Noli Me Tangere

(Touch Me Not)

Noli Me Tangere Summary: Synopsis

 The young and idealistic Juan Crisostomo Ibarra returns home after seven years in Europe.
The wealthy meztizo, like his father Don Rafael endeavors for reform primarily in the area
of education in order to eliminate poverty and improve the lives of his countrymen.

 Upon learning about his father’s demise and the denial of a Catholic burial for his father
Ibarra was provoked to hit Padre Damaso which eventually led to his excommunication.
The excommunication was later rescinded upon the intervention of the Governor General.

 Padre Salvi, Ibarra’s mortal enemy accused Ibarra of insurrection. Ibarra’s letter to his
beloved Maria Clara was used against him. Later in the story, Maria Clara will tell Ibarra
that she did not conspire to indict him. She was compelled to give Ibarra’s letter in
exchange for the letters of her mother before she was born.

 Maria Clara found out that the letters of her mother were addressed to Padre Damaso about
their unborn child which means that she is the biological daughter of the priest and not of
her father, Capitan Tiago.

 Meanwhile, Ibarra was able to escape the prison with Elias, who also experienced injustice
with the authorities. Ibarra was able to speak with Maria Clara about the letters and
thereafter forgave her. Ibarra and Elias flee to the lake and were chased by the Guardia
Civil. One was shot and the other survives. Upon hearing the news, Maria Clara believed
that Ibarra was dead; she entered the nunnery instead of marrying Alfonso Linares.

 The fatally wounded Elias found the child Basilio and his dead mother Sisa. The latter was
driven to insanity when she learned that her children were implicated for theft by the
sacristan mayor. Elias instructed Basilio to dig for his and Sisa’s graves and there is a
buried treasure which he can use for his education.

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Synopsis of "Noli Me Tangere”: 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. Afterwards, Ibarra and Elias boarded
a boat and fled the place. Elias instructed Ibarra to lie down and the former covered the latter with
grass so as to conceal the latter's presence. As luck would have it, they were spotted by their
enemies. Elias thought he would outsmart them and jumped into the water. The men rained shots
on the person in the water, all the while not knowing that they were hitting the wrong person. It
reached Maria Clara's knowledge that Ibarra was killed in a shooting incident, and she was greatly
overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned, she asked Fray Damaso to get
her into a nunnery.

Fray Damaso reluctantly agreed because Maria Clara explicitly threatened to take her own life if
she was not allowed to become a nun. Once Don Rafael saw a tax collector and a student fighting.
Out of compassion, he helped the child. The tax collector was greatly irked and picked a fight with
Don Rafael. Unfortunately, the Spanish tax collector fell, got his head hit against a rock, and died.
The collector's death was blamed on Don Rafael, and he was investigated. Suddenly, all of those
who think 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. Ibarra
has a sweetheart by the name of Maria Clara, an extraordinarily beautiful lady. She is known as
the daughter of Capitan Tiyago, an affluent resident of Binundok. According to the Lieutenant,
Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a filibuster --- an allegation
brought forth by Fray Damaso because of Don Rafael's non-participation in Confession and Mass
rites.

Fray Damaso's complaint against Ibarra's father was made even more outstanding by the
occurrence of another incident. The day after the humbling party, he went to see Maria Clara. Their
long-standing love for each other was clearly manifested in this meeting, and Maria Clara could
not help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before
Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevarra (a Guardia Civil), revealed to him the incidents
preceding the death of his father Don Rafael. Don Rafael was a rich haciendero of the town.
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Noli Me Tangere Prominent Characters

Noli Me Tangere is set during the 19th century in the Philippines. Sectors of the society were
represented as the novel progresses. The abusive clergy was represented by Padre Damaso and
Padre Salvi, the wealthy meztizo by the protagonist Crisostomo Ibarra; meanwhile the wealthy
Indio was represented by Capitan Tiago. As such, the novel offers a straightforward analysis of
Philippine society under Spanish rule.

Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin (Ibarra)

 A wealthy young man of mixed Spanish and Filipino ancestry who has recently returned
to the Philippines from Europe after spending seven years studying abroad.
  Ibarra is cultured and well-respected, though the friars in his hometown of San Diego are
suspicious of him. This is because his father Don Rafael was recently imprisoned and
labeled a subversive and heretic, a sentence that eventually led to his death in jail.

 Ibarra learns of this on his first night back in the Philippines. Hoping to carry out his
father’s dreams, he later decides to build a secular school in San Diego, one that remains
uninfluenced by overzealous friars like Father Dámaso and Father Salví, Ibarra’s two
primary antagonists.

