El Filibusterismo Chapter Summaries
El Filibusterismo Chapter Summaries
(eng translation)
The steamer Tabo makes its way up the Pasig river one December morning. On its upper deck is
Dona Victorina, traveling in search of her husband Don Tiburcio, who has fled from her abuse. On
deck too are Don Custodio, the writer Ben-Zayb and Padres Salvi, Sibyla, Irene and Camorra, and
the steamer’s captain. Also present is the jeweler Simoun, conspicuous for his long white hair
and large blue sunglasses. He is reputed to have advisory influence over the Captain-General. The
group fall into discussing the winding path of the river. Simoun suggests digging a new canal
straight from the mouth of the river passing Manila, and closing old Pasig. To achieve this, he
further suggests the destruction of towns, using prisoners as laborers to eliminate the cost, and
increasing forced labor among men and boys. Don Custodio and Padre Sibyla bring up the
possibility of uprisings, which Simoun sharply dismisses, as he leaves the group to head below
deck.
Herein is the story of Tandang Selo and his son Tales, old friends of Basilio.
Tales, experiencing some improvements in his family’s fortune, decides to clear a portion of the
woods to cultivate. During their first harvest, a religious corporation claims the land as their own
and charges Tales an annual fee. He pays dutifully, but begins to rebel when the fee becomes too
high. He takes the religious order to court, arms himself and begins patrolling his land. Tales loses
the case and ends up draining his resources. His only son, Tano, is conscripted, as he is unable to
pay for a substitute. Tano is later rumored to have either gone to the Carolines or become a
guardia civil. To make matters worse, bandits kidnap Tales and demand a ransom. To save her
father, Juli sells her belongings except for a locket Basilio gave her, a locket Basilio received from a
leper patient who in turn obtained if from Capitan Tiago’s daughter. To complete the ransom
amount, Juli borrows money from an old religious lady and agrees to work as a servant to pay for
it.
Chapter 5: A Cochero’s Chirstmas Eve
Basilio’s arrival in San Diego is delayed as his cochero had been detained and knocked about by
the guardia civil for forgetting his cedula. They are delayed a second time as they wait for the
Christmas procession to pass. The cochero envies the time of the saints, thinking there were no
civil guards then, else Methuselah, would not have lived to an old age, nor a black magi allowed
to be with the others. As they continue down the road, Basilio notes the fewer ornaments and
sounds of merriment, and thinks this is because things had gone badly with agriculture, taxes had
risen and civil guards had become more abusive. The cochero is stopped a second time for an
unlighted coach lamp, so Basilio proceeds on foot. Passing by Capitan Basilio’s house, he glimpses
Simoun making deals with his jewelry with the capitan, the curate and the alferez. Basilio does
not think well of Simoun, who he thinks is always going about something, and who, he has been
told, sells his jewels for double the price he bought them for. Basilio reaches his guardian Capitan
Tiago’s house where the old man narrates an assortment of bad news including the kidnapping of
Cabesang Tales.
Chapter 6: Basilio
Basilio steals out of the house at midnight and heads to the old wood previously owned by the
Ibarras, and now belonging to Capitan Tiago. He visits his mother’s grave by the balete[1] tree
and recalls the night thirteen yeas ago when his mother died on the spot and a stranger came
and helped him bury his mother and burn the body of another stranger. Basilio thinks back too
on the events of his life since then. He had suffered hunger and poverty in his journey to Manila
in search of employment, until he was taken in as an unpaid servant at Capitan Tiago’s house in
exchange for permission to study. Poor and badly dressed, he was shunned by his classmates and
ignored by his teachers, so he was unable to make a mark in his first three years. With continued
diligence and hard work however, he eventually distinguished himself in his studies and went on
to study medicine. In two months, Basilio is set to complete his medical studies and will cap his
academic career as commencement speaker. He plans to marry Juli.
