Summary
El Filibusterismo picks up thirteen years after the events of Noli Me Tangere left off, in the last years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. The book begins on a steamer boat, the Tabo, as it makes its way up the Pasig River to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The captain and crew struggle to navigate the bulky steamer past the more agile boats and amphibious structures that Filipinos typically use to navigate the river and its sandbars. The steamer is divided into the upper and lower decks.
Spanish clergy and government officials in fashionable clothing sit under awnings on the upper deck. In attendance are Padre Salvi, an elderly priest, and Ben-Zayb, a journalist. Doña Victorina, a Filipina woman who has made great efforts to Europeanize herself, complains loudly about her countrymen. She is known for being extravagant and fickle, only tolerated in society because of her beautiful orphaned niece Paulita. After 15 years of marriage, Doña Victorina’s husband Don Tiburcio lost his temper and lashed out at Doña Victorina before running away. Hearing of his whereabouts, she is off to find him and convince him to come home.
The other passengers debate how to fix the waterways used heavily by the Spanish for transportation. A wealthy jeweler, Simoun, enters the debate; it is rumored he is a close advisor to the Captain General, the Governor of the Philippines. Simoun argues that the solution is to dig a new canal with the forced labor of Filipinos. Simoun argues that all great works, including the pyramids of Egypt, are made through cruel means. A wealthy Spanish man, Don Custodio, and others present are much more cautious; they worry about the possibility of rebellion. Don Custodio is particularly offended by the idea that a biracial American has ingratiated himself with the Captain General, thereby usurping the influence of longstanding elite like Don Custodio.
Meanwhile, on the lower deck, Filipino (referred to as Indians in the novel), Chinese, and mestizo passengers are wedged together amidst the cargo and loud noises of the ship. Basilio, a medical student known for his cures, and Isagani, a poet, are talking. Isagani is helping Doña Victorina look for her husband in an effort to get in her good graces so he can marry her niece Paulita. Basilio remarks that his employer, Capitan Tiago, is sick but refuses treatment. Basilio and Isagani are planning to open a Castilian, or Spanish language, academy, and Padre Irene has promised to help them. Simoun comes down and talks to Basilio and Isagani; both young men bristle at Simoun’s patronizing tone toward them and their country.
Isagani’s uncle, Padre Florentino, a native (or Filipino) priest, is also on the boat. The older man is humble and treated respectfully by the other passengers. Padre Florentino came from a wealthy and influential family in Manila; as a young man his mother pressured him into becoming a priest. Padre Florentino has dedicated himself to his parishioners. After the Cavite Mutiny in 1872, Florentino retreated from public life, fearing his position as a native priest would put him at risk. He lived on his family’s estate and adopted his nephew Isagani.
Padre Florentino joins the group upstairs, where the Spanish priests are joking about business and sharing legends of events that occurred along the Pasig River, including the killing of Ibarra thirteen years ago. Ibarra, an educated and idealistic man, hoped to bring about reform in the Philippines before he was framed for treason against the government. Ibarra escaped from prison to the lake the steamer is now passing. The Civil Guard shot after him and later blood was found along the shore, but never a body. Everyone in the group listens avidly except Simoun, who turns away.
The next chapter recounts the tale of an old woodcutter, Tandang Selo, and his son Tales. After years of working on others' lands, Tales and his family clear a part of the forest for their own farm, but tragedy follows. During the grueling process, his wife and oldest child fall ill with malaria and die. At the first harvest, a religious order claims the land is truly theirs but “allows'' Tales and his family to stay provided they pay an annual fee, which is increased every year. Initially, Tales acquiesces in order to avoid trouble, but one year, Tales protests. The friar-administrator threatens to force him off his land, so Tales files a lawsuit. Local judges know Tales is the rightful owner, but none of them are willing to risk their jobs to rule in Tales’ favor. Meanwhile, his son Tano is conscripted into the army and, one day, bandits kidnap Tales. They demand a ransom fee and his daughter Juli is forced into indentured servitude to raise the money. She mourns that she will never be able to marry Basilio, even keeping a necklace he gave her rather than sell it off for ransom money.
Basilio disembarks from the boat and goes to his native town of San Diego. He notices that there are fewer Christmas celebrations this year; a mixture of failed crops, rising taxes, and frequent abuses from the Civil Guard have left people with little to celebrate. Basilio’s brother was murdered thirteen years ago and his mother was driven to insanity by loss and hardship. The same night Ibarra was reportedly killed, Basilio’s mother ran into the forest. Trying to help, Basilio chased after her, and she died in his arms. At this point, a wounded stranger mysteriously appeared and ordered Basilio to build a funeral pyre. Basilio obeyed only to return and find a second stranger by the first stranger’s corpse. Together with the second stranger they burned the first stranger’s body and dug a grave for Basilio’s mother. Afterward, without any family left, Basilio made his way to Manila.
Sick, poor, and not speaking a word of Spanish, Basilio struggled to find work. Eventually, he ran into Capitan Tiago who was also from San Diego. Basilio was taken on as a servant without pay but with the ability to study at a local Latin school. Basilio faced discrimination in school for being Filipino, dirty, and poorly dressed. Despite the rejection of his classmates and teachers, Basilio persevered, eventually receiving the highest grades. On a whim, Captain Tiago helped Basilio transfer to a secular school. At this school, teachers actually supported students and Basilio continued on to study medicine. In the present, Basilio is preparing to graduate. He has become well known for his services and hopes to move back home as a doctor and marry Juli.