 For the majority of the novel, Ibarra believes that, although the Catholic friars and the
Spanish government are corrupt, they provide the Philippines with valuable support. In
contrast to his friend Elías (a more drastic revolutionary who wants to overthrow the
country’s prevailing power structures), Ibarra insists upon reforming the Philippines from
the inside out, working with the friars and Spanish officials to bring about positive change
without dismantling the system entirely.

 However, by the end of the novel, once Ibarra is branded a heretical subversive, his ideas
about reform and revolution begin to align with Elías’s more radical theories.

María Clara

 A woman well-regarded in San Diego for her high social station. Having grown up together
as childhood friends, María Clara and Ibarra are engaged to be married, though Father
Dámaso—her godfather—is displeased with this arrangement and does what he can to
interfere.

 When Ibarra is excommunicated after almost killing Dámaso at a dinner party,

arrangements are made for María Clara to marry a young Spanish man named Linares. She
doesn’t speak up against this idea because she doesn’t want to cross her father, Captain
Tiago, a spineless socialite who disavows Ibarra to stay in the good graces of friars like
Father Dámaso.

 Later, María Clara discovers that Captain Tiago isn’t her real father—rather, Father
Dámaso impregnated her mother, who died during childbirth. When Ibarra is put on trial
after being framed as a subversive by Father Salví, María Clara is blackmailed into
providing the court with letters Ibarra has sent her—letters his prosecutors unfairly use as
evidence of malfeasance.

 She does so in order to keep secret the fact that Dámaso is her biological father, since she
doesn’t want to disgrace her mother’s name or compromise Captain Tiago’s social
standing. Still, she feels intense remorse at having sold Ibarra out.
  When the newspapers eventually falsely report his death, she calls off her marriage with
Linares, instead deciding to enter a convent because she can’t stand to exist in a world that
doesn’t contain Ibarra.

Father Dámaso

 A Spanish friar living in the Philippines, Father Dámaso is an arrogant and pedantic priest
who, despite having lived amongst Filipinos and hearing their confessions for over twenty
years, is barely able to speak or understand Tagalog, the country’s native language.

 A shameless loudmouth, he is unafraid of slandering nonreligious citizens who he thinks

undermine his power. Ibarra learns that this is exactly what happened between his
father, Don Rafael, and Dámaso—because Rafael refused to go to confession and
supported secular means of empowering Filipino citizens, Dámaso jumped at the
opportunity to cast Rafael as a heretic and a subversive.

 Unfortunately, Ibarra is unable to ignore these provocations, and his violent response leads
to his own excommunication. To make matters worse for Ibarra, Father Dámaso is very
well-connected in San Diego, and he is María Clara’s godfather, which puts him in a
position of power over Ibarra’s engagement (indeed, he forbids her from marrying Ibarra).

 María Clara later discovers that Dámaso is her real father, a fact she hopes to keep quiet at
all costs because it would disgrace her deceased mother’s honor and her father’s
respectability, so Dámaso gets away with his corruption.

Elías

 An outlaw and vagabond revolutionary who resents the power the Catholic Church and
Spanish government have over the Philippines. After Ibarra saves his life from a vicious
crocodile, Elías swears to protect the young man from his enemies, which are legion.
Lurking in the town in the disguise of a day laborer, Elías discovers plots against Ibarra
and does everything he can to thwart them.

 He also tries to convince Ibarra to join him and a band of disenchanted revolutionaries who
want to retaliate against the abusive Civil Guard that empowers the church and oppresses
the people it claims to govern. He and Ibarra engage in long political discussions
throughout the novel, each character outlining a different viewpoint regarding the nature
of national growth and reform.

 Elías urges his friend to see that nothing productive will come of working within the
existing power structures, since the church and government are both so corrupt and
apathetic when it comes to actually improving the Philippines.
  Ibarra is more conservative and doesn’t agree with Elías’s drastic opinions until he himself
experiences persecution at the hands of the country’s most powerful institutions, at which
point he agrees with his friend and accepts his fate as a committed subversive
revolutionary.

Father Salví

 A serious and committed Spanish friar who takes over Father Dámaso’s post in San Diego
as the town’s priest. Fray Salví is a meticulous and cunning man who uses his religious
stature for political influence, benefitting both himself and the church. He is often at odds
with the town’s military ensign, volleying back and forth for power over San Diego and its
citizens.

 While preaching, he will often have his sextons (people who tend the church grounds) lock
the doors so that listeners, and especially the ensign, must sit through long sermons. Unlike
other priests, he refrains from frequently beating noncompliant townspeople, though he
applies excruciating might on the rare occasions he does resort to violence. On the whole,
though, he asserts his influence by engineering behind-the-scenes plans to defame his
enemies.