Chapter 7: Simoun
Basilio is about to leave his mother’s tomb when he hears someone arrive. He sees Simoun, but
without the jeweler’s blue glasses, Basilio also recognizes the face of the man who helped him
bury his mother thirteen years ago. He concludes from the events and memories of the past, that
Simoun may actually be Ibarra. Basilio reveals himself, and Simoun, to protect his secret identity,
thinks of killing Basilio, but decides instead to try to recruit Basilio to his cause. Simoun confesses
that his goal is to destroy society’s system of corruption by encouraging the vices and greed of
the governing powers with his wealth. This in turn has led to more injustices, poverty and misery,
which he expects will eventually push the downtrodden to rebel. Simoun then mocks the youth’s
desire for Hispanism and the teaching of Spanish, seeing it as a means for the loss of nationality
and the subjugation of the Filipino’s unique thought and feeling. Simoun asks for Basilio’s help to
convince the youth to abandon their calls for Hispanization. Basilio declines, professing the task
to be beyond his abilities. Simoun attempts a different approach by reminding Basilio of the
injustice his mother and brother suffered. Basilio remians uncommitted.
Chapter 9: Pilates
Certain townspeople do not feel particularly bothered by the misfortune of Tandang Selo and
Cabesang Tales’ family. The lieutenant of the guardia civil feels he did his duty by pursuing the
bandits when he could, while the local friar, Padre Clemente thinks Cabesang Tales is simply
being punished for resisting the friars. Sister Penchang, the woman who employs Juli, believes
bad things happen to sinners or to people who have sinning relatives. She believes Juli is a
sinning relative, and when she learns that Basilio intends to ransom Juli from servitude, she
believes Juli is a lost woman. The friars win the case against Tales with finality, and they take his
land and award it to a new renter. Tales learns about this and the misfortunes of his father and
daughter upon his return. At the same time, he receives a court order to vacate his house.
Chapter 10: Wealth and Want
Simoun obtains temporary lodgings at Cabesang Tales’ house where the townspeople come to
see his jewels. They are both awed and terrified by Simoun’s display of excessive and dazzling
wealth. Aside from selling, Simoun also buys old jewelry from the townspeople and he asks if
Tales has any to sell. Maria Clara’s locket is of course in the house and when Simoun sees it, he
makes an offer for it. Tales asks to go to town to ask his daughter. Along the way, he sees the friar
administrator and the man awarded his land. A feeling of anger overcomes him. In the morning,
Simoun finds the locket and a note from Tales in his holster. Tales says he intends to join some
bandits and has exchanged the locket for Simoun’s gun. Guardia civil arrive, but in the absence of
Tales, they arrest Tandang Selo instead. Three people had been killed in the night, the friar
administrator, the man who had been given Tales’ land, and his wife, beside whom was found a
piece of paper with the name Tales written in blood.
Isagani visits Señor Pasta and relates the developments regarding the students’ petition. Señor
Pasta feigns ignorance but actually already knows what has happened and even knows that it was
actually Padre Sibyla, who suggested the commission to buy time. Señor Pasta does not wish to
be involved with the students’ cause and tells Isagani that the best way to help the government is
to let it do what it thinks is best. He adds that it is offensive to try to do more than the
government gives as it injures its prestige. Isagani counters Señor Pasta’s arguments by declaring
justice and reason to be stronger bases for colonial government than prestige. He adds that it is
reasonable for people to ask the blessing of its government as of a parent. Señor Pasta advises
Isagani to just study hard, marry a rich girl, attend to his religious duties, and to not get involved
trying to improve the situation of others and the country. Isagani rejects his advice.
