Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not)

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1887

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-24

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 31-36

Chapters 37-42

Chapters 43-48

Chapters 49-54

Chapters 55-60

Chapters 61-63

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 55-60Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 55 Summary

Gunshots are heard in the streets, signaling that the subversives’ attack has begun. Ibarra rushes home to burn all his papers and anything else that could incriminate him. As he is about to burn everything, he is arrested by guards and escorted away. Elías returns to Ibarra’s house and completes the task of setting everything on fire.

Chapter 56 Summary

The day after the attack, gossip runs wild throughout the town. Ibarra and Don Filipo are detained in prison. Bruno has confessed, and his testimony is an indictment against Ibarra. Elías finds Lucas hanged in a tree. He notices seeds on Lucas’s clothing and when he goes to the church, he notices the same seeds on a sexton—implying a connection.

Chapter 57 Summary

Bruno’s brother, Társilo, is interrogated and tortured. Társilo is expected to provide more evidence against Ibarra, but he refuses to change his story that his only motivation was to avenge his father’s death. He is eventually killed by drowning—but not before insulting the ensign and his wife, Doña Consolación.

Chapter 58 Summary

Ibarra is led on a walk by the ensign. San Diego’s citizens have generally turned against Ibarra, but a few remain supportive. Tasio reappears and watches the procession of captured subversives. He is found dead the next day.

Chapter 59 Summary

News of the uprising and the civil guard’s victory reach Manila. The press constructs a narrative based on a mix of rumors and truth. Father Salví is credited with uncovering the plot and all the friars in the country praise him. Captain Tinong, a former supporter of Ibarra, panics at how their connection might be perceived by the authorities. Tinong’s wife goes so far as to offer a bribe to the Captain General, who also cuts ties with Ibarra.

Chapter 60 Summary

At Tiago’s house, preparations for Linares and María-Clara’s engagement continue. Father Salví and the ensign both announce that they are leaving San Diego. Señor Guevara, a lieutenant, suggests that Ibarra may have been framed. According to Guevara, the prosecution’s only “proof” against Ibarra is his letter to María-Clara prior to his departure for Europe. After the guests depart, Ibarra appears; he escaped prison with Elías’s help. He tells María-Clara that he was framed, and she admits to handing over the letter. She offered it in exchange for two other letters written by her mother—which reveal her true father to be Father Dámaso. Ibarra and María-Clara part ways with the latter promising that she will never love anyone else again.

Chapters 55-60 Analysis

This section begins with the uprising. The town is immediately thrust into chaos. Because Father Salví informed the civil guard of the attack, the uprising suffers defeat. While the narrator does not explicitly say that the attack was manufactured by Salví, the head sexton conspires to use it to his benefit—intimidating would-be subversives. The following morning, gossip floods the town. The accounts of what took place vary wildly, but many believe Ibarra orchestrated the uprising. The rumor mill demonstrates how word of mouth can alter perceptions of reality.

In the wake of the uprising, two significant events take place. First is the torture of Társilo. The authorities want him to identify Ibarra as the organizer of the revolt, but he refuses and instead says that his involvement in the attack was motivated by revenge. While the authorities are trying to piece together a narrative, the simplicity of Társilo’s motivation escapes them. They do not see seeking revenge for a parent’s death at the hands of the civil guard as reason enough to revolt against it. This demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the suffering of the civil guard’s victims. Because Társilo refuses to cooperate and name Ibarra as the man responsible, he is tortured to death. The inhumanity of the act is entirely lost on the ensign.

Secondly, Elías discovers Lucas’s hanged body, noticing seeds on his collar. He connects this to the same seeds on a sexton, implying that Salví is somehow responsible for Lucas’s death. As is often the case, the narrator does not connect the dots; instead, he offers clues and leaves the reader to form their own connections. Elías’s discovery implies Salví was involved in Lucas’s death as part of him pinning the uprising on Ibarra. Salví manipulated Lucas to work as a mole, and when the deed was done, he removed the only witness who could identify his conspiracy against Ibarra. With Ibarra out of the way, Salví gets full credit for uncovering the plot to attack the barracks.