Back in San Diego, Basilio makes his way into the woods to visit his mother’s grave around midnight. There, Basilio is surprised to see Simoun digging in the dark. Watching him, Basilio realizes that Simoun is in fact the same stranger who helped Basilio bury his mother thirteen years ago. Over the years, Basilio had wondered if the stranger they cremated that night was in fact Ibarra. Now, looking at Simon, Basilio wonders which of the strangers was Ibarra—the stranger who lived or the one who died? Basilio steps out of his hiding place and Simoun, startled, draws his revolver. However, Basilio expresses thanks for Simoun’s help. Without directly saying Ibarra’s name, Basilio hints that he believes Simoun to be a man that everyone else thought was dead. Simoun decides to trust Basilio even though Basilio now possesses a secret that could ruin all of Simoun’s plans.
Simoun confides in Basilio that the man they cremated that night died for Simoun. Since then, Simoun has spent his life wandering the world, amassing a fortune so that he could come back to the Philippines and bring an end to colonial rule. Rather than directly inciting rebellion, Simoun plans to exacerbate the greed and injustice in the country until the people lose all fear and revolt. Simoun rebukes Basilio’s naivete in believing that Filipinos can ever gain equality and justice under colonial rule. They argue back and forth about the power and danger of language: Basilio arguing for the importance of a Spanish school and Simoun for the dangers of trying to imitate their Spanish oppressors.
Simoun urges Basilio to join his cause, saying that with the respect and ear of Filipino youth, Basilio can push them to fight for independence rather than assimilation. Basilio protests that he is not a politician, rather his life’s work is in science and medicine. Changing tactics, Simoun asks how Basilio plans to seek justice for his mother and brother’s murders. However, Basilio knows they will not receive justice in the system. Before they part, Simoun reminds Basilio that he can always join Simoun’s cause if he changes his mind.
On Christmas day, Juli goes to her new employer's house. She says goodbye to her grandfather, Tandang Selo, who is left alone in the house. When relatives come to visit him, Tandang Selo finds he has lost the ability to speak.
Analysis
Written just seven years before the Philippines declared independence, Rizal's novel portrays the stark reality of colonial rule and the brewing tensions in Filipino society. The symbolism of the upper and lower deck on the steamer illustrates the clear divisions in Filipino society: the majority of Filipinos are subservient to the select few of Spanish blood in power. Government officials and the church are the power brokers, holding land, money, and influence. Their attitudes toward Filipinos range from outright racism to unthinking paternalism. The priests seem baffled that Filipinos would try and haggle against their increasing prices for basic religious services such as baptisms. Rizal makes clear that those in power view Filipino people as submissive and morally and intellectually inferior. These interlocking systems of racism, hierarchy, and power that form the basis for Spanish colonial rule.
Filipinos who want to gain influence must assimilate. Two characters who embody this path are Doña Victorina and Basilio. Although the two have drastically different goals, both are perpetuating colonial thinking, one for personal prestige and the other to help heal and uplift Filipinos within the system. Rizal seems to argue that participating in the system, regardless of one’s goals, is a trap. This reflects a shift from Rizal’s first book, which was more hopeful about the possibility of reform; El Filibusterismo takes a less compromising stance arguing for the necessity of Filipino independence.
The character of Simoun represents this more radical stance. He calls Basilio a fool and slave for falling for the oppressors’ lie that Filipinos could ever receive justice under Spanish rule. Simoun sees the majority of Filipinos as submissive slaves, a generational problem created after more than 300 years of colonial rule. Simoun is frustrated that more Filipinos do not aspire to systemic change and hopes to exacerbate all the evil, greed, and injustices in the country so that colonial rule will bring about its own demise. Tales' fight for his land is an example of this: Tales is content to work his land until the church’s bottomless greed forces him to a breaking point. The legal system favors the church, demonstrating that Filipinos will never receive equal justice under the law.
Simoun’s identity is shrouded in mystery. His light brown skin and oversized blue glasses add to the mystique of his origin: is he American, British Indian, or Portuguese? Only Basilio has a clue about his identity. Yet even Basilio is unclear whether Simoun is Ibarra or Ibarra’s companion, Elias. In Rizal’s first book, Elias was the one who helped Ibarra make his daring escape. However, since Rizal writes that Elias died from his wounds at the end of Noli Me Tangere, readers can deduce that Simoun is in fact Ibarra.
As out of touch as the Spaniards are, even those in power have started to become wary of growing unrest from the Filipinos. It’s telling that in response to Simoun’s ideas about building a canal, the other Spanish passengers are concerned not with the injustice of forcing Filipinos into slave labor, but only the risk that doing so could incite rebellion. Rizal references the Cavite Mutiny, a moment in Filipino history where Filipino priests were reported to help incite an uprising against the Spanish. Their effort to liberate the people mark a direct contrast to the Spanish priests, who embody the abuse of power and greed of the colonial system. In fact, Rizal dedicated El Filibusterismo to the Filipino priests who were executed by the Spanish for their supposed involvement in the Cavite Mutiny, in open alliance with their cause and at great personal risk.