Chapter 16: The Tribulations of a Chinese
The Chinese Quiroga, who hopes to open a consulate for his nation, hosts a dinner for important
people from the church, government, military and business. Some merchants gather around
Simoun complaining about the difficulties of doing business in the country in the hopes that
Simoun will pass on their ideas for solutions to the Captain-General. Quiroga too shares his
difficulties with Simoun about a bribe he had attempted to pull off with Simoun’s jewellery that
had resulted instead in a financial loss. Simoun offers to reduce Quiroga’s debt if Quiroga agrees
to temporarily keep some rifles for him. Quiroga agrees. Later, some of the guests, including Don
Custodio, Ben Zayb, Juanito Pelaez, Simoun and Padres Salvi, Camorra and Irene decide to head
off to the Quiapo Fair to see a head which an American, Mr. Leeds has been exhibiting.
The incident about the subversive posters results in a great deal of unease among many people.
Quiroga sets off to see Simoun about the rifles the jeweller had stored in his warehouse. Simoun,
still refusing to see anyone, leaves a message for Quiroga to keep the rifles where they are. In the
afternoon, there is talk of the students having allied themselves with outlaws to take the city by
surprise. Padre Irene tells Capitan Tiago that some have advised the Captain-General to
implement a reign of terror. The more moderate suggest only a show of force. Capitan Tiago
passes away of fright from the priest’s stories. In other places, the prevailing feeling of anxiety
leads to a number of unfortunate consequences, such as an officer mistaking the commotion at a
baptism for a riot, and two individuals getting shot by mistake. At the silversmith’s where Placido
Penitente lodges, he and Simoun’s pyrotechnist join the smith workers just as they finish
swapping theories about the posters. The pyrotechnist cautions everyone to prepare, as there
may be a massacre in the evening.
News of Basilio’s arrest reaches San Diego and Juli is devastated, more so because people say the
arrest was motivated by revenge against her and her father. Juli thinks Padre Camorra may be
able to help free Basilio, but shrinks from approaching him when she remembers how the priest
asked her for certain sacrifices in exchange for his having procured Juli’s grandfather’s freedom. A
traveler from Manila soon relates that all the prisoners have been released except for Basilio who
has no influential protector. This finally convinces Juli to see Padre Camorra. On the same day she
visits the priest, a girl is said to have thrown herself from a parish window and died. The following
day, Tandang Selo, grieved and stricken, takes his hunting spear and leaves the village forever.
Chapter 31: The High Official
The girl’s death[1] and even her identity are largely left unremarked by both the newspapers and
the locals, even as Padre Camorra leaves town for another. Meanwhile, through the intervention
of their relatives, the detained students are released, except for Basilio who is further accused of
possessing prohibited books. The Captain-General keeps him detained to maintain the
appearance of authority. One high official advocates for Basilio, believing he is innocent, and
argues with the Captain-General. The official tells the Captain-General to treat the Filipinos better
to give them no cause to reproach Spain. The official ends up resigning shortly after the
argument and heads back to Spain.
Basilio, having been released from prison through Simoun’s intercession, visits the jeweler. Basilio
castigates himself for forgetting his mother and brother’s misfortunes[4]and pledges to support
Simoun’s plans for a violent revolution. Simoun welcomes his support. He reveals that he plans to
ignite dynamite hidden in a decorative lamp at nine in the evening during Juanito and Paulita’s
wedding party, at the venue of which, sacks of gunpowder are hidden. Simoun intends to take
the city after the explosion with the help of Cabesang Tales and his group of malcontents. He
instructs Basilio to take charge at the appointed hour of arming anyone willing to fight from the
store of rifles in Quiroga’s warehouse, and to put to death those unwilling to join.
Chapter 34: The Wedding
While waiting for the agreed time for the uprising, Basilio whiles away the time. His thoughts
swing between feeling sorry for the jilted Isagani and anger over Juli’s death and his own broken
dreams. He heads off to Capitan Tiago’s old house, now owned by Don Timoteo, where he
witnesses the lavish preparations for the evening wedding party. It is revealed that the Captain-
General will be bearing a lamp, confidentially procured by Simoun, as a wedding gift at the dinner
party.