51 pages • 1 hour read
José RizalEl Filibusterismo
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1891A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 27-32Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 27 Summary: “The Friar and the Filipino”
Isagani meets with Father Fernández. Whenever Isagani criticizes the friars, Father Fernández is the exception. The two speak about the student revolt. Fernández wants to know what the students want from the professors and friars; the students want better treatment, support in liberalizing education, and increased freedom to acquire an education. While not disagreeing with Isagani, Fernández focuses on the impracticality of his demands because the system victimizes the friars as well. Isagani points out that the friars are in a position to implement change, whereas Filipino students are easily arrested for speaking out. Isagani leaves and is arrested later that day.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Tatakut”
There is confusion following the arrests of the students. Ben Zayb feels vindicated for having published an article about the education system in the Philippines being a disaster waiting to happen. Merchant Quiroga arms himself and his people and hides in his shop, waiting for something to happen. People in various towns are shot by accident for fear of an uprising, and rumors abound about who was behind the broadsides. Plácido goes to the fireworks shop, where Simoun is having his bomb built, and finds several men discussing the situation. They’re all afraid of being arrested and haven’t heard anything from Simoun since he was reported ill. Days pass without violence.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Last Word on Captain Tiago”
Father Irene is in charge of Captain Tiago’s (Basilio’s former guardian) estate. Tiago rescinded 25 pesos for Basilio, but Irene reinstated them before Tiago died. The former also left 20 pesos for indigent students; the rest went to the Church in various ways. Some nuns said they saw Tiago’s spirit rise to heaven. Don Primitivo wonders if Tiago will challenge Saint Peter to a cockfighting match. Doña Patrocinio wants an extravagant funeral so people will say, “That Doña Patrocinio really knows how to die!” (255).
Chapter 30 Summary: “Julí”
Rumors about the students’ arrests continue. Most believe that Basilio was arrested as revenge, as the friars were angry that he freed Julí from servitude. This causes Julí to feel obliged and guilty. She knows she can free him by giving herself to Father Camorra, nicknamed the Stallion—but fears doing so. People tell her that it’d be better to go to Camorra, than let Basilio be killed or exiled. All of the students are freed except Basilio because he has no protector. Julí decides to go to Camorra, and Sister Balí escorts her. Later, news goes around that a woman (Julí) jumped from the friary window to her death, and another ran from the friary screaming. Tandang Selo disappears, taking only his hunting spear.
Chapter 31 Summary: “The Chief of Staff”
The Captain-General and Chief of Staff discuss the students. The former wants to use Basilio to teach would-be rebels a lesson. The Chief of Staff sympathizes with Basilio and pleads for leniency on his behalf, but the Captain-General won’t budge and even admits to disliking the Philippines. This causes the Chief of Staff to begin a patriotic monologue about the glory of Spain, but also the need to stand up to the abuses in the Philippines: “I assure you that I would take the part of the oppressed Filipino, because I would prefer to be overwhelmed by the crushed rights of humanity than to allow the triumph of the selfish interests of a nation’s, even though it might be, or is, Spain” (270). Later, the Chief of Staff turns in his resignation and leaves the Philippines.
Chapter 32 Summary: “The Effect of the Broadsides”
When exams came around, many students were already suspended, and those who remained didn’t pass. Juanito is suspended and takes over his father’s business, Makaraig goes to Europe, and Basilio remains in prison and learns of Julí’s death from the coachman. Furthermore, Juanito is going to marry Paulita, because he’s in a good socioeconomic position, whereas Isagani is too much of a dreamer. Simoun has recovered, and there are rumors he’s planning a party. The Captain-General’s term is almost over.
Chapters 27-32 Analysis
Chapter 27 continues to discuss the education system in the Philippines through two respectable, pragmatic individuals. The reader is already familiar with Isagani, but Father Fernández is less known. He first appeared in Chapter 11, when the clergy and government met to discuss the students’ proposal. In Chapter 27, his role as an open-minded friar is of greater importance, because he shows that not all friars want to exploit the Filipino populace and that peaceful resolutions (or at least, discussion) can be achieved through courtesy and honesty. Both sides offer logical explanations for their views, with Isagani reminding Fernández that the students’ position prevents them from enacting change. As long as the students are threatened with expulsion, arrest, or worse for opposing the clergy, problems will remain unresolved—which will be to the detriment of all. Furthermore, Chapter 28 highlights the power of rumors. Ben Zayb’s writing, aside from highlighting his self-aggrandizement, shows the preexisting fear and uneasiness surrounding revolution in Philippine society. Those in power and the rebels fear each other and expect reprisal. This situation is less about whether or not there will be violence, and more so when it will start.
Chapter 29 contains a Latin epigraph: Talis vita; finis ita (As one lives, so one dies) (331). In essence, Captain Tiago is used to illustrate those who try to placate, understand, and aid both worlds—the upper class (government figures, the clergy, and the Spanish) and the lower classes (Indigenous and poorer Filipinos). Captain Tiago was a friend to both: He tried to help the poorer members of his community, like Basilio, but he also supported those responsible for suppressing the general populace. In essence, his was a vicious cycle. Captain Tiago’s life also highlights the two greatest vices in the Philippines at the time—cockfighting and opium. Cockfighting is framed as being on equal footing with religion, the juxtaposition of which reveals the clergy’s fixation on power and wealth. Chapter 30 further illustrates clerical abuse. Not only is Basilio wrongly imprisoned, but in order to free him, his betrothed Julí offers herself to Father Camorra. The result drives her to suicide. Adding insult to injury, Camorra is transferred and Julí is more or less forgotten for the rest of the novel; this decision makes Julí a parallel to María Clara, which further connects Basilio and Simoun.
Chapter 31, like Chapters 24 and 27, provides an antithetical example of the corrupt, uncaring Spanish official. The chapter is an argument between the two most powerful men in the Philippines, the Captain-General and his Chief of Staff. The Captain-General is an opportunist who uses his governorship as a means to acquire wealth, so he can retire in Spain with greater influence. The Chief of Staff, on the other hand, represents the liberal side of Spanish politics and sees Spain as fully responsible for its colonies’ wellbeing. Unfortunately for the Philippines, the Chief of Staff isn’t representative of the most powerful. He ultimately resigns, leaving the country to simmer.
Chapter 32 brings the novel’s discussion of a Castilian Academy to an end. In effect, nothing changes. A few lives are ruined, but things go back to the way they were before the students’ petition. It’s important to note that only Filipino lives were ruined, and their suffering was unjust. Julí dies due to the corruption of the penal system, and Basilio suffers a similar fate to Ibarra in the first novel. As peaceful measures have failed, the novel transitions to Simoun and his attempt to begin a revolution.
