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Chapter 19

Rizal began writing El Filibusterismo in 1887 and finished it in 1891 in Biarritz, France after revising it over several years. He moved the printing of the novel from Brussels to the cheaper city of Ghent. Due to financial difficulties, printing was suspended until a friend provided funds to complete it. The novel was published on September 18, 1891 and praised by Filipino patriots for its depiction of Spain's rule in the Philippines. Rizal also planned several other novels which remained unfinished.

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Monina Amano
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94 views

Chapter 19

Rizal began writing El Filibusterismo in 1887 and finished it in 1891 in Biarritz, France after revising it over several years. He moved the printing of the novel from Brussels to the cheaper city of Ghent. Due to financial difficulties, printing was suspended until a friend provided funds to complete it. The novel was published on September 18, 1891 and praised by Filipino patriots for its depiction of Spain's rule in the Philippines. Rizal also planned several other novels which remained unfinished.

Uploaded by

Monina Amano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 19

El Filibusterismo
Published in Ghent
Overview
• October, 1887- He begun writing it in Calamba while
practicing medicine

• 1888- He made changes in the plot and revised the chapter


already written. He wrote more chapters in Paris, Madrid, and
Biarritz

• March 29, 1891- He finished the manuscript in Biarritz after 3


years.

• From Brussels, Rizal moved to Ghent, where printing was


cheaper.

• September 18, 1891- El Filibusterismo came off the press


Privations in Ghent
• July 5, 1891 Rizal left Brussels for Ghent

Reasons:
- The cost of living was lower
- The cost of printing in Ghent was cheaper than in Brussels
- To escape from the enticing attraction of Petite Suzanne
• Owing to his limited funds Rizal lived in a cheap boarding
house, with Jose Alejandro as roommate
• They lived frugally in Ghent for 3 months form July to
September
• To economize further on their living expenses, they prepared
their own breakfast.
Ghent
Jose Allejandro and University of Ghent
The Printing
• The publisher F. Meyer-Van Loo Press, no. 66
Viaanderen Street who was willing to print his
book on installment basis
• He pawned his jewels in order to pay the down
payment and early partial expenses during the
printing of the novel
• Rizal became desperate because his funds were
running low
• He received some money from Basa and 200 from
Rodriguez Arias for the copies of Morga’s Sucesos
sold in Manila but these funds were also used up
The Printing

• July 1891 Rizal wrote a letter to Basa saying


that if no money comes he will have to stop its
publication

• August 6 The printing had to be suspended, as


Rizal feared, because he could no longer give
the necessary funds to the printer
El Filibusterismo Comes off the Press
• Valentin Ventura heard Rizal’s predicament he immediately
sent the amount of money needed to finish the publicationof
the novel
• September 18, 1891 El Fili came off to Press
• Rizal immediately sent 2 copies to Hongkong one for Basa and
the other to Sixto Lopez
• He gratefully gave the original manuscript of El Fili and a
printed copy with his autograph to Valentin Ventura
• Filipino patriots praised the novel. The members of the colony
of Barcelona published a tribute in La Publicidad, a Barcelona
newspaper eulogizing the novel’s original style which “is
comparable only to the sublime Alexander Dumas” “a model
and precious jewel in the now decadent literature of Spain
Valentin Ventura Sixto Lopez
•  The liberal Madrid newspaper, El Nuevo
Regimen, serialized the novel in its issues of
October, 1891.
• All copies of the first edition (Ghent Edition) of
El Fili were placed in wooden boxes and
shipped to Hong Kong, but almost all the boxes
were confiscated and all the books were lost.
• The book immediately became rare and few
available Ghent copies were sold at very high
prices, reaching as high as 400 pesetas per
copy.
Dedication of the Novel 

• To the memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez


(85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years old), and
Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in
Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872.
• To straighten historical records, however, we must
rectify Rizal’s historical inaccuracies in his
dedicatory note. The martyrdom of Gomburza
occurred on February 7, 1872. Father Gomez was
73 years old – not 85, Father Burgos was 35 years –
not 30, and Father Zamora was 37 years old – not
35.
The Manuscript

• The original manuscript of El Filibusterismo in Rizal’s


own handwriting is now preserved in the Filipiniana
Division of the Bureau of Public Libraries, Manila. It
had been acquired by the Philippine Government
from Valentin Ventura for 10,000 pesos. It consists
of 279 pages of long sheets of paper.
• The title page of El Fili contains an inscription
written by Ferdinand Blumentritt
• Features that didn’t appear in the printed book:
– Foreword
– Warning
The Manuscript
Synopsis of the El Filibusterismo

• Simoun – the main protagonist of the story a rich jeweler.