 For instance, to ruin Ibarra—who is engaged to María Clara, the woman Father Salví
secretly loves—he organizes a violent rebellion against the Civil Guards and frames Ibarra
as the ringleader. Just before the bandits descend upon the town, Salví rushes to the
ensign’s house and warns him of the imminent attack, thereby portraying himself as a hero
concerned with the town’s wellbeing.

Captain Tiago (Don Santiago de los Santos)

 A Filipino socialite and well-respected member of the country’s wealthy elite. Close with
high-ranking clergy members like Father Salví and Father Dámaso, Captain Tiago is one
of the richest property owners in Manila and San Diego.

 He is concerned with making sure his daughter, María Clara, marries an affluent man with
ample social capital, which is one of the reasons he so quickly abandons his support
of Ibarra when the friars disgrace the young man’s name. As for his own disgrace, Captain
Tiago is not actually María Clara’s biological father—rather, his wife had an affair with
Father Dámaso before dying in childbirth. This is perhaps why he is so concerned with
keeping up the appearance of respectability, for his own wife dishonored him.

 As such, he is blind to the vapid posturing of people like Doctor de Espadaña, a fraudulent
doctor for rich people, and his wife, Doña Victorina, an obvious social climber. When they
 present their nephew Linares as a possible new match for María Clara, Captain Tiago is
quick to assent, thinking that such a pairing will ensure respectability.

The Captain General

 An unnamed representative of Spain, and the highest government official in the

Philippines. Civil Guard members, townspeople, and friars alike deeply respect him and
defer to his judgment, each set of people volleying for his favor.

 Fortunately for Ibarra, the Captain General is not an enthusiastic supporter of the church
and its over-inflated power, believing that the friars have been afforded too much power in
Filipino society.

 Nonetheless, he recognizes the church’s influence and does nothing to impede it, though
he does pull strings to have Ibarra’s excommunication lifted after the young man’s dispute
with Father Dámaso at the dinner party. Despite his support of the project to build a school,
he is unable to help when Father Salví frames Ibarra as a subversive and heretic.

Doña Consolación

 An older Filipina woman married to the ensign. Doña Consolación is a brutal, vulgar
partner who berates the ensign, engaging him in intense physical fights heard across the
town. It is well known that she makes many of the ensign’s decisions, and she even fuels
his rivalry with Father Salví, encouraging her husband to take action against the priest to
assert his dominance.

 Rizal depicts Doña Consolación as incredibly crass and very ugly, writing that her one
“sterling trait” is that she seems to have “never looked in the mirror.” Much like Doña
Victorina, with whom she eventually gets into an intense fight, she believes herself to be
much more worthy of respect than she actually is, constantly deceiving herself in regards
to her station in life. She even pretends to not remember her native language, Tagalog,
instead speaking very bad Spanish.

Old Tasio (Don Anastasio)

 An old man who used to study philosophy and who prefers secular knowledge to
Catholicism. This atheistic worldview attracts attention from the friars and pious
townspeople, who call him a “madman” (or, if they are being kind, “Tasio the
Philosopher”).

 Tasio respects Ibarra and hopes dearly that Ibarra will succeed in building a school that is
independent of the church. When Ibarra comes to Tasio for advice, though, Tasio counsels
 the young man to avoid talking to him, fearing that it will hinder the project to build a
school.

 He tells Ibarra that people call anybody who disagrees with their own beliefs a “madman,”
which means that Ibarra should seek the approval of the friars and government officials
before starting to build the school

Father Sibyla
 A priest in Binondo, a district in Manila. Sibyla is a skillful and sly debater who
agitates Father Dámaso at Ibarra’s welcome-home party. He is an even-tempered, rational
religious figure that contrasts the absurd Dámaso and the corrupt Salví.

Sisa
 Crispín and Basilio’s mother, who goes crazy after losing her boys. Sisa wanders the town
and forests in vain, hoping to find her children, though when she actually meets Basilio,
she is apparently unable to recognize him at first. When she does, she dies of surprise and
happiness.

Crispín
 A very young boy studying to be a sexton, or a caretaker of the church. Crispín and his
brother Basilio work tirelessly to send money home to their mother, Sisa, who is married
to a drunk gambler who provides nothing in the way of financial or even emotional support.

 Unfortunately, the chief sexton falsely accuses Crispín of stealing money from the church.
This means that the boy has to work extra hard to make up his debt, though his elders are
constantly fining him for minor or invented infractions.

 One night, he and his brother are supposed to go home to visit their mother for the first
time in a week, but the chief sexton interferes with their plans, ordering that they stay past
dark and past the town’s curfew.
Basilio
 Crispín’s older brother, who is also training to be a sexton. When Crispín is dragged away,
Basilio tries to find him unsuccessfully. Despite the town’s curfew, he runs home to his
mother and spends the night there, telling her that the next day he will seek out Ibarra and
ask if he can work for him instead of training to be a sexton.

