What is freedom inNoli me Tangere

There is little freedom for the powerless. The utterly powerless young sextons are caught between the church’s demands that they stay at work late and the government’s demands that they not stay out past a certain hour at night. Abuses of power are also rampant: Rafael Ibarra was slandered as “heretic and subversive” and died in prison because his religious ideals differed from those of the organized church, and his body was later exhumed from the cemetery at Father Dámaso’s order. Similarly, the younger Ibarra is excommunicated because of Father Dámaso’s grudge against him, which costs him his engagement and his position in society. Throughout the novel, the church and the government fight for power as well.