Noli" based on Truth.Characters of Noli.The Noli Me Tangere

was a true story of the Philippine conditions during the last
decades of Spanish rule.

Maria Clara - was Leonor Rivera, although in real life she

became unfaithful and married an Englishman.

Ibarra and Elias - represented Rizal himself.

Tasio - the philosopher was Rizal’s elder brother Paciano.

Padre Salvi - was identified by Rizalists as Padre Antonio

Piernavieja, the hated Augustinian friar in Cavite who was
killed by the patriots during the Revolution.

Capitan Tiago - was Captain Hilario Sunico of San Nicolas.

Doña Victorina - was Doña Agustina Medel.

Basilio and Crispin - were the Crisostomo brothers of

Hagonoy.

Padre Damaso - typical of a domineering friar during the

days of Rizal, who was arrogant, immoral and anti-Filipino.

Rizal's Friend Praise the the Noli

Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor- Filipino patriot and lawyer, who had
been exiled due to his complicity in the Cavite Mutiny of
1872, read avidly the Noli and was very much impressed by
its author.