 This never transpires, though, because the Civil Guard comes looking for him and his
brother. Basilio escapes from this mother’s house and into the forest, where he lives with
a kind family until Christmas Eve, when he goes looking for Sisa. Upon finding her, he
discovers that she has gone crazy with grief and is unable to recognize him. He follows her
 back into the woods, where she eventually dies after finally understanding that he is her
son.

Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña

 A Spaniard who speaks with a stutter and looks significantly older than his thirty-five years.
Don Tiburcio came to the Philippines as a customs officer, but was dismissed upon his
arrival.
 Having very little money to his name, he went to the country provinces of the Philippines
to practice medicine, despite the fact that he had no training as a doctor. Nonetheless,
because he charged exorbitant amounts of money, people came to think of him as one of
the country’s best doctors.

Noli Me Tangere Characters: Counterparts of the characters in reality

Noli Me Tangere brilliantly described Philippine society with its memorable characters. The
melancholic fate of Maria Clara and the insanity of Sisa characterized the country’s pitiful state,
which was once beautiful, turned miserable.

Crisostomo Ibarra: He symbolizes the idealism of the privileged youth. He is the reflection of
Rizal himself.

Elias: He represents the common Filipino. He is said to be the personification of Andres Bonifacio.

Kapitan Tiago: He symbolizes the rich Filipinos who oppress their fellow countrymen.

Maria Clara: She symbolizes the purity and innocence of a sheltered native woman. Her character
is related Rizal’s childhood sweetheart, Leonor Rivera.

Donya Victorina: She symbolizes those who have a distorted view of their identity.

Don Tiburcio: Represented the ignorant Spaniards whose foolishness the other Spaniards
tolerated, often resulting in disastrous consequences for the natives.

Pia Alba: Represents the women who had been abused by the clergy and had been silenced by
their shame.

Gobernador Heneral: Represented the typical Governor General of the Philippines who would
often disdain the power that the friars had.

Pilosopo Tasyo: He symbolizes the learned Filipinos. Rizal can relate to his character as his oldest
brother, Paciano Rizal.
Padre Sibyla: Symbolizes the liberal friar but would rather stain in background rather than incur
the wrath of other priests in power. He is aware of the injustices done to the natives but would not
do anything to change it, as all he cares about is getting his congregation in power.

Padre Salvi: He manipulates people to get what he wants just like the Spaniards during their
colonization in the Philippines.

Padre Damaso: He symbolizes the Spanish friars of Rizal’s time.

Donya Consolacion: Symbolizes the Filipinos in our society who are ashamed of their own race
and nationality.

Sisa: Personified the suffering of the motherland. Named after Rizal’s older sister, Narcisa.

Crispin and Basilio: They represented the innocent who were wrongly accused of crimes they
did not commit. Their story was based on the true tale of Crisostomo brothers of Hagonoy.

Cover Page Sybolisms: Meanings

Upper Triangle Lower Triangle

This represents Rizal's past life. This represents Rizal's currents situations.

Silhouette of a Filipina - believed to be Maria Clara or as the "Inang Bayan" to whom Rizal
dictates the novel

Cross/Crucifix - represents the Catholic faith as it rises above Inang Bayan and Filipinos (shows
dominance) - it also symbolizes sufferings and death
Pomelo Blossoms & Laurel Leaves - they represent faith, honor and fidelity, which are the values
Rizal aspires to be embodied by Filipinos - pomelos are used to scent their air commonly during
prayers and cleansing rituals - laurel leaves are used as crowns during Greek Olympics for
honoring the best

Burning Torch - refers to the Olympic torch - pertains to the awakening of Filipino consciousness
it also sheds light to the text of the manuscript

Sunflower - it symbolizes a new beginning - it is compared to the happiness of which appears to

be always bowing down
Feet - it symbolizes the power of the friars - it is placed on the base of the triangle (foundation)
because without friars, the Filipinos cannot stand on their own Shoes - it represents wealth - it is
also the footprints left by friars in teaching Catholicism

Hairy Legs - it symbolizes the Legend of the Wolf - the wolf shape shifts just like how friars hide
their true nature and character

Helmet of a Guardia Civil - it represents the arrogance of those in authority Whip - it represents
the abuses and cruelties done by the Spaniards and friars as depicted in the novel Flogs (Suplina)
- it is used for self-flagellation - just like the whip, this also symbolizes the cruelties of the Guardia

Civil Chain - it symbolizes slavery and imprisonment Rizal's Signature - it shows that Rizal
experienced and witnessed the ills and abuses that happened during his time
Bamboo Stalks - it represents Filipino resiliency - despite the sufferings, Filipinos can still stand
tall and firm
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