Summary
Everyone in town easily relieves their conscience about what happened to Tales and his family. The Civil Guard rounds up a few suspicious men who have nothing to do with Tales' kidnapping, and the friar-administrator rationalizes that if Tales had not caused trouble this would not have happened to him. Sister Penchang, Juli’s new employer, takes it upon herself to reform Juli who, she is shocked to learn, does not know how to pray like a proper Christian woman. When Basilio learns what happened, he heads to Manila to get his savings and pay the ransom to free Juli from servitude. Meanwhile, the friar-administrator turns Tales’ land over to a farmer who promises to pay the exorbitant rents. Returning home, Tales finds he has lost his lands, Juli is working as a servant, Tandang Selo is mute, and he will be forced out of his house in three days.
Simoun visits San Diego to sell his jewels and stays in Tales' house. He shows off trunks of jewels to the awe-struck villagers. Tales holds back; he feels that such an ostentatious display of wealth is an insult to his misfortunes. Trying for a casual tone, Simoun inquires whether Tales has anything to sell. One of the villagers remembers that Maria Clara, the woman Ibarra was supposed to marry, gave her locket to a leper before becoming a nun. The leper later paid Basilio for medical services with the locket, and Basilio passed it on to Juli. Simoun’s voice is shaking with emotion and he offers to buy it off Tales. Tales decides to consult Juli before selling it. However, on his way across town, Tales sees the friar-administrator with the new tenant laughing as they walk over Tales’ fields. Tales is overcome with a wave of rage and jealousy and never makes it to Juli.
The next day, Simoun finds that his revolver is missing. In its place is Maria Clara’s locket with a note from Tales explaining that he traded the locket for the revolver so he could join the tulisanes or bandits. That same morning, three bodies are found dead: the friar-administrator, the new tenant of Tales’ land, and the tenant’s wife. All of them have their mouths filled with earth, and by the wife’s body is a piece of paper with Tales written in blood. The Civil Guard comes to arrest Tales; not finding him they take Tandang Selo, his father.
After an unsuccessful hunting trip, the Captain General returns to his residence at Los Baños. He is accompanied by an entourage of friars and government officials and conducts business in between card games. Simoun complains that on the way to Los Baños he was set upon by bandits who took his revolvers and bullets as ransom for his freedom. The Captain General hears a case of a schoolmaster who asks for a better location for his school which is roofless. The Captain General complains that he has already spent money on school supplies and the high official, his secretary, points out that those supplies got ruined by weather since many towns do not have school buildings. Don Custodio proposes that schools share space with cockpits, which all have clean, spacious buildings and are only utilized on holidays for cockfights. The Captain General is scandalized by the idea, but Don Custodio retorts that it is more immoral that there are buildings for gambling while schools have none. Frustrated, the Captain General proclaims that any other teachers who complain will be suspended.
Finally, the case of the Spanish language school is broached. Padre Irene argues in favor of the school while Padre Sibyla argues against it. Padre Sibyla was the former Vice-Rector of the Dominican-run University of Santo Tomas in Manila; he believes the students’ proposal is a step toward revolution and a direct blow to the prestige of the university. Padre Camorra, the curate of Tiani, agrees; he argues that learning Spanish would only make Filipinos more inclined to argue with the Spanish instead of obeying orders. Those in favor urge the Captain General to avoid causing resentment when the students’ cause is a fair one. Padre Fernandez, a university professor, suggests that just as adults cannot forever keep information away from children, the Spanish must also allow Filipinos access to knowledge. The Captain General is undecided and they table the conversation. Before going in to eat, the Captain General receives a message that Juli has come back a third time begging for Tandang Selo to be released. The Captain General grants her request on a whim after Padre Camorra lends his support.
Back in Manila, events follow Placido Penitente, a student recently entering the University of Santo Tomas. Although he loved school back in his hometown, he is miserable in Manila. He is joined by a classmate Juanito Pelaez. Juanito is the son of a wealthy mestizo merchant and a favorite among the teachers, despite his blase attitude toward school. Juanito brags about serenading pretty girls with Padre Camorra, alluding to getting sexual favors and mentioning that Padre Camorra got jealous when other men sang to Juli. On the way to class, Placido is pressured into donating to a monument being erected for one of the padres, making him late for class.
Classes at the university have hundreds of students, most of whom remain anonymous to their professors unless they are called on to answer a question. The university has a state-of-the-art laboratory that students are not permitted to use. The laboratory is strictly used to show off how modern the university is to visitors from Spain (referred to in the novel as the Peninsula). Placido’s physics professor, Padre Millon, enjoys demeaning his students by trying to trick them with convoluted questions. Padre Millon calls Placido a petty meddler when he notices him trying to help Juanito with an answer. Padre Millon takes out his gradebook to fail Placido and comments on his 15 unexcused absences. Placido refutes this number and the two get into an argument. Placido defends himself and tells Millon he has no right to insult him before walking out of the class. Padre Millon finishes the class lecturing on the arrogance and ingratitude of students and their lack of respect for superiors.