• Dona Victorina – ridiculously a pro-spanish woman
• Tiburcio de Espadana – husband of Dona Victorina
• Paulita Gomez – beautiful niece of Don Tiburcio
• Ben-Zayb – Spanish journalist who writes silly articles about
Filipinos
• Padre Sibyla – Vice-Rector of UST
• Padre Camorra – spanish priest of Tiani
• Don Custodio – pro-spanish Filipino holding a high position in
the government
• Padre Salvi – Franciscan friar a former cura of San Diego
• Padre Irene – a kind friar who was a friend to Filipino students
• Padre Florentino – a retired scholarly and patriotic Filipino priest
Synopsis of the El Filibusterismo

•  Isagani – nephew of Padre Florentino and lover of Paulita


• Basilio – son of Sisa a promising medical student
• Capitan Tiago – patron of Basilio
• Quiroga – rich Chinese merchant
• Cabesang Tales – father of Juli dispossessed of his land in Tiani by
friars
• Juli – the lover of Basilio
• Makaraig – rich and leader of Filipino students in their movement
to learn Spanish in the academy
• Padre Millon – teaches Physics in UST w/o experiments
• Placido Penitente – student of Padre Millon who bacame
disoriented bcause of the poor methods of instruction
• Senor Pasta – old Filipino lawyer who refuses to help Filipino
students in their advocacy
Synopsis of the El Filibusterismo

• Mr. American – owner of the sideshow at the fair of


Quiapo exhibiting an Egyptian Mummy.
• Sandoval – a Spanish student who supports the cause
of the Filipino students to propagate the teaching of
Spanish
• Cabesa Andang – mother of Placido Penitente
• Pepay – pretty dancer and mistress of Don Custodio
• Padre Fernandez – a good dominican friar and friend of
Isagani
• Don Timoteo – father of Juanito Pelaez
• Tano – son Cabesang Tales and brother of Juli
• Chichay – the silversmith who made the bridal earring
for Paulita Gomez
Characters from El Filibusterismo were draw by Rizal from real life

Padre Florentino was Isagani was Vicente Ilustre Paulita Gomez was
Father Leoncio Lopez Leonor Rivera
Noli and Fili Compared
Noli FILI
- Romantic Novel - Political novel

- Work of the heart  - Work of the head

- A book of feeling - A book of thought

- It has freshness, color, humor, lightness, - It contains bitterness, humor, lightness,


and wit and wit hatred, pain, violence, and sorrow

- 64 chapters - 38 chapters
•  The issue of which is the superior novel. Noli
or the Fili is purely academic
• Both are good novels from the point of view of
history
• Both depict with realistic colors the actual
conditions of the Philippines and the Filipinos
during the decadent days of Spanish rule
• Both are instrumental in awakening the spirit
of Filipino nationalism
• Both are responsible in paving the ground for
Philippine Revolution that brought about the
downfall of Spain
• El Fili is a true twin of Noli
The Unfinished 3rd Novel
•  September 22, 1891 Rizal wrote to Blumetritt saying
that he’s thinking of writing a third novel where ethics
will play principal role
• October 18, 1891 boarded the steamer Melbourne in
Marseilles bound for Hong Kong
• During the voyage he wrote the third novel in Tagalog
in which he intended for Tagalog readers
• In Hong kong he continued it, but did not finish it
because his Tagalog was inadequate for literary
purposes
• The unfinished 3rd novel has no title
• It consists of 44 pages in Rizal’s handwriting
• The manuscript is still preserved in the Bureau of
Public Libraries
• The hero of the novel was Kamandagan, a
descendant of Lakan-Dula, last king of Tondo. He
plotted to regain the lost freedom of his fathers
• It is said that Rizal was fortunate not to finish this
novel, because it would have caused greater
scandal and more Spanish vengeance on him
Other Unfinished novels
•  Makamisa
- a tagalog novel
- written in light sarcastic style
- incomplete with only 2 chapters
- consists of only of 20 pages

• Dapitan
- written in Ironic Spanish
- he wrote it while in Dapitan to depict the town life and
customs
- Consists of 8 pages
• A novel in Spanish about the life in Pili, a town in
Laguna
- consist of 147 pages
- without title
• Another unfinished novel of Rizal, also without
title, is about Cristobal, a youthful Filipino student
who has returned from Europe
- consists if 34 pages
• The beginning of another novel are contained in
two notebooks. The first notebook contains 31
written pages while the second contains 12 pages -
written in Spanish and the style is ironic

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