The house in Manila where Makaraig and many other students board is loud and chaotic. Makaraig is wealthy with refined manners and courage; he leads the students’ association which is proposing the formation of a Spanish school. Leading students gather in the house to await a decision on their petition. Isagani is there along with Sandoval, a young Spaniard who came to Manila as a government employee and sympathizes with the Filipino students’ cause.
While waiting, a debate over the results ensues. Sandoval is highly optimistic since their cause aligns with the enlightenment the Spanish government speaks about wanting for the Philippines. Therefore, Sandoval believes that not only will their proposal be accepted but the students will be lauded as patriots. Another student, Pecson, is more pessimistic; he worries their petition could be interpreted as discontented students threatening governmental and church authority. Pecson forces Sandoval to admit that if their petition is rejected it will expose the lie that the government has only good intentions for the Filipino colonies. If so, Sandoval proudly claims he would be the first to take up the Filipinos' cause. Pecson observes that if he made the same claims he would be labeled a filibuster, or a Filipino accused of advocating for independence from Spain. Makaraig enters with the news that their case has been sent to a committee run by Don Custodio who will make the final decision.
The students decide to talk with Señor Pasta, a Filipino lawyer and adviser to Don Custodio. Since Señor Pasta and Isagani’s uncle went to school together, Isagani hopes to convince him to champion their cause. Señor Pasta is well respected and advises the friars. Not wanting to become involved, Señor Pasta tries to confuse Isagani with flowery language, and is shocked when Isagani eloquently and passionately responds. They debate whether prestige or justice should be the foundation of a colonial government. Señor Pasta argues for maintaining a deferential attitude towards a colonial government while Isagani believes that citizens are experts in their own needs and governments should welcome their feedback. Señor Pasta becomes flustered and, unable to answer, he makes up an excuse to dismiss Isagani. On parting, Señor Pasta advises Isagani to focus on his career and stay out of politics. Isagani replies sadly that Padre Florentino taught him to dedicate himself to his country and its people and that the Philippines would be better with an educated populace.
Analysis
As conditions worsen for Tales and his family, he finally reaches a breaking point. He feels an immense sense of powerlessness and that he is being mocked for it. Without a functioning justice system, Tales takes justice into his own hands. Stuffing his victim’s mouths with dirt is a symbolic rebuke of the actors who stole his family’s land and the system that let it happen. Rizal reminds the reader that thousands of Filipinos have suffered just as Tales has, foreshadowing that revolution is inevitable in a country with such abject conditions.
Simoun’s clear interest in Maria Clara’s locket provides further confirmation that he is in fact Ibarra. They betray his feelings for his former fiancée—a crack in his armor as a hardened revolutionary. Simoun makes overtures to align the tulisanes with his cause. He claims the tulisanes stole his revolvers, but it is more likely Simoun wanted them to be better armed and win them over as allies.
The Catholic Church is in charge of education in the Philippines but is more interested in cultivating a subservient rather than educated populace. As the laboratory demonstrates, the clergy prioritize boosting their prestige with visitors over providing students with opportunities to learn. Rizal worries that this system destroys students’ dignity, poisoning them against education and converting them into lazy and hateful citizens. The Spanish then use this as a pretext to challenge Fillipinos’ innate intelligence and justify their colonial rule over a more “backward” population. Yet, at the same time, Rizal is critical of the millions of Filipinos who “did not know how to preserve the light of their intelligence and the dignity of their mind.”
Characters debate what the relationship between a government and its citizens should be. Padre Fernandez urges for a relationship based on justice and gratitude. The students association wants to actively participate in improving conditions in the country; they view their petition as a sign of their faith in the government’s good intentions. This faith is a reflection of their relative privilege in society which has sheltered them from the worst abuse of the colonial government. However, many clergy and officials interpret the students’ actions as insolent. As Señor Pasta explains, anytime the populace asks for more than the government deigns to give it, is a challenge to the government’s authority and power. Meanwhile, the Captain General and other authorities rule with cruelty and incompetence displaying a general indifference to the welfare of Filipinos. One can see this in the Captain General’s reaction to the teacher’s request for a roof for his school.
There is no room for free speech in the colonial Philippines. Any open criticism, especially by Filipinos, is labeled as filibusterismo, or treason against Spanish rule. In reality, this accusation is an abuse of power used to tamp down on any behavior the Spanish do not agree with. Isagani is one of the few students who displays the courage to directly challenge authority figures. Even Señor Pasta, a fellow Filipino, is surprised that Isagani would debate with him as an equal. Señor Pasta is clearly intelligent but puts his ideals aside to have a successful career. Isagani however is unwilling to make the same moral compromise.
